Abstract: China is the representative of Oriental gardens. Chinese culture and thoughts have made great influence on Japanese gardening art development. Japanese garden art is closely continuous with Chinese garden art. However， due to the differences in development and human spirit， gardens in China and Japan are divergent. First of all， the article analyzed the differences in landscape characteristics of private gardens between China and Japan in the same period. Furthermore， the causes of difference were investigated that different growth conditions contribute to different garden cultures. The analysis results in this paper would play a key role in the development of modern Chinese garden art and provide some constructive ideas．

Key words: China, Japan, private garden, Ming and Qing Dynasty, Edo period, gardening art, the South of Yangtze