frauke at large

Left NingBo last thursday to go to Suzhou and visit its magnificent gardens.

We took the bus to Suzhou in the evening after my weekly MSc lecture. I was another one of those Chinese experiences where you thought: why did we not take the train? The Chinese seem to have the urge to want to be constantly entertained and so the bus was blaring out one movie after another on the big TV screen at the front of the bus. This was only sporadically interrupted by advertising campaigns promoting anything from mobile phones to harmonious living to food and drink. Although thoroughly annoying in the usual sensory overload kind of way, I was surprised at myself how many words I managed to understand.

As we drove into the night I started realising that the majority of houses did not have any electricity and those who had, only had one room illuminated (quite often one at the bottom of the house, which must be the kitchen or the living room). I was quite surprised to see how many people, particularly in rural areas, still have no electricity. Paradoxically they all seem to have a mobile phone however; even the older generation is embracing this technology.

 

Arrived in Suzhou at about 8pm. Suzhou lies approximately 100 km west of Shanghai and its old town, with many canals, hump-backed bridges and white-washed houses, is frequently referred to as the Venice of the East. The city is lined with trees and flower decorations and it is hard to miss what this city is primarily known for: its abundance of beautiful gardens. Many of these originally over 100 gardens, which are a legacy of Suzhou’s past community of artists, merchants and scholars, are still in existence today.

 

After a good nights sleep we got up really early to make it to our first garden before the masses of people arrived. ‘The Humble Administrator’s Garden’ is one of the biggest in Suzhou and is, due to its unique design and ethereal beauty, listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. It was originally built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was used as a private garden for a former government servant.

 

 

 

 

 

The garden was built on the old relicts of a temple and contains many water features, small forests, hills and rock formations. It also has many pavilions, halls, bridges and Moon Gates, which all represent the romantic style of this garden.

I have to say it was quite impressive to see and although compared to an English garden it is a real contrast, I did see many similarities. For one the English separate their gardens into smaller sections and themed gardens, which is also the case in China. Each corner and turn reveals a new part of the garden, which hosts a new theme, new planting and yet another focal point. In that respect, English gardens reflect Chinese garden architecture, if only in terms of their layout and compartmentalisation.

 

The Humble Administratr’s Garden also features a huge Bonsai collection. What’s most exiting about this is that the Bonsai are made out of the most diverse tree varieties I have seen. There was one made from a Wisteria sinensis, others from various varieties of Conifer, Azalea, Prunus serotina etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Bought some hand painted gold fish that are just beautiful due to their simplicity and colours. The picture is a bit blurred, but never mind.

 

 

Crossed the street to out second garden extravaganza of the day: Lion Grove Garden. This garden was built in 1342, during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), and is one of four most famous and representative gardens of ancient classical style in Suzhou. It was built by a Zen Buddhist Monk and features mainly rocks and water. It’s quite a difficult garden to understand at first, as it has very little resemblance to Western garden architecture, however the rockeries and winding paths do grow on you after a while and you start feeling the calm and power which this minimalist, yet rich, garden exudes. I most certainly enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

 

Feed on comments to this Post