HUMBLE ADMINISTRATOR GARDEN

Located in the northeastern Suzhou, the Humble Administrator's

Garden is one of the four great Chinese gardens as well as the largest classical garden in Suzhou city.

The garden was established during the Ming Dynasty by Wang

Xianchen , a governor who was demoted at that time and came back to his hometown.

The garden's site was initially the residence and garden of Lu

Guimeng, a Tang Dynasty scholar. Later in the Yuan Dynasty it became monastery garden for the Dahong Temple.

It was as large as today's garden, with numerous trees and pavilions.

Design
The garden contains numerous pavilions and bridges set among a maze of connected pools and islands. It consists of three major parts set about a large lake: the central part (Zhuozheng Yuan), the eastern part (once called Guitianyuanju, Dwelling Upon Return to the Countryside), and a western part (the Supplementary Garden). In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 stelae, 21 precious old trees, and over 700 Suzhou-style penjing/penzai. Eastern Garden Composed of a few buildings around a central great lawn and pond combination. The lawn is ringed by a grove of crape myrtle trees which is an allusion to the Tang Dynasty State Secretariat which was nicknamed the Crape Myrtle Department. Central Garden This section is composed of many scenes arranged around the Surging Wave Pond.

The Master of the Nets Garden

Located in the southeastern corner of the ancient city of Suzhou, the Master-of-Nets Garden is a small size classical garden highlights its exquisite buildings, elegant landscape, and compact structure. This exquisite garden was first designed during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) as part of a residence of an official Shi Zhengzhi. During the Qianlong reign (1736-1795), the place fell into the hands of a man by the name of Song Zongyuan, who converted it into a garden and gave it the present name. .

The 5,400 m garden is divided into east and west sections. The eastern part consists of residential quarters, while the gardens are located in the western part. Eastern section is the residential area it is a linear sequence of four halls one tower and three courtyards. The western garden is an ensemble of buildings around the 334 m Rosy Cloud Pool. Plants and rocks are used to create views which represent several seasons. It also includes three side courts to the east and south.

Design

The two dominant elements of the composition are the Barrier of Cloud grotto, a cypress tree dating from the Ming Dynasty, and pine 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.

Lingering Garden
With a history of more than 400 years, the Lingering Garden is as famous as the Humble Administrator's Garden. The garden was first constructed in 1595 by Xu Taishi, vice-minister of the Court of the Imperial Study of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was named Eastern Garden. Later the garden changed hands repeatedly, and in this process, underwent renovations and expansions on many occasions. In 1876, it was renamed "Lingering Garden".

The garden covers an area of 33,000 square meters, and the architectural structures make up one third of the entire garden and divide it into the central, eastern, western and northern zones that are different from each other by corridors.

The 23,310 m2 garden is divided into four distinctly themed sections; East, Central, West, and North. The Central area is the oldest part of the garden. Buildings, the primary feature of any Chinese garden, occupy one third of the total area. A unique feature this garden is the 700 m covered walk which connects them. The ensemble of structures in the central garden encircles a pond and grotto main feature. The grotto is constructed of yellowstone granite and was created by the noted artist Zhou Binzhong. The Eastern section of the garden is arrayed around the cloud capped peak stone. A central courtyard is ringing by buildings. Behind the Old Hermit Scholars' House is the Small Court of Stone Forest, a collection of Scholar stones and connected minor courtyards. The western section is mostly natural containing only a few pavilions, a large artificial hill, and a Penzai garden.

Design

Built in the Qing Dynasty, it is recognized as a historical monument and carefully protected by the local government. The mountain villa is a classical garden mainly consisting of artificial hills, with an area of about 2,000 sq m. The artificial hills and halls make up about three fourths of the total area, and the water surface, about one fourth.

Huangxiu Mountain Villa

Rockwork encircled by a pool forms the centerpiece of the entire garden.

In the northwest of the garden stands a stonewall; in the north is the Makeup Autumn Galley; and in the northeast is the Half-Filled Pool in Autumn - Fangshan Pavilion. The main peak of the rockwork rises in the southeast; and the secondary peak stands in the northwest, with water lingering between them. The interior of the rockwork is a maze of paths, caves, running streams, stone chambers, secluded ravines and surging peaks. With its imposing form arranged in a diversity of forms, this rockwork blends perfectly with the scenes in the entire garden to evoke memory of a masterpiece of traditional Chinese landscape painting.