Su Shi, a famous poet of Song Dynasty said, ‘It is a lifelong pity if having visited Suzhou you did not visit Tiger Hill’. This shows the importance of this local beauty spot having many attractions which this article will endeavor describing for you.

Also known as the Surging Sea hill, the Tiger Hill is a large hillock which covers over three acres or about 14100 square meters and about 36 meters or 118 feet in height. You will find many historical sites which traced back to about 2500 year ago while climbing on this hill. It is a small hill but having rich history.

Tiger Hill

The tomb of King He Lu is famous as in 496 BC during the autumn and Spring Period, He Lu, King of Wu was perished during the war fought against Yue. His son buried him within this hill and after three days after the funeral white tiger came and sat upon the grave as guarding it. Since then, it is being known as the Tiger Hill.

Tiger Hill Pagoda lies on the summit of hill and Yunyan Temple’s Pagoda. It is one of the oldest pagodas in Suzhou and has become a symbol of this city. It has the distinction of being the Leaning Tower of China. It was built during Song Dynasty and is seven storeys after the style of the timber pagodas which was build during the early period of Tang Dynasty.

Tiger Hill

Sword Testing Stone and Sword Pool is the another attractive destination of Tiger hill. King He Lu was a collector of rare swords which he tested them upon this stone. The crevice in the rock is the evidence for the existence of these swords and it is believed that they were buried under the Sword Pool as funerary project. Other interesting places are the Lu Yu well which is famous as Lu Yu has excavated this well and declared that the water of this well is the 3^rd best in China and also for the Lu Yu tea growing and consumption. Verdant Mountain Villa and Wanjing Villa are some other attractions.

Zhouzhuang Water town, situated in the Kunshan City is the most famous water town in China. It is about 30 kilometers to the southeast of Suzhou. It has profound cultural background, elegant watery view, well preserved residential houses of ancient times and strong local customs and traditions. Zhouzhuang was the part of fief Yaochen and known as Zhenfengli in the autumn and Spring Period during 770 to 477 BC. Ti was donated to the Full Fortune or Quanfu Temple by Zhou Digong which was a very devout Buddhist in the year 1086, during the Northern Song Dynasty; it has got its present name in the memory of the donor.

Zhouzhuang Water Town

It has an area of about half of a square kilometer or 124 acres and 60 percent of structure of Zhouzhuang was built during the period of Ming and Qing Dynasty. You can have the breathtaking sights by taking the convenient transport in Zhouzhuang, gondola.

Zhouzhuang is divided and surrounded by many lakes, rivers and bridges along the rivers which show distinctive views of the water town. The twin Bridges Yongan Bridges and Shide bridges are most famous and considered as the symbol of Zhouzhuang. Twin bridges look like the old style Chinese key. Fuan Bridge was built in the year 1355 during the Yuan Dynasty and is located at the eastern end of Zhongshi Jie. It is combination of single arch bridge and towers of this bridge are used as tea rooms, stores and restaurants. It is the best place for appreciating the views while taking a rest.

Zhouzhuang Water Town

Shen house is located at the southeast of Fuan Bridge and was built in 1742. It was private property of Shen Wansan who was the first millionaire of Jiangnan or the South of Yangtze River during the early of Ming Dynasty. This has architecture of Ming Style and covers are area of about two thousand square meters. It has over 100 rooms and divided into three sections. Each section is connected by the aisles and arcades. The first on is the water gate where the family of Shen washed clothes and moored boats and middle part has the tearoom, gate tower and main hall. Other attractions include Zhang House,  Milou Tower and Hengxu Taioist Temple.

Lion Grove Garden is located in the north east of Suzhou city at 23 Yuanlin Road and has a profound cultural background with convenient development advantages. It is one of the four most popular gardens representing gardens of ancient and classical style of Suzhou City.

Lion Grove Garden

It was built by Monk Tianru and a group of Xen Buddhist disciples in 1342 during the Yuan dynasty in the memory of their master Monk Zhongfeng. This garden has been changed hands and renamed many times. It has significant history as Monk Zhongfeng has apperceived the sutras of Buddhism at the Lion Cliffs on the Xitianmu Mountain in the Zhejiang Province. There are many rocks in the shape resembling Lion in this garden. This garden was given the name of Lion Grove at first and this was changed to the Bodhi Orthodox Temple or Puti Zhengzong in the year 1342. This garden has been a popular center of activities and literati’s and Buddhism activities. Many poems and paintings were inspired by this garden at that time. After the death of Monk Tianru and disbandment of disciples, this garden grew dilapidated day by day. In the year 1589 during the Ming Dynasty, Monk Mingxiang rebuilt the garden and the temple which was seperated during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty. The Governor of Hengzhu, Huang Xingzu bought this garden and renamed it to She Garden. The garden was repaired and decorated by his son Huang Xi and gave a new name Five-Pine Garden in the year 1771. It was again ruined due to the downfall of Huang and purchased by Bei family in the year 1917. Later it became steady and well protected after 1949.

