Gardens are the calling card of Suzhou tourist attractions, and also the only highlights of Suzhou travel in the world. Without classical gardens, Suzhou would not be so famous in the world of tourism. Humble Administrator Garden is the representative of Suzhou classical gardens indeed. Visiting Suzhou classical gardens but without the schedule of traveling to this garden. It is not a real Suzhou travel. Located on Dongbei Street of Suzhou, the Humble Administrator Garden is a typical classic garden of southern-China-style. The actual gardening area is about 4 hectares. The construction began in 1509 during the reign of Zhengde Emperor in Ming Dynasty. The whole garden is divided into three parts, sparse in east and dense in west with water all around.
1. The Eastern Garden
Built in 1631, this section is comprised of beautiful pavilions, crystal-clear pools and quiet corridors. The Lanxuetang is in north of the central pool and the Xianqingchi is prettily decorated by bamboos, osmanthus and plum trees. On the south side of the pool, there are a lot of man-made hills with tiny caves. In the west, there are dense bamboo and phoenix forests, where small river flows winds up and down.
2. The Western Garden
The original layout of this part is established in 1877 and called the “Supplementary Garden” (Bu Yuan). You can imagine the tranquil atmosphere of these places by their beautiful names: the Pagoda Reflection Pavilion (Taying Ting) and the Lingering Sound House (Liuting Ge) are the main buildings in this section. The 18 Camellias Hall (Shiba Mantuoluohua Guan) and the 36 Pairs of Mandarin Duck’s Hall (36-Yuanyang Guan) are newly built attractions.
3. The Central Garden
Although the appearance of the Central Garden has changed a lot during the China’s turbulent modern times, it still maintains the essential characters of Suzhou gardens – pools and small rivers are all around, elegant bridges, as well as the manmade hills are in the middle of the lakes. The great artifacts such as “The Picture of the Humble Administrator Garden” and some others from the Qing Dynasty are displayed here.
4. Yuan Xiang Tang
The unique location of Yuan Xiang Tang, in the centre of Humble Administrator Garden, determines its special function. Standing on the viewing platform of Yuan Xiang Tang, people can appreciate the antique buildings as well as the beautiful scenery alongside the river. There are two pavilions with distinct identities facing Yuan Xiang Tang. Due to their appropriate position, the Yuan Xiang Tang shows colorful and various landscapes from spring till winter.
Water plays an important role in the gardens of the southern Changjiang delta, and stone and plant is very necessary in waterscape, which can be easily seen in the Humble Administrator Garden, big stones on the side of pond, stone bridges crossing over, shrubs growing between the stone gaps and trees filling up the garden. Besides, the waterscape is well blended with the environment in the garden. When strolling through the garden, the trees can naturally form a shelter for you.
In order to discover the essence of the traditional Chinese cultures, the Humble Administrator Garden do hold its own flower exhibitions recently. Every spring and summer, there will be the Azalea Festival and the Lotus Festival, when flowers are in full bloom and the elegant fragrance fills up the whole garden.
