Suzhou, the city of Gardens and Canals

Suzhou is located in the center of the Yangtze Delta, in the south of Jiangsu Province, with Shanghai to the east, Zhejiang Province to the south, Wuxi City to the west and the Yangtze River to the north. Since 42% area of the city is covered by water, including a vast number of ponds and streams, Suzhou is praised as the "Oriental Venice". Taihu Lake, four fifths of which is in the territory of Suzhou, is one of the four largest fresh lakes in China, with East Hill, West Hill and other scenic spots in its vicinity. The city is cut by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal from north to south. Together with its mild climate, making it an available destination all year round, fertile landscape and abundance of produce, it is no wonder that Suzhou is called 'paradise on earth'.

Built in 514 BC, Suzhou is an ancient city with a 2500 years' history. The unique characteristics of the past are still retained in present-day Suzhou. The double-chessboard layout of Suzhou, with 'the streets and rivers go side by side while the water and land routes run in parallel', are preserved basically intact. Strolling the streets, you can feel the unique lingering charm of this landscape left by its long history.
As the saying goes -"Gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best among them". These gardens attain their high reputation not only for their vast numbers, but also for their charming natural beauty and harmonious construction. At present more than 60 gardens are kept intact in Suzhou, and a series of them have been listed in the World Heritage List, including the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, the Garden of Master of Nets and the Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty.

Famous for its numerous gardens and canals, Suzhou is one of the first stops for travelers coming through Shanghai. The city boasts waterfalls flowing into small lakes of lotus flowers, mountains famous for its rock formations, and lush ornamental gardens and bamboo forests

In general, the gardens are comprised of two parts - a residential section and a garden. In order to replicate a natural environment on a miniature scale but to be full of life, pavilions, ponds, bridges, rockeries, stones and fragrant flowers are added to the gardens. The artistic layout is combined perfectly with Chinese philosophy and ideology to exhibit an architectural culture of the Orient. In a small plot each component is designed delicately and arranged orderly by the accomplished gardeners to show their creativity. Lyric pictures and poems are reflected in the themes of the gardens to evoke mountains and natural springs requiring the visitor only to observe the seasonal change of plants and water. Strolling in the garden, visitors experience an elegant cultural aura which has almost disappeared from modern life. Steles and parallel couplets of halls or names of rooms sometimes show the masters' aspirations, interests, and ideals or followings of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian thoughts or philosophy. Using unique skills combining architecture with the surrounding scenery, artisans created gardens that are tranquil havens away from the world's turmoil. Very often tourists think they have reached the last building of a garden, only to discover another harmonious landscape when they pass through the room and along a zigzag corridor. Each door and window of the rooms is decorated with carvings. Looking through the incised window of a garden, a lush green waterscape unfolds itself before your eyes while a babbling stream mirrors singing birds on a stone bridge. When a pavement winds along mountain ridges, visitors will see a different view. In the living rooms, the rosewood furniture is simple but very elegant. Valuable works of calligraphy and paintings are displayed. Residential rooms are usually decorated with Suzhou-styled bonsais and parallel couplets. The classical gardens, as assemblies of residences and gardens, demonstrate the living habits and etiquette of ancient Chinese peoples of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Classical gardens of Suzhou are the cultural and the artistic essence of folk architecture in China. This can only be appreciated by visiting them, and thus to understand why Suzhou is called 'Paradise on Earth'.

Tourist Spots: The Gardens

Lake Taihu

The lake covers an area of 2420 square kilometres. Mists and waves which stretch far into distance over the lake have made the lake a scenic area known at home and abroad.

Tiger Hill

Generally considered the No.1 historical monument in the Wu region, the hill has been the favourite place for poets, writers and painters in various times The hill is of moderate height but has large number of historical relics.The 1000-year-old leaning pagoda atop is looked upon as the landmark of Suzhou.

The West Garden Temple

It is a temple with neat arrangement and magnificent halls. The clay statues displayed in the hall of 500 Buddhist Arhats are lifelike with different facial expressions. The Life-Sparing Pond and the backyard in the western part of the temple make a typical landscape garden in the southern Yangtse Valley.

Classical gardens of Suzhou:

Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuo Zhengyuan)

First laid out in 1509AD, the garden's scenery is focused on a central pond with various buildings of pavilions, terraces, chambers and towers located by the water or on hillocks in a natural, unsophisticated, and appropriate composition.

The Lingering Garden

Covered corridors are the essence of the entire garden. With pavilions, terraces, grotesque rocks, clear streams and rare vegetations, the corridors are able to separate the garden into several courtyards with distinct styles. The scenery of gardens within a garden is really attractive and makes tourists linger in this renowned Jiangnan Garden

Canglang Pavilion ( Blue Wave Pavilion )

This garden of Suzhou is the oldest one among those, which are preserved to this day and occupies an area of 1.1 hectares. In the North Song Dynasty (1044 A.D.) the poet Su Shunqin was demoted and forced to move to Suzhou . For enjoying the clearness and quietness of the water-surrounded high place, he purchased it at a price of 40,000 qian and built a pavilion by the water. The name of the pavilion is taken from the lyric "Be the surging wave clean, it washes my hat. Be the surging wave dirty, it washes my feet."

Shizilin (Lion Grove Garden)

Locating in the northeast part of Suzhou city, the garden occupies an area of 1.1 hectares out of which 0.88 hectares is the open part. Viewing from above, the garden appears to be a rectangle, slightly wider on the east-west direction. Within the around tall walls, the twisted corridors encircle the entire garden, forming a well-protected house to live in. The layout of the garden is delicate with rockery and chambers, bridges and pavilions, flowers and plants. Centered on the central pond, the garden is like a tiny but elaborate mountain forest.

The Master-of-Nets Garden

One of the four renowned gardens and a piece of representative work of Suzhou gardens, the artistic characteristics and the cultural values of the Master Shelter”. Its present layout, as well as the present name, has not come into being until the Qing Dynasty while Emperor Qianlong was ruling the country (around 1965A.D.)
of Nets Garden are superb.

The garden is first constructed in the Song Dynasty (1174 A.D.) with an original name "Fisher's Being a typical private garden, which combines residence and garden into on unit and the representative work of Suzhou gardens of modest size, Master of Nets Garden is characterized with its water scenes, its perfect proportions and its exquisite design.

Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty

Being the site of former residence of five Guangling Emperors, the villa is of modest size, covering an area of 0.1 hectares. The large part of mountains and several scattered ponds well demonstrate the essence of Suzhou gardening.