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Entrance
I like this design
Suzhou City
Ou YuanThe Humble Administrator's Garden
The Humble Administrator's Garden was first created in 1513AD, on the site of a former monastery.
The middle section is the only part which is truly in the southern China garden style, as the western part has been extensively remodelled and has strong Japanese influence, while the eastern part fell into disrepair and was only returned to being a garden in recent decades - and so looks more like a suburban park.
In the central area there is a good museum of garden history although it is really a museum of Suzhou garden history and focuses on the Humble Administrator's Garden.
For me, the star attraction must be the "36 Pairs of Mandarin Ducks Hall" with its beautiful views through the blue and plain chequered glass.
The Humble Administrator's Garden is always busy, but the day I visited it was raining heavily and the flag-following groups kept moving fast, so there were spells when sections of the garden were quiet and undisturbed.
