Flowers and trees are intersected with passageways, bridges and gates, emphasizing China's traditional connection between house and garden, landscape and structure. Water and rock coexist in even tiny spaces, symbolizing arteries and bones of a Chinese house.

"It makes me wanna go to China," Shannon Moonui, a 22-year-old college girl living in Staten Island, said on her first visit to this place.

The garden is a dedicate work by a team of 40 Chinese artists and craftsmen, who spent a year in China creating the garden's components and another six months in Staten Island to complete the construction.

In 2016, the Chinese Scholar's Garden received about 10,000 tourists, a quarter of which belonging to education tours. For this year, the garden's administration department is projecting an increase of visitors, especially of students coming here to learn about Chinese culture.

The garden also serves as a popular place for the likes of wedding picture and film shooting, with its exotic scenery in the metropolitan area.

The philosophy of retreating to nature is shared by Chinese and Westerners alike, despite their vast cultural differences.

"One of the things we always try is to get people understand to be in touch with their senses, to be in touch of nature that is around them," said Taglianetti.

"It was to escape from your daily stress, which is something I found very key particularly in this day and age, where everything is so fast-paced and moving. You have got to step back, enjoy, relax, and be at peace here," she added.