Suzhou Garden Museum: The "Textbook" of Suzhou Gardens

Travel time: May 2021

Route: Suzhou Taihu Lakeside National Wetland Park – Baodai Bridge

Route: Loquat picking in Xishan – Suzhou Garden Museum

The theme of this Suzhou trip was loquat picking, which ended at midday. After a farmhouse meal in Xishan, we headed back. On the way back we got stuck in traffic. I hadn’t planned to rush back to Nanjing anyway, so I wasn’t anxious at all. Since I was out and in beautiful Suzhou, picking a few loquats wasn’t my goal. I chose to visit the Suzhou Museum. First, because this gorgeous, Instagram-famous museum was new to me; second, because it’s just one subway stop from the train station. But then I remembered that museums now require advance booking. I went on the museum’s official account to reserve, and same-day tickets were long gone. Not willing to give up, I decided to try my luck on site – maybe a kind staff member would make an exception and let me in.

Bumper to bumper. Some people who had already bought afternoon train tickets to return home were terribly irritable. I, on the other hand, calmly watched the cityscape. Some people lead busier lives and can’t afford to have a single plan disrupted, because one disruption throws everything off. But at my age, I’m in a phase where no one else’s pace dictates mine. Elders keep each other company, my child is away at school – I don’t need to revolve around others. I want to slow down, take care of myself, and really enjoy these years when I’m in charge of my own time.

To save time, the bus dropped us at a metro station and we all took the subway. My companions headed to the train station; I got off one stop earlier at Beisi Pagoda. There were no luggage lockers in the metro station. I wish some cities – especially tourist ones – would install lockers at key travel hubs, even paid ones would be so convenient. But you have to hand it to Suzhou locals: about a hundred meters from the exit, a chestnut shop offered luggage storage for five yuan. Perfect! That instantly freed my shoulders. I set off light.

A short walk brought me to Suzhou Museum on Dongbei Street. Regretfully, entry without a reservation was impossible. Chatting up the staff and pulling strings didn’t work either – it seemed management was strict. The staff member told me I could visit the Garden Museum ahead; it didn’t need a reservation. That had been my backup plan all along. Well, it was clearly just an excuse for me to return to Suzhou another time! There was a tiny twinge of disappointment, but it didn’t affect my mood at all, because Suzhou is a city where beautiful sights are everywhere. If you miss one, another is bound to be waiting for you.

I passed the gate of the Loyal Prince’s Mansion. The address of Suzhou Museum is the former Prince Zhong’s mansion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the most intact surviving palace complex of that period.

The neat and pretty Dongbei Street, where plane trees on either side have been pruned into graceful shapes.

Suzhou Garden Museum is fifty meters from Suzhou Museum, on the west side of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Opened in 1992, it’s China’s first museum dedicated to gardens. The new building began construction in October 2005. The museum keeps the white walls and dark grey roof tiles of traditional Suzhou residences, harmonizing with the surrounding classic gardens. Typical white-and-black architecture, a simple door frame, and above the lintel, the gilded characters “Suzhou Garden Museum” declare its identity.

Entering the gate, I saw an old brick wall right away. The white wall with black characters and logo was simple but striking.

The entry space was small, even a bit narrow. On the wall, photos and texts introduced Suzhou’s classic gardens. As I arrived, I asked a staff member what time the museum closed, since it was already late and I wanted to plan my visit. Her reply was: “There’s no ticket here, no reservation needed. What’s so fun about it? You’ll finish in a short while.” Her frankness was so disarming!

What looked like casually placed objects in the space were actually relics from the Old Summer Palace. On the wall of the exhibition hall, new media devices were embedded in lattice windows, showing videos about Suzhou gardens.

Right in the middle of the introductory hall was a double-sided embroidery of Li Keran’s painting of the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Part of the water corridor scene was outlined by silk threads, capturing the garden’s spirit. This double-sided embroidery not only expressed the exhibition theme of garden-making artistry but also perfectly combined traditional painting with the intangible cultural heritage of Suzhou embroidery, creating a powerful artistic impact.

The Garden Museum doesn’t look like a conventional museum with a central axis and symmetrical layout. It’s more like a garden itself. The exhibition halls are small and exquisite, each forming its own scene, connected by covered walkways, creating a winding, secluded, and ever-changing visitor route.

Throughout the museum layout, Suzhou garden landscaping techniques like “borrowed scenery,” “framed scenery,” and “view-borrowing” are fully present.

Before entering the history hall from the introductory hall, I passed through a long corridor. Beyond the wall was the Humble Administrator’s Garden. The narrow flagstone path was lined with latticed windows, each unique.

