Marriott Suzhou Hotel

The Forest of the Lions Garden

by Paul2001

The Forest of the Lions Garden may have been my favourite of the classical gardens that I visited in the Suzhou region. I pondered why after I exited the complex and I have since decided that it was because I really liked the rocks. Yes those rocks were beginning to grow on me. The rocks at the Forest of the Lions Garden are huge and they are filled with little passageways that can be explored. I felt like a little boy again. Personally I just felt that this garden seemed much more interesting in the way of pavilions, rocks and the way everything is gathered around the large pond.
The Forest of the Lions Garden was built in 1342 by Buddhist monks. It consists of 21 pavilions in all and comes across as something of a maze. Like all Chinese classical gardens, it is sectioned off into a series of courtyards filled with ponds and rockeries. The rockeries you find here are indeed the largest that you will find in Suzhou. All though there are suppose to be more than one, there is a particular rock that does look something like a lion. It is pictured in one of my photographs here. I had to be very patient in getting an image of the rock without someone climbing all over it.
The Forest of the Lions Garden is open from 7:30am to 5pm. Admission is Y15.

Suzhou's garden

by tenluk

"Humble Administrator's Garden"

Pinyin for the Humble Administrator's garden in Chinese is Zhouzhengyuan.
Suzhou is one of the China's premier attractions, fabled for its canals and traditional gardens. Before I never have any inspiration about the Chinese garden even I ever visited Yuyuan garden in Shanghai. But this time I really realized that Chinese garden is absolutely very very great , aims to inspire a meditative mood and make us want to stay longer in this beautiful place. Due to time limit, it was pity that I was only can see this garden only which is the biggest one in Suzhou.Entry fee RMB 70