Objective  The phenomenon of unstable “spatial depth” in traditional Chinese gardens originates in the creation of the spatial sense of “endlessness” in gardens, which has gradually aroused heated discussion among contemporary scholars. This research aims to reveal the reasons for the sense of “endlessness” of garden space experience.

Methods  From the perspective of physical experience, this research adopts the method of Phenomenology of Architecture, based on the search of relevant historical literature and image data and the exploration of “spatial depth” in traditional gardens, to analyze how, in different garden space contexts, travelers’ changing physical experience triggers changes in the conscious activities of their minds, thereby promoting the formation of subjective perception —expanding people’s perception of the original physical spatial scale, thus forming the sense of “farness” in gardens. In addition, this research not only combines historical literature and compares the ancient people’s spatial experience in gardens, but also returns to the real garden scenes, obtains first-hand information from real experience, and incorporates irrational factors such as emotion, consciousness, memory and perception of the subjects into discussion. Meanwhile, the research also adopts the method of “slicing” consciousness to decompose the physical experience during the process of garden travel, attempting to clarify the relationship between the formation of “artistic conception” and the “embodied” experience in traditional gardens.

Results  This research focuses on three types of Chinese traditional garden spaces: space with scenery; space separated by water; infinite space. 1) In the first type of garden space (space with scenery in front of the eyes), it is found that the changes in scenery in the process of garden travel enrich the garden scene we experience in our minds. Therefore, at the level of consciousness, the sense of spatial experience seems to be more abundant than the visual effect of distant view, that is why people can feel a sense of “farness” of garden space. From this, it can be concluded that the essence of this phenomenon is that we develop the desire for the “unattainable” scenery in front during movement. Because the impression of the “target scenery” in mind is constantly changing, the relatively stable concept of “time” originally measured by space has been destroyed by the instantaneous changes in the scenery. The existence of “space” defined in mind is no longer based on standardized time, leading to the change of instable perception of spatial depth. 2) In the second type of garden space (space separated by water), when people move toward the “target scenery” ahead, the three stages of consciousness flow are “confirmation of the target – disappearance of the target – reproduction of the target”. During the process, traditional gardens often provide instantaneous changes of scenery, with the “target scenery” disappearing and staying in our earliest memories. At the same time, the loss of original memories and the superposition of new memories expand our perception of the original spatial scale, thus forming a psychological artistic effect of “farness”. The psychedelic effect of instantaneous changes in scenery in the process of garden travel ultimately dissipates the purposefulness and directness of the garden journey. The original goal in front cannot be directly achieved, but gradually evolves into a spiritual wandering with gradually decreasing purposefulness. It should be noted that even if people are faced with the same “target scenery”, memory of the scenery will also constantly change. Only when we start to “travel”, “change” truly begins to happen. 3) In the third type of garden space (infinite space), emphasis is placed on shaping the sense of “infinity” in space in an attempt to push from the origin (where the traveler is located) towards an unbounded “infinity”, where “farness” means the “disappearance of boundary”, thus forming an endless and infinitely distant space. And this sense of “infinity” is completed by subjective imagination. However, it is completely different from the absolute static spatial concept molded in the Western traditional perspective. In traditional Chinese gardens, the essence of “infinite space” is a manifestation of a non-static cosmology, where space can be infinitely extended in imagination and generated by the existence of the subjects.

Conclusion  This research analyzes three types of instability experience of “spatial depth”, forming travelers’ perception of the “farness” effect in gardens. The three types of garden spaces proposed in this research, namely the space with scenery, space separated by water, and infinite space, respectively correspond to the generation of the “farness” effect in the three physical experiences: Change of scenery in the consciousness, superposition and loss of memory, and filling of the world of imagination. Meanwhile, these three types of garden spaces also present a completely different spatial concept from the traditional Western perspective. In traditional Chinese gardens, the flow of consciousness and the movement of physical body become two interacting forces, playing an important role in the formation of subjective perception. Meanwhile, it can also be seen that in traditional Chinese gardens, the perception of the artistic conception of garden is closely related to human physical experience. Only when you truly “enter” into it can this magical field be activated and the selfness of garden be revealed. Therefore, in the construction of the Chinese garden cosmology, the irrational factors such as memory, emotion, impression and consciousness of subjects will also become particularly important, ultimately promoting the integration of physical body, mind and environment. It is precisely under the influence of these factors that unique Chinese traditional garden culture has been formed.