Lingering Garden
Lion Grove Garden (Shizilin) is located at 23 Yuanlin Road, in the northeast of Suzhou. It is one of the four most famous and representative classic gardens in Suzhou
Covering an area of about 1.1 hectares, Lion Grove Garden was built in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) by Monk Tianru and a group of Buddhists of the Zen Sect, in memory of High Monk Zhongfeng.
Lion Grove Garden is rectangular in shape with its length stretching from east to west. A high wall surrrounds it; there are also numerous corridors around the garden. In the middle part a pond forms its centre. The arrangement of rocks, the construction of houses, the planting of flowers and trees, and the construction of bridges and pavilions comprise the garden's layout and give an artistic impression of mountains and trees being close by.
Furthermore, many rare tablets and stelae, paintings and calligraphies are kept in the Lion Grove Garden, including the precious artwork 'Panoramic View of' by Ni Yunlin, also called Ni Zan, and the 'Twelve Scenic Spots in Lion Grove Garden' by Xu Ben. Both these men were famous painters from the Ming Dynasty.
The most noted and attractive scenery of Lion Grove Garden is the labyrinthine rockery, which was mostly made of the limestone from Taihu Lake in Wuxi City. Reputed as the 'Kingdom of Rockery', the rocks were piled up skillfully and ingeniously, and most of them look like lions in different postures and movements: playing, roaring, fighting, sleeping, or even dancing.
Other Things To Do
Recommended Suzhou Tour Packages
Essential Suzhou Tour: 3 days / $114>> more packages
E-china tour is a tourism website which includes a brief introduction about most cities in China and offers dedicated service to the visitors who are interested in travelling anywhere in China. If you have any requests or questions, please feel free to contact us. Click here
- Tour
- Cruise
- Hotel