Many small courtyards were intentionally left along the corridor, and the garden vignettes inside were also exhibits. Every detail made me feel as if I were inside a familiar Suzhou garden.

The exterior walls were floor-to-ceiling glass, and inside the halls were glass display cases – everything felt so transparent.

Inside the cases, text panels starting from the Gusutai Terrace of the Spring and Autumn period detailed the 2,500-year history of Suzhou gardens, giving a strong sense of historical depth.

Texts and diagrams introduced selected gardens from the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Northern and Southern dynasties.

The building of royal hunting grounds by Wu kings in the Spring and Autumn period.

In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, temples and private gardens emerged one after another.

Eastern Jin’s Pijiang Garden, and the Southern and Northern dynasties’ Xingfu Temple and Hanshan Temple.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Suzhou gardens entered a new realm, rockeries and plantings became prevalent.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, half the city was filled with garden pavilions, reaching an apogee, gradually forming a garden system characterized by literati landscape gardens, epitomizing the development of classical Jiangnan gardens.

A Qing dynasty brick ruyi carving.

A commemorative ding from the World Garden Congress.

In the exhibition hall, photos, texts, and models introduced the Republican-period Suzhou Park, Qi Yuan, and Pu Yuan.

Stone pillars and flowers in a small courtyard – essential elements of any garden.

Following the arrows, I arrived at the museum’s core exhibition hall.

The Art Hall was artistically designed.

Through texts, photos, and architectural diagrams, it introduced the art of garden-making: concept, layout, technique, and mood – the essential connotations of traditional garden art. Classical gardens emphasize fresh concepts, clever layouts, refined skills, and lasting moods. They prize naturalness and excel in subtlety, leaving one to savor endlessly.

It detailed in depth various elements of Suzhou garden creation: rockery making, water management, planting, furnishings, architecture, and more.

Paintings and electronic screens showcased the exquisiteness of Suzhou garden craftsmanship.

This exhibit design even gave working tools a certain artistic flair.

Flowering plants are the hair of a garden, indispensable to its ecological environment and landscaping. This section illustrated how flowers and trees complement mountains, water, and architecture, forming a scenic beauty of their own.

Rockeries are the skeleton of Suzhou gardens, the main feature creating urban mountain forests. They come in three types: earth mountains, stone mountains, and mixed earth-stone mountains.

In the hall, a 1:40 scale model of the central and western parts of the Humble Administrator’s Garden helped visitors visualize the art of garden-making.

The museum made full use of computers, electronic displays, electronic maps, and other modern equipment to present the gardens’ delicacy in a way suited to modern people. Beyond high-tech, the museum utilized every space to place classic Suzhou garden elements inside. By “deconstructing” the gardens in this way, the cultural connotations of gardens were simplified and popularized, with the goal of presenting a complete garden history within the museum.

Real photos of famous rockery peaks and simplified architectural diagrams let ordinary visitors understand rockery techniques.

Throughout the museum, various lattice windows were used. They had different shapes but were all exquisite. This museum had a rich flavor; its exhibits were not limited to the rooms but were everywhere. The building’s doors, windows – these components themselves, or the courtyards as embellishments – were all exhibits of garden elements.

In the Garden Art Hall, the Furnishings and Architecture Hall used many live setting displays: lattice windows, covered walkways, moon gates... A half-finished corridor displayed the processes of lacquering and tiling, while zhui corners and dougong brackets fully displayed the superb craftsmanship of garden artisans.

Text, photos, and architectural diagrams introduced architectural elements in Suzhou gardens.

In the glass cabinets of the Architecture Hall, many representative garden architectural models were on display. On the left, the Fucui Pavilion of the Humble Administrator’s Garden in red rosewood; on the right, Zhuoying Pavilion of the Master of Nets Garden in old redwood... each piece deserved careful appreciation. Along the wall, a cabinet displayed building tools.

At the north end of the Architecture Hall, a brick-carved gateway with upturned eaves caught my eye. This was a 1:0.8 scale replica of the “Basket of Brightness Soars High” brick gateway from the Master of Nets Garden. Fine brick carving was widely used in folk residences since the Ming dynasty. This gateway from the Qianlong reign of the Qing is a masterpiece using relief, openwork, and hollow-carving techniques, a unique Jiangnan craft. Because of its unique carving methods, exquisite transparency, and complete preservation, it’s hailed as the finest brick-carved gateway in Jiangnan. Now reproduced here, it displays the artisans’ wisdom and skill. In one corner of the gateway, a flared corner let us understand this architectural pattern.

A model of the Master of Nets Garden’s Peony Study.

Garden architectural elements and decorations.

