Suzhou has never lacked the unique tone that the regions south of the Yangtze River exclusively has. The old city of Suzhou is not big. If it is the first time to come to Suzhou, the garden must be included in your itinerary, such as The Humble Administrator’s Garden, Lion Grove Garden, Lingering Garden, Net Master Garden, etc. if you are interested in history, then you can go to Tiger Hill and Hanshan Temple. If there is enough time, don’t forget to choose a few ancient towns nearby to have a visit. The famous ones are Zhouzhuang and Tongli Ancient Towns. The nearest one is the MuDu Ancient Town, even if it is just in a daze, it is good choice for you. If you love the scenery between mountains and rivers, then go to Taihu Lake or go to Tianping Mountain. Dongshan and Xishan are unpopular, but the scenery is absolutely stunning there.
Anyway, among all the gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden is the most preferred for so many visitors. Built in the Ming Dynasty, the Lingering Garden is also known as the Four Famous Gardens of China with Suzhou Humble Administrator’s Garden, Beijing Summer Palace, and Chengde Mountain Resort. It is well known for its exquisite architectural design and numerous stone buildings. In the garden, you can enjoy four different views of mountains and waters, fields, mountains and forest, gardens. It is divided into four scenic spots: the middle, east, west and north garden. The two walls of the corridor that runs through the scenic spot are the famous “legacy of the Lingering Garden”. The central part is famous for its water features, and it is the essence of the whole garden; the western part is known for the rockery scenery, which is the highest point of the whole park; the north is idyllic spot; the Yunyun Peak in the eastern part is one of the three wonders in the Lingering Garden gardens.
Official telephone number of The Lingering Garden: 0512-65517340; 0512-65579466; 0512-65337903.
Reference for time needed: 1-3 hours.
How to go to The Lingering Garden:
Take the tourism line 1, line 3, line 5 or No. 6, 7, 22, 33, 44, 70, 85, 88, 91, 317 directly to the Lingering Garden, or you can take the No.101, No. 103 to the Guanqian street station and transfer to the tourism line 1.
Tickets:
Ordinary ticket: 55 Yuan for adult ticket (Monday to Sunday)
Ordinary ticket: 45 Yuan for adult ticket (Monday to Sunday, October 31 – April 15 of the following year)
Opening hours:
07:30-17:30 (Monday – Sunday from January 1st – December 31st)