Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozhengyuan Garden)

Located in the northeastern section of the city, Humble Administrator's Garden is a typical example of the art of horticulture south of Yangtze River as well as a treasure house containing arts of architecture, calligraphy, carving, painting, and bonsai.

Built at the time of Ming Dynasty by an imperial censor, Wang Xianchen, who had just resigned his post, the garden was thus named by its creator as an ironic lament on the fact that he could now administrate nothing but gardening. Much of the largest of the Suzhou gardens, covering four hectares, the garden is based on water and set out in three linked sections: the eastern part (inside the entrance) consists of a small lotus pond and pavilions; the center is largely water, with two small islands connected by zigzagging bridges; while the western part has unusually open green spaces.

The Garden of the Master of the Nets is considered by garden connoisseurs the most exquisite and the best-preserved garden of all the old residential gardens in Suzhou, which was laid out in the 12^th century, abandoned, then restored in the 18^th century as part of the residence of a retired official. Story goes like that the official was heard one day to proclaim he had had enough of bureaucracy and wanted to be a fisherman instead. With an attractive central pond, minuscule-connecting halls and pavilions with pocket-handkerchief courtyard and carved wooden doors, the garden¡¯s main features are its delicate latticework and fretted windows through which you can catch a series of glimpses Ca glimmer of bamboo, dark interiors, water and a miniature rockery framed in the three windows of a study. 

Extending over an area of three hectares, the garden ranks as one of the famous four gardens in China (the other three are the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Mountain Resort of Chengde, and the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou).

The park dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In the garden, a 700m-covered walkway connects the major scenic spots. The walkway is inlaid with over 300 stone tablets engraved by celebrated masters. Just outside Yuanyang Hall is a 6.5-meter-high Taihu stone; well known for its beautifully formed veins and weird holes on it, which is believed to have been left behind by the imperial collector of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Located in the northeast section of Suzhou city, the garden was constructed in 1342 by the monk Tian Ru and other disciples, as a memorial to their master-Zhong Feng. The Lion Grove was reputed to be the "Kingdom of Rockery" for centuries. Covering nearly half of the total area of the garden, these rockworks, made of Taihu limestone (a kind of limestone obtained from Lake Taihu), were ingeniously piled up in layers to form peaks, crags, valleys and caverns. Some of the rockeries formation evokes different leonine forms; this is what the garden is named after.

The sword-testing stone is of great interest, which has a crack in the middle. It is said to be split by He Lu, who tested all his swords on the stone. According to legend, the king was buried with 3,000 swords; 1,000 builders were killed after building the tomb so that the secret of the swords would not be revealed.

Built in the 10^th century, the leaning Tiger Hill Pagoda stands atop. The octagonal seven-storey pagoda is entirely made of bricks, an innovation in Chinese architecture at the time. The pagoda began tilting over 400 years ago, and today the highest point is displaced over 2m from its original position.

Located in Maple Bridge town in the west outskirts of Suzhou, the temple was named after the poet-mond Han Shan, who lived in the 7^th century. It used to be one of the ten most famous temples in China. The poem of "A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge" by Zhang Ji, a famous poet of the Tang dynasty, is so oft-quoted and widely loved that the poetic rhyme and the bell-tolling sounds have made the Hanshan Temple celebrated at home and abroad. "Moon sets, crows cry and frost fills all the sky; By maples and boat lights, I sleepless lie. Outside Suzhou Hanshan Temple is in sight; Its ringing bells reach my boat at midnight." - By Zhangji

It is the oldest of the surviving gardens, originally built in the Song Dynasty by a scholar-Su Shunqing, around 1044 A.D. There is no enclosing wall on the northern side and the garden was supposed to ¡borrow¡ features from outside, which then became integral parts of the overall effect. Inside the garden, the central mound is designed to look like a forested hill. Enlightened Way Hall is said to have been a site for delivery of lectures during the Ming Dynasty.

23km from Suzhou, is the little town of Tongli, a superb example of a town built on water-every house backs on to rivers and canals, there are 49 stone bridges and nearly all movement takes place by boat.

The surface of the town is in the shape of a rough circle, surrounded by the inner, middle and outer rivers. It is divided into 7 pieces of land with different sizes, with the water area occupying one-fifth of the total town area. In the town streets two rivers run parallel to each other. Some people would like to nickname it ¡Oriental Venice¡.

Zhouzhuang is located between the cities Shanghai and Suzhou, well known for it's beautiful environment and architecture. Like a lotus on the water the town is surrounded and bisected by rivers. Walking by the waterside, along a road, or over a bridge, the peace of the calm water and clear sky creates a harmonious setting, affording a simple, leisurely life for the residents.

The town has stood up well through 900 years, and remains as it was so long ago. The typical style and features of the water town and even its inhabitants" way of life remains unchanged.

In 1984, an oil painting inspired by Zhouzhuang won critical acclaim in the United States. Armand Hammer, chairman the board of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation of the United States, bought the painting- Remembrance of My Hometown by Chen Yifei, and presented it to Deng Xiaoping on a visit to China. Afterwards, the world became aware of the beauty of Zhouzhuang, and the town became a tourist attraction.