Classical Gardens of Suzhou

Classical Gardens of Suzhou

Four Classical Gardens in Suzhou

Suzhou is China's well-known "city of gardens", which tops all others in both the number and the artistry of gardens. Dating from Pi Jiang Garden of the Eastern Jing Dynasty,Suzhou's art of gardening has undergone a history of 1, 500 years. There were once over 200 gardens in the city,and 69 of them are still in good preservation today. The concept of Suzhou classical gardens has gone beyond the city limits,since it generally refers to all those private gardens built in the regions south of the Yangtze.

The Suzhou garden originated from the desire to retire from the strife of officialdom and to shun from worldly affairs. It seeks the return to Nature and the cultivation of temperament. In Taoist philosophy and the refinement of culture underlies the theme of the garden. Hills and waters,flowers and trees,pavilion, terraces,towers and halls constitute the basic garden elements,while the prominent tone is expressed in the dark colour of roof tiles,the grey of bricks,and chestnut brown of wooden pillars.

Local chronicles reveal that during its heyday, Suzhou city held nearly 200 gardens, topping the whole nation. Suzhou gardens have their own characteristics in layout, structure and style.The Four Classical Gardens in Suzhou, i.e.The Surging Waves Pavilion, The Lion Grove Garden, The Humble Administrator's Gardenand The Lingering Garden represent the different styles of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Surging Waves Pavilion 

The garden is the oldest of the existing Suzhou classical gardens.

Location: No. 3 Canglangting Street (cāng làng tíng jiē 沧浪亭街), Suzhou City

Admission fee: RMB 15 (Oct. 31 – April 15)
                       RMB 20 (Apr. 16 – Oct. 30)

Transportation: you can take tourist bus Line 2, 4, and 5, and bus No. 1, 39, 101, 102, 103, 308, and 309 to get there

The Lion Grove Garden

The Garden is particularly well-known for the great quantities of its Taihu rocks that form an intriguing maze of mountain paths and varied scenes.

Address:  No. 23 Yuanlin Road, Suzhou

Admission Fee: CNY 40

Bus Route: Take bus no. 529, 811 or Tourism Bus No.1 & 5, and then get off at Suzhou Museum Station

The Humble Administrator's Garden

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. 

Address: No.178 Northeast Road, Pingjiang District, Suzhou 215001, China

Admission Fee: CNY 70/90

Bus Route: take bus no. 40 or 313 and get off at Beiyuanlu Station

 

The Lingering Garden

The whole space is artfully and appropriately handled,and arranged with exquisite petty scales. It is a typical garden of the Ming period with elegance and exquisiteness in the southern Yangtze Valley.

Addr: No.338, Liuyuan Road, Suzhou,Jiangsu,China

Admission Fee: CNY 45/55

Bus Route: Take bus no. 34, 44, 45, 85, 161, 311, 406, 933, 949, or Tourism Bus No. 1 and then get off at Liuyuan Station