Suzhou, located in the south of Jiansu province, is a famous historical and cultural city with many beautiful ancient gardens. It is called "Su" for short, and also called "Gusu".

Suzhou once had over 250 classical gardens, big and small, during its gold age. The most noted gardens here include Canglangting Garden of Song Dynasty, Lion Garden of Yuan Dynasty, Humble Administrator's Garden of Ming Dynasty, Wangshi Garden, Liuyuan Garden and West Garden of Qing Dynasty. Humble Administrator's Garden and Liuyuan Garden, with Beijing's Summer Palace and Chengdu Summer Resort, are called the "four great gardens of China". Hanshan Temple, located in the west outskirts of Suzhou, is a famous ancient temple. The poem of "A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge" by Zhang Ji, a famous poet of Tang Dynasty, mentioned "Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City".

Suzhou has always been a well developed city of culture, with a rich collection of cultural relics. Its tourism has developed quickly. This elegant historical city attracts visitors from all around the world.

Canglangting Garden
Canglangting Garden is the oldest famous garden in Suzhou. Built by Su Zimei, a poet in Song Dynasty, the garden is centered on artificial hills covered with lush ancient trees. The famous Canglang Pavilion is hidden among the trees.

Lion Garden
Lion Garden is representative of the garden of Yuan Dynasty. It excels in artificial hills piled by rocks from Taihu Lake. Many of the rocks look like vivid lions in various postures, hence its name.

Humble Administrator's Garden
Humble Administrator's Garden, built in Ming Dynasty, is divided into three parts - the eastern, middle and western gardens.

The middle one is the most essential part of the entire garden. With a pool in center, the architect designed pavilions, terraces and buildings near water, some of which poping out from water directly. It is characteristic of Jiangnan Style.

Liuyuan Garden
Liuyuan Garden has the style of gardens of Qing Dynasty. It takes the pool as center, while Hill House of Containing Green and Building of Bright Zither to the south of the pool are main buildings; north of the pool are artificial hills and pavilions amid trees; west of the lake, the Veranda of Smelling Sweet-scented Osmanthus on an artificial hill is the best spot to overlook the whole garden. The Veranda is connected with other places by promenades. The eastern side of the pool is characterized by winding courtyards and corridors dominated by three large peices of rockwork. The middle one is called Cloud-Capped Rock. It is about 6.5 m high and is the biggest rock from Taihu Lake in Jiangnan area.