Lan Su Chinse Garden

Michelle Gonzales
Sep 9, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Jul 3, 2025

The Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon, is an architectural beauty. The structures are stunning and enhance the beauty of the gardens.

It is said that the Lan Su Chinese Garden is one of Portland's greatest treasures, and after visiting, it is easy to see why. Thanks to the collaboration of Portland and Suzhou, the garden's sister city in China's Jiangsu province, this garden is the most authentic Chinese garden outside China. Suzhou is famous for its beautiful Ming Dynasty gardens, which is evident in the architecture.

Besides the architecture, I love the overall feel of this garden. When you enter the grounds of Lan Su, you immediately feel like you have been transferred right into the middle of China and its culture. Even though these gardens are in the middle of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers, it's very peaceful and quiet, and you barely notice the skyline right next to you. Honestly, you forget you're even in a city.

Lan Su Chinese Garden also has an authentic Chinese tea house called "The Tao of Tea." I highly recommend stopping in and grabbing some of their delicious teas and snacks.

They have a healthy selection of white, green, oolong, pu-er, black, and herbal teas. However, as the seasons change, so does the selection of teas to match the changing of the surrounding gardens. Don't forget to grab a light snack to go along with your cup of tea! They have dumplings, buns, and noodles to choose from, along with cookies, mooncakes, and dried fruit.