I am backing up a bit but wanted to share some photos from the beautiful city and gardens of Suzhou. We visited this rapidly growing area and stayed at the lovely Sofitel Hotel, which I highly recommend.

The first garden we visited was the Lions Grove Garden, one of four famous Suzhou gardens. Dating back to the Yuan Dynasty 1342 A.D. the garden is known for its lake stones and rockeries. This grand rock work forms a three layer maze, winding paths and numerous caves.

After falling into disrepair the garden was purchased by an ancestor of the original archirtecht, I.M. Pei, in 1917 and was kept up by the family until they donated it to the people's government. Lion's Grove opened to the public in February 1954.

The next garden, the Humble Administrators Garden, is the most famous of all and recogonized as the best-preserved and a typical example of clasical gardens created by craftsman in ancient China. The largest private garden in Suzhou the 5.2 kilometers was first landscaped in the Ming Dynasty 1513 A.D..

Until next time, Beth