Filoli Historic House & Garden

From 1915 to 1917, William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, the owners of the "Empire Gold Mine", built Philoli Manor. It is a masterpiece designed by the talented American architect Willis Polk, which combines the English country garden with the native California landscape.

Known as one of the "Top Ten Beautiful Gardens in North America", it covers an area of nearly 265 hectares and is a park with beautiful natural scenery. There is a Georgian Revival-style mansion in the garden, as well as multiple English Renaissance-style gardens with more than 150 different varieties of roses, an orchard covering an area of 2.8 hectares, and a 1.6-kilometer-long path.

Many design elements in the manor were also influenced by Chinese gardens. For example, there is a winding artificial stream in the garden, which is similar to the streams in Chinese gardens; many traditional Chinese flowers and plants are also planted in the garden, such as peonies, bamboos, etc. Peony symbolizes wealth and good luck; bamboo is a symbol of perseverance.