Suzhou Garden of the Humble Administrator, China

> China Travel Tour Guide > Attractions

Garden of the Humble Administrator

The Garden of the Humble Administrator is located at Dongbei Street in Suzhou City. Occupying an area of more than 60 mu ("1 mu = 0.16 acre"), it is the largest and the most famous garden in Suzhou. It also represents the gardening style of the south Yangtze River.

The layout of "water" characterized the Humble Administrator Garden, because a pond takes up 3/5 of the whole garden. You will come across the pond almost everywhere you walk, while you are walking in the garden.

At first, the layout of the garden was the pond lies in the center of the garden, and all architectures surrounding the pond. The mutually shone buildings and their reflections in the water are the main feature of the garden.

The garden has three sections, the eastern, the western and center sections. The center section is the main section of the garden. When stepping into the garden, you will find a pool of peaceful water in a winding pond and many parasols and ancient cypresses near the bank. Opposite the pond is the main building Hall of Distant Fragrance ("Yuanxiangtang "). It is the most beautiful scene in the garden.

Surrounded by corridor of Leaning Jade, and pavilions of Lotus Wind from Four Directions, Snow Perfume and Falling Leaves, Waiting for Frost, Parasols and Bamboo, and Pavilion of Beautiful Embroidery, it form a spacious but symmetrical sight. Their poetic names suggest how beautiful they are.

The distinctive buildings, the verdant trees, the winding bank of the pond and the clear water unified as an integral whole. While strolling in the garden, you will experience a lingering charm of water margin villages in south China.

With numerous beautiful scenic spots, the Garden of the Humble Administrator is a pearl among the Suzhou Gardens. From the decision of the local government to build the Museum of Gardens south to the Garden, it shows how important it is. When you visit this magnificent elegant garden, which combines the human ingenuity with the beauty of nature, you will understand why people in the ancient times would view Suzhou and Hangzhou as the paradise on the earth. Such a distinctive garden is really worth visiting.

The Garden of the Humble Administrator used to be the residence of Lu Guimeng, a literati in late Tang Dynasty. It Yuan Dynasty someone converted the garden into The Grand Temple. During the reign of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1506 A.D.), the Assistant Prime Minister Wang Xianchen returned to his hometown and built the garden after he resigned from office.

He named the garden of the Humble Administrator to indicate that he was humble in officials. The name of the garden expressed his complicated feeling that he did not do well in the court. This is an alternative for him to better himself. Although the Garden has weathered through wind and storm for hundreds of years and has become the possession of numerous people, its style of the Ming Dynasty has remained.

Nowadays the Garden of the Humble Administrator ranks first among the four classical gardens in Suzhou (the Surfing Wave Garden, the Lion Garden, the Garden of the Humble Administrator and the Lingering Garden).

It is also one of the four classical gardens in China (the Summer Palace, the Imperial Summer Resort, the Garden of the Humble Administrator, and the Lingering Garden). In 1961, it became one of the key preservation units of cultural relics in China.