Suzhou gardens are all like if you don't look close enough. They are really nice if there aren't so crowded. Bear in mind that it's a private garden, not the emperor's garden, so it's not all that big after all =P. Most of these gardens close at 5pm, but Humble Administrator's Garden is open at night so that visitors can attend theatrical performances and enjoy the night scenery

Description

Humble Administrator's Garden is the largest private garden in Suzhou. The garden is representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty. This gardens are focused on a central pond with pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers located nearby. 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.

Located in the northeastern part of Suzhou city, Humble Administrator's Garden, with a total area of 51,950 square miles, is the largest private garden in Suzhou, as well as one of the four most famous classic gardens in China (the others are: Summer Palace, Mountain Resort of Chengde and Garden for Lingering In in Suzhou). Around 1513, during the Ming Dynasty, the imperial inspector Wang Xianchen, returned to Suzhou after retiring from public life and built his garden. The name Humble Administrator's Garden was inspired by the essay "To cultivate my garden and sell my vegetable crop is the policy of humble man".

The garden is representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty, which are focused on a central pond with pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers located nearby. Humble Administrator's Garden is divided into three parts: the eastern, middle and western parts.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.

It was listed as cultural relics of national importance in 1961. The garden's scenery is focused on a central pond with various buildings of pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers located by the water or on hillocks in a natural, unsophisticated, and appropriate composition. The garden is most representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty. It was laid out in 1513 by the censor, Wang Xiancheng, after his retirement from political life. He named the garden after an essay by Pan Yue of Jing Era, "On Idle Living,": "Building house and planting trees, watering garden and growing vegetables are the affairs (Zheng) of humble (Zhuo) people." After his death, his son gambled away the garden.

When Taiping troops occupied Suzhou in 1860, King Zhongwang picked this site and the neighboring buildings of the present historical museum as a residence as well as a center for his political activities. The entire grounds can be divided into three parts: eastern, central, and western. The central one is especially worth a visit. It centers around Yuanxiang Tang pavilion. Two artificial islands linked to each other in the lotus pond north of the pavilion are densely overgrown with bamboo plants and trees, creating the impression that the entire garden is floating on water. In the western part, Sanshiliu Yuanyang Guan Hall (the Hall of the Thirty-Six Mandarin Ducks, will attract the visitor's special interest. On the adjoining lake, one used to be able to see mandarin ducks--a symbol of marital faithfulness. Today, some of the mandarin ducks swim in a fenced-off part of the lake. West of the garden, there is a noteworthy bonsai exhibition and a teahouse.