Suzhou Things to Do

The Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan) is the largest of Suzhou's classical gardens, and one of its finest. It was established in the 16th century by Wang Xianchen, a retired magistrate. Divided into three sections, it is the central portion that is the prettiest and most popular. Here, the dominating feature is water, with an expansive section dating from the Ming era and a more intimate section dating from the Qing era. The lakes are surrounded by pavilions and halls, and are dotted with islets. Like all Chinese classical gardens, the Garden is meant to be appreciated as a series of "views". The most famous of these, the view west from the "Secluded Pavilion of Firmiana Simplex and Bamboo" is the "borrowed" view of North Temple Pagoda, seen in the distance beyond the lotus plants and willow trees. Get in line here for photography if you wish to take a picture! The western portion of the Garden houses a "penjing" nursery - "penjing" is the precursor to Japanese bonsai. There is also a small Garden Museum.

Admission price is RMB70. Opening hours are 0800 to 1730 daily.

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Humble Administrator's Garden, covering about 13 acres, is the largest and most renowned garden in the area. If you do not too much time this is one garden to visit. Try head there early in the morning before the crowd and tour buses get there.

Traidtional Chinese bridges and other buildings are all truly wonders of architecture. These were built decades ago, without the use of nails. In fact, using nails in construction was an alien concept to the Chinese, and nails were known as "yang ding" ("yang" means western). The arc bridges built by the Chinese all made use of Physics theories to support the structure and load.

The picture here shows the Wumen Bridge, one of the highest arc bridges in Suzhou.

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While my wife was looking for a wedding dress, I went to visit this parc with the temple and pagoda by myself. I just wandered around a bit, and I totally didn't know anything about the history of the place, but it was quite relaxing. Apparently the pagoda is also called China's leaning tower of Pisa, although it's much older than the Italian tower.

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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.

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Tuisi Yuan was the first of the attractions that I visited while touring Tongli. It is a rather small garden built in 1886 by a dismissed official who used the garden as a place of meditation. The garden is divided into three sections that include a large pond courtyard that is surrounded by pavilions, zigzaging walkways, large trees and of course, rocks. One section was also a mansion for the family of the official. The interior of it includes a main hall and a tea hall. Because of the manner the trees and pavilions are situated around the pond, that garden seems larger than it is. Tuisi is in fact rather small and for this reason very crowded. Out of all the attractions in Tongli, this is the one most saturated with tourists. Still I liked it but you have to use your imagination if you can figure out how someone is suppose to meditate with all these people crowding you.

The Ruiguang Ta is one of the few worthy attractions that you might find while touring the Pan Men Gate Scenic Area. It is a 37m high pagoda, dating from 1113. For Y6 you can climb up to the top of the pagoda. Just remember you might find yourself twisting and bending a lot at the top to make it through the stairwell. The views of the Pan Men Gate Scenic Area and the surrounding area are very good.

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The Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest and most famous of the classical gardens of Suzhou. It was laid out in 1513 and is most remarkable for its fascinating use of water ponds. Basically half the whole garden complex is centred around a series of large ponds that filled with goldfish and ducks. Between the ponds are a cluster of islands, some with charming pavilions on them. The most famous of these pavilions is the Hall of Distant Fragrances which is named after the large lotus pond that is nearby. The hall is filled with porcelain vases and antique furniture. The islands themselves are connected by wooden bridges. Then of course there are the large rock sculptures that pop up in every classical garden in China. Here they are less noteworthy. The eastern half of the garden is more resembling of a Western garden has it is filled with large open spaces and flowers.
Admission to the Humble Administrator's Garden is Y45 and it is open from 7:30am to 5:30pm.