Landscape bonsai is the art of bonsai that recreates natural scenery using rocks, water and soil.

Landscape bonsai is one of the major categories of bonsai. With rocks as the main body, accompanied by water, soil, plants, and small pieces such as pavilions, bridges, boats and figures, it condenses famous mountains and great rivers, and the scenery of lakes and seas, into a small pot. Unlike tree-stump bonsai, which centers on trees, it places greater emphasis on overall layout and the creation of artistic mood, giving viewers associations of towering peaks and vast rivers and lakes.

There are quite a few kinds of stone used to make landscape bonsai. Common ones include hard stones such as ax-cut stone, Yingde stone, Lingbi stone and turtle-vein stone, as well as soft mountain stones that are loose in texture, absorb water easily and tend to grow moss. Classified by the scenery in the pot, they can roughly be divided into the water-basin style, which features waterscape, the dry-basin style, which is mainly soil and stone with no water surface, and the water-and-dry-basin style, which combines both water and dry land. In layout, they stress clear primary and secondary elements and appropriate density.

When making one, first determine the theme according to the shape of the stone, then shape the mountain forms through sawing, carving, joining and gluing, and afterward plant small grasses among the stone crevices, lay moss, and add accessories such as small bridges, pavilions and pagodas, sailing boats and figures. Proportionate scale is key; only when the accessories are the right size can there be an effect of seeing the great in the small.

For daily care, landscape bonsai should be placed in a ventilated spot with scattered light, avoiding scorching sun and winter freezing. A suitable amount of clear water should be kept in the pot, and water should be sprayed frequently to keep it moist so that the moss and plants grow green and lush. In addition, attention should be paid to wind protection and avoiding bumps; if the glued joints are found to be loose, they should be repaired in time, and dust and water stains should be cleaned regularly so that the scenery can remain elegant for a long time.