Suzhou Gardens
The
city of Suzhou has always been called "Paradise on Earth". It is China's
well-known "city of gardens", which tops all others in both the number
and the artistry of gardens.
Dating from Pi Jiang Garden of the Eastern Jing Dynasty, Suzhou's art
of gardening has undergone a history of 1500 years. Gardens in Suzhou
are not large, but are fascinating in their delicate design, containing
hills and ponds, pavilions, terraces, corridors and towers. There were
once over 200 gardens in the city, and 69 of them are still in good reservation
today. Called the Venice of the East, Suzhou's high water table supplies
the vast number of ponds and streams found throughout the city and it
is these ponds that serve to focus the many elements of the garden within
a small space.
The concept of Suzhou classical gardens has gone beyond the city limits,
since it generally refers to all those private gardens built in the regions
south of the Yangtze.
The Suzhou gardens originated from the desire to retire from the strife
of officialdom the desire to retire from the strife of officialdom and
to shun from worldly affairs. It seeks the return to Nature and the cultivation
of temperament. In Taoist philosophy and the refinement of culture underlies
the theme of the garden. Hills and waters, flowers and trees, pavilions,
terraces, towers and halls constitute the basic garden elements, while
the prominent tone is expressed in the dark color of roof tiles, the gray
of bricks, and chestnut brown of wooden pillars.
Suzhou gardens are the Nature in nutshell, which enables one to "feel
the charm of mountains, forest and springs without 
going
out of the noisy surroundings of the town". Its human interest also lies
in that the architect, philosopher, poet, painter, and common fold can
all find in it the idea, the flavor, the lines and the rhythm. The unfolding
of the garden vistas is the verisimilitude of a landscape scroll. When
enjoying tea, poem, and flower arrangement or playing musical instrument
in the garden, one gains the most natural inspiration. To those tourists
desiring to understand China, Suzhou gardens are the best museum.
Gardens in Suzhou are precious heritage of Chinese history and world history.