Qianyuan Garden is no longer hidden away, because it has already vanished without a trace.

['Qian Garden' 1849-2012]

The 'Qian Garden' of the Lin Zhanmei family, one of the two great families of Zhugian in the Qing dynasty, was begun in 1849 and alas, alas, came to its end in 2012.

At the time, construction took more than 20 years and was completed in 1864, covering more than 2 jia, about 30 mu, with a construction cost of 180,000 taels [1], and it was hailed as one of the four great gardens of Taiwan, China. During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese used urban redevelopment as a means to cut down the Lin family, who held an anti-Japanese stance, driving roads straight through, and in 1939 they demolished the main hall of Qian Garden. After the war, urban development proceeded rapidly, the remaining old houses gradually disappeared, and only the gate tower inscribed by Lin Zhanmei, the octagonal well, and what appears to be half of the Plum Blossom Study (now sheathed in sheet metal) remained, gazing coldly at the world.

On June 27 of Republic of China year 101 (2012), the gate tower, the last structure still able to represent the spirit of Qian Garden, was demolished without warning, and now the only surviving octagonal well stands amid rubble, bearing witness to more than a century of history.

[Lightning demolition of the relics; plans to rebuild elsewhere long in the making?]

After the gate tower was demolished, the Hsinchu City Cultural Affairs Bureau issued a municipal news release stating that it had only received word that morning, stressing that 'Qian Garden' had no legal cultural heritage status, and that the remaining debris would be preserved in future: 'The city government received word this morning that part of the gate tower had been demolished. The Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Public Works Department and other relevant units immediately went to the site to investigate and demanded an immediate halt to work (...) Mayor Xu Mingcai also personally went to the site to understand the situation and instructed that, although the gate tower and the old well have no legal cultural heritage status, the contractor should properly sort and preserve the stone slabs, bricks and tiles removed from the gate tower, and that the matter of finding a site for reconstruction would be discussed later. The contractor also promised full cooperation.' It appeared to be a helpless rescue effort and a matter of great concern.

But the final paragraph reveals much: it turns out that plans for reconstruction at another site had already been discussed for more than a year, and in the report the director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau stated very calmly: 'Since March of last year, the city government has been discussing with the Lin family descendants a plan, funded by a foundation led by the Lin family descendants, to reconstruct Qian Garden's Shuangying Pavilion on city-owned land beside the Wind City Vision Hall in Hsinchu Park, and it is expected that the Qian Garden gate tower and old well relics will also be relocated or rebuilt in imitation of the old style nearby, so that citizens can glimpse the finest pavilions and water terraces of Qian Garden. However, the case of the foundation providing funding has not yet been approved by the Ministry of Education, and once the Ministry of Education approves it, the city government will actively proceed with the reconstruction of Shuangying Pavilion and the Qian Garden gate tower.'

It is unclear who negotiated and agreed to the workers' lightning demolition of the gate tower, and for whom it was demolished.

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Liberty Times, 'Qian Garden Gate Tower: Excavator Demolishes Without Warning': http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2012/new/jun/28/today-north11.htm
Municipal news, 'Developer About to Develop the Site of the Qian Garden Gate Tower Relics in Hsinchu City; Mayor Demands Preservation of Building Materials and Finding a Site for Reconstruction': http://www.hccg.gov.tw/web/News?command=showDetail&postId=238303
Two Fish's Journey Through Historic Sites and Buildings, 'Qian Garden': http://www.wretch.cc/blog/doublefish2/9229874
Hsinchu City Past and Present (Part 3), 'Qian Garden' and 'Beiguo Garden': http://blog.udn.com/a102753325/5689187

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Footnotes:

[1]: Source is a comment after the article by Lin family descendant Lin Jiaxuan: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/doublefish2/9229874
[2]: Regional Cultural Heritage Network: http://210.69.26.223/pages.aspx?v=B073F9013E8A5197