Location: Suzhou
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What to do and see in Suzhou, Jiangsu: The Best Gardens
Suzhou is a major city on the lower Yangtze known for its canals, bridges, pagodas, and beautiful gardens. These gardens were built and owned by wealthy families and emperors hundreds of years ago, and make for a pleasant place to wander during nice weather. Suzhou is also a major center for silk production and manufacturing, and a tour of a silk factory here provides an interesting and educational glimpse of this Chinese textile industry. Suzhou is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Restaurants in Suzhou
1. Dayangshan Botanical Garden
2. Canglang Pavilion (Blue Wave Pavilion)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 102 reviews
Reviewed By IsaacL897 - Indiana, United States
A pleasant 10 min walk straight south from Sanyuanfang metro station. (Suzhou metro is straightforward to use, and the ticket machines have an English option.) At the garden, I got the 30 yuan entrance to “both”; the other garden is literally on the other side of the ticket office itself, though that garden is less impressive, it is also charming and historic. Inevitably a lot of what you see is renovated, replanted, or repaired; yet this is a real, living 1,000 year old tradition of gardening in Suzhou, and you can just watch the Chinese visitors to appreciate the love and seriousness they bring to it. There are some stunning older trees in Surging Waves and of course there is a lot of research and attention that goes into keeping the old designs alive despite repeated wars, upheavals, or vandalism. Something this old has been reworked many times; the pavilion atop the hill was moved to that location in 1696. So even “new” developments like that become part of the rich heritage of the site. If you love Classical Chinese gardens, you will have a great time here. It is much smaller than Humble or Lingering. It is a significantly different design (giant wrap-around corridor with 108 windows, and a central hill rather than a central lake) and reflects a somewhat earlier era (Song Dynasty). There were quite a few visitors but not the crowds at Lingering, or Humble and I was seeing more the art students, serious photographers, etc. Some of the students had even brought tape measures, while others were doing elementary drawing exercises. I also got to watch two amateur painters at work with their brushes, and amusingly, a teenage Instagram-type personality with her entourage of semi-pro photographers, posing away. Excellent light and play of sunset/shadows in the “golden hour” late in the afternoon; if you don’t experience that in this garden, try to time your visit to another classical garden to see what sunset does to Suzhou’s whitewashed garden walls. Please be careful to exit exactly the same way you came in! I was hoping to head east toward the Master of the Nets Garden more directly, but wound up in a sort of dead end in a large facility with a parking lot and security gates, I only at the last moment saw on my map app that I had wandered into the grounds of a hospital operated by the People’s Liberation Army.
3. Master-of-Nets Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 571 reviews
Reviewed By colleeno412
A beautiful residential garden that is a UNESCO World heritage site. An example of gardens from the song Dynasty. Wonderful architecture and art Visitors have been exploring these gardens since 1140
4. The Lingering Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 838 reviews
A Brief Description of the Lingering Garden Located at the outer side of the Chang Gate and built in the 21st year of the reign of Wanli under the Ming Dynasty (AD 1593), the Lingering Garden is reputed to be one of the four most famous gardens of China. In 1961 it was listed from the very first as cultural relics of national importance. Since 1997 it has been inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List. The Lingering Garden, covering 23,310 sq.m., is divided into the middle, eastern, western and northern parts. The middle part features fascinating landscapes and waterscapes. The eastern part is noted for its architectural beauties and limestone rockeries. The northern part is famed for its beautiful bonsai garden. And the western part boasts the mountain forest scenery and the delights of wilderness. Celebrated for its superb handling of architectural space and spatial relations, the Lingering Garden serves as a fine specimen of ancient Chinese garden and landscape design and reputably tops all the well-known gardens in Suzhou. The Lingering Garden provides English tour guide for free every hour since 2017. You can also choose to pay for a professional English guide with different guiding route or a guiding machine. Hope that during your short stay here, you can not only satisfy your eyes, but also experience the real Chinese culture and have a better understanding of our philosophy.
Reviewed By BillPNo1 - Friendswood, United States
On our entire trip to China, The Lingering Gardens at Suzhou, was one of the most memorable places we visited. The extent of the Lingering Gardens is difficult to describe. The Gardens, seemingly, went on and on and there was another lovely fascinating sight around each corner of the winding paths. Meticulously groomed, cleaned (constantly) and maintained, the whole Gardens were beautiful, whether you were looking at rock gardens, winding paths, ponds or fish pools, little bridges, or flowering plants, trees, and shrubs! How could so many things still be in bloom in November? I think my favorite things were the extensive bonzai tree collection in their area. All old (ancient?) and perfectly groomed, they seemed like silent sentinels of the past left for us to view and appreciate now in modern times. Even the bathrooms were works of art and the finest examples of WC's that we saw anywhere during our trip! The entire group decided that the Lingering Gardens WC's were Five-Star! DO NOT miss a visit to the Lingering Gardens if you are anywhere in the area. They are exquisite and I wish that we had several days to more fully explore the Gardens than the too short time that our group tour schedule allowed. The Lingering Gardens was definitely as high as the Great Wall and Terra Cotta Warriors in my esteem!
5. Humble Administrator's Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,321 reviews
Reviewed By MattwalesNorthWales - Chengdu, China
This is one of the four most important gardens in China. Perfectly preserved and well maintained. Shows off the ancient Chinese fixation with stone formations and meaning. Great use of water with crisscrossing pathways shaded vantage points and focus on colour. Lovely collection of mature bonsais and plenty of opportunities to relax and unwind in a tranquil space despite the number of people. A highly recommended way to spend a couple of hours.
6. Lion Forest Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 764 reviews
Reviewed By michaelh818 - Grassau, Germany
We spend an entire morning in the Lion garden and it was absolutely amazing. Our guide made the visut something truely special.... we could almost feel the history.
7. Ouyuan Garden
8. Jiayin Hall
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 5 reviews
