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Suzhou Images 12 images Created 17 Apr 2012

Suzhou is famed for its beautiful Chinese gardens and traditional waterside architecture. The Classical Gardens of Suzhou were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. In its many beautiful gardens Suzhou's ancient heritage has been preserved. The city has long been a heaven for scholars, artists, and skilled craftsmen and this is still the case today.
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  • The Humble Administrator's Garden or Zhouzheng Yuan is considered to be the finest garden in southern China.  In 1997, along with other classical gardens of Suzhou was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden's site was initially the residence and garden of Lu Guimeng, a Tang Dynasty scholar. Later it became monastery garden for the Dahong Temple. In 1513 CE, Wang Xiancheng an Imperial Envoy and poet of the Ming Dynasty took over the temple when he retired to his native home of Suzhou after long service in the East Imperial Secret Service, and began work on the garden. This garden was designed in collaboration with the renowned artist Wen Zhengming.  The garden was named after a verse by Pan Yue's Idler's Prose, "I enjoy a carefree life by planting trees and building my own house...I irrigate my garden and grow vegetables for me to eat...such a life suits a retired official like me well." This verse symbolized Wang's desire to retire from politics and adopt a hermits life.
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  • Chinese Window at the Great Wave Pavilion, or Surging Waves Garden which was built by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqing. Surging Waves is the oldest of the UNESCO listed gardens in Suzhou and has kept its original layout. The name was taken from a verse in the poem "Fishermen" by Qu Yuan in his book Songs of the South: "If the Canglang River is dirty I wash my muddy feet - If the Canglang River is clean I wash my ribbon".  In 1955 the garden was opened to the public and in 2000 it was listed by UNESCO as world cultural heritage.
    surging-waves-garden-2.jpg
  • The Master of the Nets Garden is among the finest gardens in Suzhou and recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden demonstrates Chinese gardening skills blending art, nature and architecture to create unique masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is regarded among garden connoisseurs for having mastered the techniques of contrast, sequence, relative dimension and depth. The two dominant elements of the composition are the Barrier of Cloud grotto, a cypress tree dating from the Ming Dynasty and a pine tree several centuries old. The areas to the south of the Rosy Cloud Pool were used for social activities and the areas to the north were used for intellectual activities.
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  • The Master of the Nets Garden is among the finest gardens in Suzhou. It is recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden demonstrates Chinese garden designers' skills for blending art, nature and architecture to create unique masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, sequence and depth. The eastern part consists of residential quarters while the gardens are located in the western part. Plants and rocks are used to create views which represent several seasons. It also includes three side courts to the east and south. The two dominant elements of the composition are the Barrier of Cloud grotto, a cypress tree dating from the Ming Dynasty, and a pine tree several centuries old. The areas to the south of the Rosy Cloud Pool were used for social activities and the areas to the north were used for intellectual activities. The buildings are laid out in a style called close to the water which is used to give the Rosy Clouds Pool the illusion of great size. Small buildings are set on rocks or piers directly over the water surface while large buildings are separated from the pool planted with trees to obscure their size.
    master-of-nets-garden-1.jpg
  • The Couple's Retreat Garden is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The original garden was built by Lu Jin, prefect of Baoning district and was purchased by Shen Bingcheng, the magistrate of Susong. who rebuilt it in its current form and also changed the name to the Couple's Garden Retreat. The name refers to the garden's two parts and alludes to a couple:  a cowboy and weaver girl. The garden is divided into an east and west section by the residential core in the middle - an unusual composition for a classical garden. The eccentric design is continued in the form and details of many of the garden buildings especially the Taosim Tower. The West garden is composed of several structures grouped around a small grotto. East Garden is the main garden of the complex. It consists of a grotto and pond ringed by a covered walkway that connects the structures to each other.
    couples-retreat-garden-1.jpg
  • Within the city of Suzhou, there are areas featuring canals. Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of the East" or "Venice of China" because of its many canals.  Both eight hundred-year-old Pingjiang Road and twelve hundred-year-old Shantang Road made it to the list of China's "famous history and culture streets", and both feature elegant bridges, flowing waters and unique architecture.
    suzhou-canal-1.jpg
  • Ping Jiang Road -a  beautiful walk along an ancient road paved with hand cut stones over a thousand years old. It is lined with shops maintaining traditional architectural styles.  If you get further north on this road, but south of the museum area, the shops eventually run out and it just becomes a quiet neighbourhood again. This may be the best part of Pingjiang of all.
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  • The Great Wave Pavilion, often called Surging Waves Garden, was built in 1044 by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqing on the site of a preexisting imperial garden. It is the oldest of the UNESCO listed gardens in Suzhou, keeping its original Song Dynasty layout.The name is derived from a verse in the poem Fishermen by Qu Yuan in his book Songs of the South, "If the Canglang River is dirty I wash my muddy feet - If the Canglang River is clean I wash my ribbon". This verse alludes to an honest official who removes himself from politics rather than act in a corrupt manner. Su Shunqing choose this to express his feelings after his removal from office.  After his death the garden passed through many owners and fell into disuse until it was restored by Song Luo, governor of Jiangsu Province.  In 1955 the garden was opened to the public and in 2000 it was added to the UNESCO world cultural heritage monuments.
    surging-waves-garden-7.jpg
  • The Surging Waves Garden,  often called Great Wave Pavilion, was built by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqing on the site of an existing imperial garden. It is the oldest of the UNESCO gardens in Suzhou, keeping its original Song Dynasty layout. The name is derived from a verse in the poem Fishermen by Qu Yuan in his book Songs of the South, "If the Canglang River is dirty I wash my muddy feet - If the Canglang River is clean I wash my ribbon".  This verse alludes to an official who removes himself from politics rather than act in a corrupt manner.  After his death the garden passed through many owners and fell into disuse until it was restored by the governor of Jiangsu Province.  In 1955 the garden was opened to the public and in 2000 it was added by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage monument.
    surging-waves-garden-11.jpg
  • Shan Tang Street  is a 1,500 year old street lining one of Suzhous many canals, connecting the ancient Stone Road Shi Lu, in the old city center, to Tiger Hill Hu Qiu. The 7 Chinese mile road is very picturesque with many of the buildings along the canal having been refurbished and brought back to what they looked like when new. The boats you see take tourist for slow canal rides; this type of canals have given Suzhou the name of the Venice of the Far East..
    shantang-suzhou-4.jpg
  • The Humble Administrator Garden is considered to be the finest garden in  south China.  The garden's site was initially the residence and garden of Lu Guimeng who was a Tang Dynasty scholar. Later it became part of the Dahong Temple. Wang Xiancheng took possession of the temple and began work on the garden in collaboration with the renowned artist Wen Zhengming. The garden symbolized Wang's desire to retire from politics and adopt a secluded hermit life.
    humble-administrator-01.jpg