The Classical Gardens of Suzhou

“At sunrise riverside flowers more red than fire, In spring green river waves grow as blue as sapphire.” This is a beautiful poetry that portrays the fair scenery of southern China in spring. And it is no exaggeration to say that you can just find the same picturesque scenery in any of these classical gardens of Suzhou.

Nine most representative Suzhou gardens, namely the Humble Administrator’s Garden, Lingering Garden, Net Master’s Garden, the Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty, the Canglang Pavilion, the Lion Grove Garden, the Garden of Cultivation, the Couple’s Garden Retreat, and the Retreat & Reflection Garden, are regarded as the finest embodiments of Chinese “Mountain and Water” gardens. With meticulous design, they succeed in recreating natural landscape in miniature. Besides natural beauty, the profound Chinese history and culture are also inlaid in the gardens. It is said that every brick and stone in the classical gardens of Suzhou are telling the happiness, pity and sorrow in the long history and the highlights of Chinese culture.