Chinese garden design, history and Buddha: Pt4 of Buddhist Gardens Videos

For further information and eBooks on Buddha and garden design see: http://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/garden_landscape_design_articles/sacred_gardens/buddhist_gardens_vihara
Buddhism was a significant influence on Chinese gardens, though it is often ignored or denied. The Lion Grove in Suzhou (狮子林园 Shi Zi Lín Yuan), for example, began as a Buddhist monastery garden and has the oldest surviving rockwork (供石; gongshí) in any Chinese garden.
So. How did Buddhism reach Japan? From Korea. And how did it reach Korea? From China. And how did it reach China? From India. It travelled with the caravans in Central Asia, over frozen mountains, past salt lakes and across burning deserts. Collectively, they are called the Silk Routes. And they were used by merchants.
China once had many Buddhist gardens and some were the Chan meditation gardens which inspired the design ideas for making a Zen garden for meditation (ie Japanese Zen gardens) – andt Zen gardens in Japan tend not to have a Buddha statue or ornaments.