Suzhou Garden of Master Nets, Jiangsu China

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Garden of Master Nets

The Garden of Master Nets at southeast part of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province is the smallest but the best designed garden covering an area of 0.53 hectare.

It was rebuilt and named Wangshi Garden (the Garden of Master Nets) in Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796A.D.) of Ch'ing Dynasty. The name of garden, Wangshi means fisherman.

The garden of Master Nets is a famous garden in Suzhou. It is the masterpiece of gardens in South China, small but well designed.

The Garden of Master Nets presents the living standard of middle class officials in ancient China. Stones on both sides of main gate, the sunflower design on the gate show the social status of this family. From south to north, are Jiao hall, main hall, and inner hall, three main buildings in garden.

Walking to the center of the garden, there are two parts of structure. The south part is courtyard combining residential area and banquet hall. The north part mainly is the pavilion or study area, place for reading books or appreciating paintings. You can overlook the fantastic scenery from the pavilion and enjoy yourself, lakes, flowers, trees, and hills.

A garden within a gardens, scenery inside scenery, this is the world well-known Dianchun Pavilion at west part of Garden of Master Nets. Did you know Dianchun Pavilion got its world's fame since 1929? There was a Chinese style garden named Ming Xuan displayed in New York Metropolis Art Museum, which imitated Dianchun Pavilion.

The Garden of Master Nets was the former Wanjuan Hall (has collection for more than 10,000 books), the personal library of Shi Zhengzhi in Song Dynasty (960-1279A.D.). It was rebuilt during Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796A.D.), Ch'ing Dynasty. The garden contains hills, ponds, and halls, Jiao hall, main hall, and inner hall. The main gate of the garden is at the north part.

Some famous scenic spots are as following:

Jiao Hall: another name is Jishan Hall, which means to do good deeds. In front of the hall, is a brick arch, decorated the stories of General Guo Ziyi in Tang Dynasty (618-907A.D.) and Emperor Zhou persuading Jiang Ziya in East Zhou Dynasty (770B.C.-256B.C.). The arch is designed with Chinese character Shou ( means long life).You can overlook the sights of Suzhou from the inner hall.

Tiyun hall: is at the north part of Garden of Master Nets, famous for its caving.

Small Mountains and Bay trees Hall: it gets the name from a sentence in Chuci (a book) and the poem by Yuxin in Northern Dynasties (386-550A.D.).

Guan Yin Shui Pavilion: You can have a rest and watch the fish.

Jiaofeng Corridor: a winding corridor near Guan Yin Shui Pavilion. The name comes from the poems by poets Song Zhijian and Du Mu in Tang Dynasty (618-917A.D.).

"Don't worry coming so late at sunset,
Accompanying with the night wind"

And

"Poet Tao Yuanming drank bottom up after not being an official,
The flowers spread here and there by the wind outside.'

Moon Pavilion: Going north the Jiaofeng Corridor, you come to Moon Pavilion. It gets the name from famous writer Han Yu in Tang Dynasty:

"Autumn is coming with the evening sight,
Moon hangs up the sky following the wind."

Bamboo Pavilion: It comes from the poem by great poet Su Shi in Song Dynasty (960-1276A.D.)