A transporting microcosm of old-world experiences gracing the cusp of cutting-edge progress, Suzhou brims with glistening vintage gems, from rustic galleries lined with boutiques, bookshops, and tea houses to elaborate museums showcasing dynastic treasures and ancestral homes full of architectural fascinations. Here’s a guide to exploring its antique gardens.
The Humble Administrator’s Garden
Discover China’s classic gardens, an oasis of introspection and nature’s romance. Enchanting features like ancient trees, rockeries, and nurtured flower plots grace each garden’s traditional facades, alongside historical relics, appealing to wanderlust seekers. The UNESCO-listed Humble Administrator’s Garden, with its keyhole-shaped portal, unveils an oriental fairytale of tranquil pools, floating pavilions, and elemental penjing arrangements in Suzhou style. Surrender to nature’s allure, find solace, and embrace cultural heritage within these timeless landscapes.
Lingering Garden
While Suzhou will whirl you around with its vibrantly sensational experiences, from immersing in the ethereally ivory and gold luxuriance of the Suzhou Silk Museum to shopping for vintage curios along the cobbled stoned streets of the atmospheric Old Town, there’s no enclave as poetically inspiring as this blossomy Qing Dynasty bower framed with picture windows and winding around a blue-green pond graced by fantastical natural and manmade structures.
Blue Wave Pavilion
If you want to admire horticultural masterpieces and ambient antiquities in relative peace, head to Suzhou’s oldest garden with its dreamy, spacious verandas overlooking exquisite waterscapes and blooming vistas, as well as hosting a panoramic lookout tower for bamboo-forested mountain views and a little cave-like stone cottage for breathless exploring. If you’re looking for outstanding Suzhou serviced apartments, venture no further than the likes of Oakwood Hotel and Residence Suzhou.
Retreat and Reflection Garden
Another off-the-beaten-path floricultural oasis, this lyrically elegant garden is found in charming Tongli Water Town, with gracious buildings spilling into the musical water and the delicious perfume of osmanthus trees and old-fashioned blossoms pervading the picturesque promenades.
