Lion Grove Garden
Built in 1342 (2nd year of the Yuan Zhizheng era) by Zen Master Tianru (Lion Grove Chan Temple); a labyrinth of Taihu Lake rockeries ('kingdom of rockeries', nine interweaving routes); Emperor Qianlong visited six times and inscribed 'True Delight'
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 07:30-17:30
- Ticket
- Peak season CNY 40
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Built in 1342 (2nd year of the Yuan Zhizheng era) by Zen Master Tianru (Lion Grove Chan Temple); a labyrinth of Taihu Lake rockeries ('kingdom of rockeries', nine interweaving routes); Emperor Qianlong visited six times and inscribed 'True Delight'; bought by the Bei family (ancestral home of I.M. Pei's family) in 1917. Built by Zen Master Tianru in 1342 (2nd year of the Yuan Zhizheng era) to honor his teacher, Monk Zhongfeng, the garden's Taihu Lake rockery twists through peaks and grottoes linked by caves; nine routes of hill paths, above and below, weave into the maze of the 'kingdom of rockeries', where children and adults alike happily crawl through tunnels and clamber up slopes — the most playful of all Suzhou gardens. On each of his six southern tours Emperor Qianlong visited the garden and inscribed the 'True Delight' plaque, and later had copies built in the Old Summer Palace and the Chengde Mountain Resort; in 1917 the Bei family bought the garden, and as the ancestral home of master architect I.M. Pei's family, the time young Pei spent here is credited with nurturing his feel for space and light. The rockery, the Wenmei (Plum-Inquiring) Pavilion and the Anxiang Shuying (Hidden Fragrance, Sparse Shadows) Tower set each other off beautifully; plum-viewing in winter is especially fine.
Getting there: Metro Line 4, Beisita Station
Photos
More in Suzhou
- Humble Administrator's Garden
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- Suzhou Museum (Main Building)
I.M. Pei's final masterpiece (opened 2006), 'Chinese yet new, Suzhou yet new'; the sliced-rock hillside borrows the white wall of the Humble Administrator's Garden as its backdrop
- Lingering Garden
Xu Taishi built the East Garden in the Ming Wanli era; Liu Shu's Hanbi (Cold Green) Villa in the Qing dynasty
- Master of the Nets Garden
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- Canglang Pavilion
Built in 1045 (5th year of the Northern Song Qingli era) by Su Shunqin, Suzhou's oldest surviving garden ('scenery before you enter the gate' — double corridor with lattice windows); the famous couplet 'A clear breeze and bright moon are priceless' (assembled from lines by Ouyang Xiu and Su Shunqin)
- Couple's Retreat Garden
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