Classical Gardens of Suzhou

When people enter the city of Suzhou, they immediately feel the ancient atmosphere. The well-preserved city walls, the imposing land and water gates, the multi-story ancient pagodas—all stir the imagination of the visitors.

Suzhou, on the shore of Lake Taihu in southeastern Jiangsu Province, is a city of historical and cultural renown. Suzhou's history goes back more than 2,500 years, to the time when King He Lu of Wu State founded the city as his capital in 514 B.C.

In ancient times, Suzhou was a prosperous city and a favorite meeting place of traveling merchants. Today, the features of the old city remain unchanged: streams run here and there, pavements and canals run parallel, and the houses are built on the waterside, with streets in front and canals navigable by small boats behind. The streets ring with joyous laughter and the cries of peddlers. The city of Suzhou is a harmonious blending of the modern and the traditional.

Suzhou is especially well known for its classical gardens. According to an old saying, the landscaped gardens in south China are unequaled throughout the country, and the best ones in South China are in Suzhou.

The construction of gardens in Suzhou dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476B.C.), when the king of Wu State built a royal garden here. Among the private gardens in Suzhou, the earliest in the historical records is the Pijiang (Territory-Expander's) Garden, built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). The construction of gardens thrived in successive dynasties, especially during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, when Suzhou was a center of commerce and culture. During that period, Suzhou had more than 200 gardens, dozens of which are still preserved in good condition. With delicately designed classical gardens scattered all over the city and suburbs, Suzhou has been called a Paradise on Earth.

Among the classical gardens in Suzhou, Zhuozhengyuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), Liuyuan (Everlasting Garden), Wangshiyuan (Fisherman's Garden), and Huanxiu (Embraced by Beauty) Mountain Villa are typical examples. These gardens are noted for their exquisite design, superb artistry, and cultural atmosphere.

The Humble Administrator's Garden, once privately owned by Wang Xianchen, an imperial official of the Ming Dynasty, is typical of the large classical gardens. It centers around a pool of water, with a clear-cut and balanced layout. Pavilions and islets are linked by bridges and a winding corridor.

The Everlasting Garden features compactly arranged and exquisitely decorated buildings forming a harmonious whole, subdivided into rows of courtyards of different sizes.

The Fisherman's Garden is small in size, covering 1.5 acres (6,075 square meters), but is beautiful and well proportioned.

The Huanxiu Mountain Villa is famous for its rockery, which looks like a hill of rocks outside but has many miniature caves.

The art of Chinese gardening has long been associated with Chinese literature and painting. Influenced by the landscape paintings of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, the gardeners of Suzhou integrated landscaping, culture, and art.

The gardens in Suzhou have a strong cultural flavor. The names of the halls, the horizontal inscribed boards, the couplets, the calligraphy, the carvings, and the decorations not only embellish the gardens, but also serve as extensive historical and cultural records. The gardens house works by celebrated Chinese calligraphers through the ages. These works of calligraphy are precious art works of great value in academic research.

Formerly, the classical gardens in Suzhou provided places not only for sightseeing but also for dwelling. In a densely populated city like Suzhou, with few natural landscapes, the gardens are a creation of human beings and reflect people's love of nature and their desire for beauty in their lives.

The classical gardens in Suzhou were constructed when the economy and culture of the area were flourishing. They represent the national characteristics and artistic attainments of ancient Chinese gardening. Since the gardens are small, various devices of composition, such as contrast, setting off, scale, structural gradation, and harmony with the surrounding scenery, were adopted. Pavilions were combined with terraces, waters, rockeries, flowers, and trees, providing miniature landscapes in the gardens. Because of the excellent integration of the beauty of nature, architecture, and artificial landscaping, the gardens occupy an important position in the history of gardening of China and the rest of the world.

In 1997, the classical gardens in Suzhou were included in the List of World Heritages by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).