Atlas of China
Garden of Cultivation 艺圃Yì Pǔ
National heritage site · Suzhou, Jiangsu
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Suzhou
- Region
- Jiangsu
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- National heritage site
About Garden of Cultivation
A scholar's garden of the Ming dynasty hidden in a lane near Changmen gate, built in 1541 by Yuan Zugeng and later owned by Wen Zhenmeng, great-grandson of the painter Wen Zhengming, and by the scholar-official Jiang Cai, whose son gave it its present name. It keeps much of its late-Ming layout: a broad pond with halls and a large waterside pavilion on the north bank, a rocky hill with cliffs and paths on the south, and the small Ruyu Pavilion, itself a Ming structure, on the east shore. It was little known before it was added to the Classical Gardens of Suzhou World Heritage Site in 2000.
How to get to Garden of Cultivation
On Wenya Lane in the north-west of Suzhou's old city near Changmen gate, reached on foot through narrow lanes.
Nearby
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou 苏州园林 under 10 km
Whole landscapes of rock, water and pavilion folded into a city block - Zhouzhuang 周庄古镇 30 km
Jiangnan's most famous water town, famed for its Twin Bridges and merchant halls
Also within 20 km: Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty 环秀山庄 (under 10 km), Shantang Street 山塘街 (under 10 km), Beisi Pagoda (Bao'en Temple) 北寺塔 (under 10 km), Lingering Garden 留园 (under 10 km), Xuanmiao Temple 玄妙观 (under 10 km), Lion Grove Garden 狮子林 (under 10 km).
On the map
Open Garden of Cultivation on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Garden of Cultivation on the map