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- Location: Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Located outside the Changmen Gate of Suzhou, a tourist city in east China’s Jiangsu Province, the Lingering Garden (留園)?is one of the four most famed gardens in China. Covering an area of 23,300 square meters, the stunning garden was originally built in 1593 by Xu Taishi, a Ming official, to serve as his private residence. In 1997, the garden, together with the other classic gardens in Suzhou, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The garden, resembling a long scroll of traditional Chinese painting, is noted for its exquisite layout of various elements including halls, ancestral temples, private gardens, rockeries, covered walks, walls, ponds and plants. It’s divided into the central, eastern, northern and western parts, with each part focusing on a different theme. The central part, known as the oldest and most important part of the garden, features marvelous lakeside scenes with a fabulous artificial mountain; the eastern part showcases elegant buildings and garden courts; the western part displays enthralling forested hills and rockeries; and the northern part boasts an idyllic pastoral scenery with cute cottages enclosed by bamboo fences.

Travel Tips:

1. You can find many hotels nearby, ranging from the three-star Gusu Hotel on Tongwang Road and New Century Hotel on Guangji Road to the four-star Suzhou Hotel on Shiquan Street and Lexiang Hotel on Guanqian Street.

2. Suizhou cuisine is one of the eight famous culinary schools in China. It’s a must-try for visitors, well-known for its unique sweet flavor, subtle cooking and fabulous shapes. Recommended dishes include Biluo Xiaren (quick-fried shrimp with Biluochun Tea), Songshu Guiyu (Mandarin Fish, stewed and fried), Xigua Ji (young chicken wrapped in watermelon rind and steamed), Xiangyou Shanhu (shredded eel stew) and steamed lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice. The best places to try the local dishes are the Guanqian Street, Shiquan Street and Fenghuang Street.

- Hours: 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

- Admission: 40 yuan (Apr. 16-Oct. 30); 30 yuan (Oct. 31- Apr. 15)

- Tel: 86- 512-65579466

- How to get there: take Bus 7, 22, 44, 70, 85 to Liuyuan Lu