His bonsai set a Guinness World Record

Lush, vigorous pines and cypresses, and a leisurely winding path

This is the first impression that greets the eye upon stepping into Baitai Garden, located on the outskirts of Taipei, far from the city's hustle and bustle. If Yangmingshan is the "back garden" of Taipei City, then calling Baitai Garden the "Peach Blossom Spring" of Taipei City is no exaggeration at all.

Part of the collection

Taiwan, China bonsai collector Chen Wantian set the Guinness World Record for the "largest collection of rare bonsai trees" in Taipei with 1,458 pots. Chen Wantian says that rather than calling him a collector obsessed with bonsai, it would be better to call him a "guardian of the dharma." Years ago, he watched in great pain as a precious artistic bonsai was bought by a foreign buyer, and he could not bear to see these precious tree species of Taiwan, China shipped abroad, so he began collecting bonsai of precious tree species to keep these treasures, which have lives spanning hundreds of years, in his homeland.

According to reports, the combined age of these rare tree species bonsai exceeds 145,800 years, with the youngest being 80 years old and the oldest reaching around 500 years. Some of them are seed-grown bonsai, while others are precious tree species collected from the wild, including Shimpaku juniper, boxwood, and ivory tree.

In Baitai Garden, as far as the eye can see, from large to medium and small Shimpaku juniper bonsai, all must have won numerous awards to become a "guest of honor"; carefully tended, they stand awe-inspiring and retain their original rugged vigor, revealing an implied artistic conception that is much loved by literati and refined scholars.