The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou

A day trip to nearby Suzhou is most rewarding just for one attraction alone – The Humble Administrator’s Garden (Zhuo Zheng Yuan). About an hour or so by train or car from Shanghai city centre, you’ll cut through suburbs, industrial zones and the open countryside. Here in the farmlands, the holdings may be small but the farmers are not the buffalo pushing and changkol wielding kind. These latterday farmers are doing pretty well judging from the tractors, trucks, motorcycles and tv antennae visible from the road. 

As you approach Suzhou, farmlands give way to industrial estates stretching as far as the eye can see. Soon you are on the edge of the old town renowned for its canals and ancient dwellings, some dating back to the days of Marco Polo who must have felt quite at home in the city dubbed the “Venice of the East.”

The old Administrator’s title might sound deferential, but his abode is anything but humble. Located at 178 Northeast Road, Pingjiang District, the Humble Administrator’s Garden is an opulent spread covering some 52,000 square metres, and built in the classical Suzhou style, dotted with pagodas, pavilions, rockeries and ponds, all connected by meandering footpaths, elaborately paved and lined with beautiful flora that change colours with the seasons. 

These gardens have a turbulent history stretching back to the Tang Dynasty when it was home to scholar Lu Guimeng. In 1513 it passed into the hands of poet cum imperial envoy Wang Xiangchen who with artist friend Wen Chengming, developed it into a showpiece that would have been the talk of town, if not of all China. Bad luck struck the House of Wang, and Wang Jr lost the estate to gambling debts. Through the centuries these stately gardens passed through many owners before ending up in modern times under restoration and reopening in 1952. In 1972 the gardens gained protection as an UNESCO world heritage site.

Many buildings like this hall facing a lotus pond contain precious paintings, calligraphy, jade carvings and period furniture for the visitors’ delectation.

A stone bridge zigzags across a lotus pond, downshifting a walk to an unhurried pace.

Taking a welcome respite in the shade of the Celestial Spring Tower.

The extensive grounds of the garden are crisscrossed by canals and streams. A couple enjoy quiescence in the Green Ripple Pavilion.

The Humble Administrator’s Garden is famed for many ancient trees, and plants in full bloom are keenly sought backdrops for photoshoots. 

A pavilion set amid lush greenery conducive to contemplation.

The Flying Rainbow Bridge provides sheltered crossing over a stream.

Watching carp and taking pictures at a placid pond.

The Mandarin Ducks Hall plays host to broods of ducks under its building on the water’s edge.