Lion Grove Garden

It covers and are of about ten thousand square meter and ideal for site seeing as it has ornamental towers and pavilions in different style and each one having his own story and history. True Delight Pavilion is one of them and is magnificent due to its royal style. The other attractions are Standing in Snow Hall which has a Buddhist story and Pavilion for Greeting the Plum Blossoms where poets and painters indited. There are plum trees all around the pavilion and the utensils and furniture are decorated and carved beautifully with the plum blossom designs. There are many stales and tablets, paintings and calligraphy in this garden including some precious artworks from Ming Dynasty.

Lingering Garden occupies an area of about 23,300 square meters or about 5.8 acres and is located outside the Changmen Gate of Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province. It was originally a private garden and one of the four most famous gardens of China. It posses the typical Qing Style and is well known for its exquisite beauty of its magnificent halls and the buildings having various shapes, sizes and colors. This Garden was also listed in the world heritage site by UNESCO in the year 1997.

The lingering Garden

It has a history of over 400 years and has changed several times since then. Each of the owners did his best to make this garden a perfect one. It was build for the first time in the year 1593 during the period of Ming Dynasty by Xu Tai, a retired official. It was bought by Li Shu during the Qing Dynasty. As a lover of calligraphy, he had carved masterpieces on the both sides of the corridors of the buildings. He had also collected the unusual shaped stones in the garden. The succeeding owners also followed his model while doing the restoration works. This garden almost demolished in the year 1930 and was repaired by the government and made open to the public.

Like the other famous gardens of Suzhou, this garden also creates the stunning natural landscapes within the limited space. This garden has domiciles, private gardens and ancestral temples. There are buildings, trees and flowers blended harmoniously in the surroundings of this garden. This garden is divided into central, eastern, western and northern parts according to the style of the buildings.

The Lingering Garden

The central part of this garden is the main essence of the whole complex. This was the original Lingering Garden and other parts were added during the Qing Dynasty. You can reach there after going through the winding corridors from gate of the garden. The central part is divided into eastern and western part. The former part has pools and hills while later part dominates in classical buildings. The Celestial Hall of Five peak is the largest hall in the eastern part of the garden and western part has natural scenery.

The beautiful water side city of Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province in the Southern part of China is very famous for its elegant classic gardens. The Humble Administrator’s is one of them covering an area of about 52 thousand square meters and it is one of the most renowned and largest gardens. Due to its ethereal beauty and unique design, this garden has gained many special honors. It has been listed in the World Cultural Heritage Site and also has been designated as one of the Cultural Relics of National Importance and Special Tourist Attraction of China. It is also one of the four most famous gardens of China.

Humble Administrator's Garden

The Humble Administrator’s Garden was originally built during the Ming Dynasty in the year 1509. It was initially a private garden of the former government servant, Wang Xianchen. It is said that he intended to build a garden after his retirement and just do some gardening work such as planting trees and vegetable there, which was said to be a life of the humble man by him. And from this the name of this garden was called as the Humble Administrator’s Garden. The Garden was created upon the old relics of a temple and a resident. Water feature is main background of this garden along with the natural landscapes which includes hills, small forests and rock formations. It also has some man-made pavilions, parlors and halls. Unlike the Grand View Garden or the some other famous gardens of Beijing, it represents the building style of Ming Dynasty.

Humble Administrator's Garden

This garden has mainly three sections that are Eastern, Western and Central sections and some of the residents of its former owners. The resident houses have typical style of Suzhou Local residences and whose features could be seen in the famous water township of Zhouzhuang which is not far from the city of Suzhou. The sites of the residences have been rebuilt like the Garden Museum now.

The Master of nets Garden is the example of the smallest package that contains the most magnificent gift. It is one of the smallest residential gardens of Suzhou and it is most impressive one. It creates the illusion of that area that is greater than its actual size. The mood of tranquility as well as harmony of this garden is more than the architectural achievement which makes this garden unique.

The Master-of-Nets Garden

The exquisite design of this garden came into existence during the Song dynasty as a part of the residence which was used until the Taiping Rebellion in 1860s. Later, it was restored and becoming a residence of the government official from whom the garden has got its name.

This garden is divided into three sections that are a residential section, an inner garden and the central main garden. There is a large pond in the main garden surrounded by the pathways and variety of buildings like the Ribbon Washing Pavilion and the Pavilion for the advent of the Wind and Moon. There are also many building that are situated so that there is no sense of crowding and always feel of spaciousness.  As it is common in most of the Suzhou garden, there is a small pavilion in the pond and this pavilion can be accessed by a bridge which is less than one foot width.

The Master-of-Nets Garden

You can get the views of the beautiful plants and flowers farming while walking along the garden and along the walkways through the windows from a distance. This will draw a single sight of peaceful natural beauty in your mind. As you will walk through the buildings, you can image the life that the original residents lived in a feudal society and these gardens were solely for the purpose of their pleasure and the pleasure of their guests. Many buildings are constructed which will give you the access to the main garden from any room. These rooms are very much impressive in ornamentation and design and represent the style of the Song Dynasty.

Xin An River

Xin an River, originated in Huizhou of Anhui Province, passes through the Chunan County and Jiande city and then pass by the Tonglu county in the east direction to the Fuyang city, and continue to the Qiantang River in east. Fuan River, Xin An River and the Thousand Islets Lakes set in the important scenic area in Zhejiang province, whose upstream is Chun An city and downstream is Fuyang city. With the Length of 373 kilometers and drainage area of 11,600 square kilometers, the Xin An River is approved by the state council and listed in the first list of state-level scenic spots.

Xin An River

Xin An River is famous for its scenery and water. The water there is clear enough during the four seasons, where you can see its bottom easily. The mountains is winding, and green hillocks are overlapping in both sides of the river, whose landform of the different state and numerous valleys with waterfall flowing. Being an national level attraction, the Xin An River enjoys the reputation of “Cool World” and it is a world-famous “road of Tang poetry”. Thanks to the formation of the Thousand Island Lake, the Xin An River maintains at 12-17 degrees Celsius throughout the year, which forms the unique climate “ warm winter and cool summer”, and you will feel the Xin An River as a huge bridge in burning hot summer. This a beautiful scenic spot with mountains on both sides whose characteristics are green and clear river between landscape and also there are many places of interest.

Xin An River

Xin An River basin has a long history in the form of folk customs, and it has been the value of folk tourism resources. Traveling along the river, you will find the village group with white walls and green tiles which are among the green shade. Bridges, pavilions and towering trees are integrated together to form sceneries of their own; the bluestone road, wooden door, mixed type pavement is visible, whose ancient style still exist. You can have a visit to the local family to experience the simple rural life there.

Tunxi Old Street

Located in the center district of the Tunxi area in Huangshan city, the Tunxi Old Street is surrounded by green hills and blue waters, with its north is green Huashan Mountain for four seasons and south is year-round-blue Anxin River. It is called the flowing Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. Featuring a history of more than hundreds of years, the Tunxi Old Street totals 832 meters long and 5-8 meters wide, it is the most protected pedestrian business street characterized by the Song, Ming and Qing dynasty architectural style.It has been the national key cultural relics protection unit and also the famous Chinese historical and cultural street in 2009.

The special teahouse, wine houses,story-telling houses, ink houses in the Tunxi Old Street has attracted numerous tourists from home and abroud for sightseeing and shopping. As the only national history protection block in China, it attracts nearly 6 million tourists from home and abroad every year. The building groups there not only come down the style of the Song Dynasty, but also inherite the traditional architectural style and planning layout of the Huizhou dwellings with the bright characteristic of the Hui style architecture: white wall, Chinese-style tile, rows of horse-head walls, quietly elegant of primitive simplicity. Street buildings there mostly are front shops and back lanes, front shops and back storehouses, front shops and back dwellings, which show the charm of the Jiangnan ancient towns. Walking along the street, you will also find the Tunxi Old Street narrow and deep with its pavement is all maroon hemp tablets.

Tunxi Old Street

The Tunxi Old Street is not only intact, but also well scaled. It is the important symbol of the business street in Huizhou. In addition, the advantage of neighboring the Yellow Mountain makes the Tunxi Old Street the most important cultural supplement products of the Yellow Mountain. Appreciating the ancient buildings with the styles and characteristics of local-style dwelling houses in Song dynasty, you trip there will be fantastic!

Being an AAAAA level scenic area, the Xidi Village is located in the south foot of the Yellow Mountain with about 40 kilometers away from the Yellow Mountain Scenic Spot. It was built firstly in North Song Dynasty, developed in Ming Dynasty and prospered in early Qing Dynasty with a long history of nearly 960 years. Though it has experienced hundreds of years of social upheaval and attack of wind and rain and more than half ancient dwellings, ancestral halls, academies, memorial arches have been destroyed, there still keeps hundreds of ancient dwellings and maintains the basic features and characteristics of the villages of the Ming and Qing Dynasty on the whole. The building and the pavement were paved with marble and two spring rivers pass through the whole village, moreover, its 99 walls and deep lanes make the travelers walk as into maze.

Characterized by long history, simplicity and elegance and beautiful landscape, the Xidi Village was listed as Anhui province key cultural relics protection units in 1986 and also listed as world cultural heritage list in the year of 2000. It has attracted numerous travelers from home and abroad, among which including state leaders such as Jiang Ze Ming and Zhu Rong Ji. The Xidi Village is praised as the connection point of ancient and modern Chinese history and also the ancient residential architecture art treasure house. The style of its streets, ancient buildings and ornamentals and dwellings with complete water supply system are very unique cultural heritages.

Xidi Village

Xidi Village features north subtropical humid monsoon climate: long winter and summer and short spring and autumn. The climate there is mild and humid—abundant rainfall and fresh air. It is not severe cold in winter and not hot and heat in summer with the average temperature of 3.7℃ in its coldest month and the average temperature of bellow 27.1℃ in the hottest month. Therefore, best time to visit the Xidi Village is autumn, especially in November.

Travel Tips: 1) Ticket price: 104 RMB/adult. 2) Opening time: 24 hours. 3) Playing time duration: 5 hours. 4) Best time to visit: spring and autumn time as temperature then is moderate and scenery is the most pleasant.