Between the exhibition halls were several small gardens, which completely replicated a Suzhou garden courtyard. Rockeries, flowers, paving, bonsai, and other garden elements conveyed cultural connotations and artistic moods.

Wandering in the Garden Museum, immersed in a landscape of imaginative beauty, whether enhanced by sound, light, and electricity, or dotted with pavilions, terraces, and towers – historical, realistic, and imagined gardens were momentarily deconstructed into this museum. How ingenious it was to create the scenery of a natural garden within the vehicle of a museum!

Bamboo shooting through the sky between two tall walls – garden methods permeate the museum’s layout.

After appreciating the exquisite art in the Art Hall, I came to the Culture Hall to understand the garden’s cultural depth. By analyzing the garden’s connection with literati, philosophy, literature, painting, calligraphy, stele inscriptions, stone appreciation, and folk customs, it displayed the breadth and profundity of Suzhou gardens.

A peony-and-phoenix stone carving.

The Mandarin Duck Hall of the Lingering Garden. In the long river of history, gardens were often where officials or literati retreated from public life, lodging their sentiments in nature. Gardens witnessed lifestyles and handed down cultural fragments. Floating through the Garden Museum, you could hear the breath of history and feel its pulse.

In the Heritage Hall, precious photos and texts detailed the process of Suzhou gardens’ application for World Heritage status and the historic moments when five Suzhou gardens were inscribed as World Heritage sites.

In one courtyard, an exhibit introduced the application of garden-style architecture in urban infrastructure, residential areas, and leisure zones.

As closing time approached, I reluctantly left the Garden Museum. It wasn't large, but it deserved much more than the dismissive tone of the staff. It was well worth visiting. Suzhou has probably over a hundred large and small gardens. Whether you are a garden novice or, like me, have already visited quite a few, the museum offers new knowledge. It makes us familiar with gardens, teaching us how to appreciate and savor them. The Garden Museum is the “textbook” for understanding Suzhou gardens.

Just steps away was the main entrance of the Humble Administrator’s Garden – indeed, the Garden Museum is part of it.

One side of Dongbei Street was the white high wall of the Humble Administrator’s Garden; the other side was lined with local shops.

The trees beyond the white wall were so graceful, like a troupe of dancers.

Every doorway of the Humble Administrator’s Garden was worth a careful look.

Standing on the Humble Administrator’s Garden bridge on Yuanlin Road, I took in Suzhou’s ubiquitous scene of small bridges, flowing water, and homes.

With such bridges, water, and flowers everywhere, visiting Suzhou gardens really requires no ticket – gardens are actually everywhere.

There was still time, so I casually picked a lane and strolled in. Panru Alley is one of Suzhou’s ancient streets, running east from Pingjiang Road to Lindun Road in the west, divided into east and west sections by Yuanlin Road.

I walked westward along West Panru Alley.

No. 32 West Panru Alley was an exit of the Suzhou Folk Custom Museum.

A few steps further stood a large mansion – the former site of Wang’s Dunyu Charity Hall founded during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty. It now serves as the Suzhou Museum’s office.

The lane was antique, with few shops and not many pedestrians, exuding a strong local feel.

At the western end of West Panru Alley, I turned onto a service road off Lindun Road and circled back to Dongbei Street where Suzhou Museum was.

Opposite Suzhou Museum was a cultural creative shop.

The merchandise was fun and full of creativity.

Through its large glass windows, I gazed at the street scene.

The shops all had an old-world charm.

Ordinary houses, each with a stream flowing before their door – what a life of flowing moments.

A lady in Tang dynasty costume, as if time-traveling.

The shops were typical tourist-street shops, all stocked with very Suzhou-style goods.

Seeing it was about time, I headed back, walking from Dongbei Street to Xibei Street, toward Beisi Pagoda metro station.

Behind the street, the little river still accompanied me.

Where there’s a river, there must be a bridge – Mugu Bridge.

Everywhere in Suzhou is beautiful.

At the end of Xibei Street was the metro station. When I’d come out of the metro earlier, I’d been so focused on the museum that I hadn’t noticed a towering Beisi Pagoda right there. Now the scenic area was already closed for the day, so I could only stand outside and look at this majestic ancient pagoda. Baidu knowledge: Beisi Pagoda (also called Bao’en Temple Pagoda) is Suzhou’s oldest Buddhist temple, with over 1,700 years of history, one of the renowned ancient monasteries in Jiangnan. It was first built during the Chiwu period of the Three Kingdoms (238–251 AD), said to have been donated by Lady Wu, Sun Quan’s mother, and originally called Tongxuan Temple. In the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang dynasty (713–741) it was renamed Kaiyuan Temple. During the Later Zhou (954–959) it was rebuilt and renamed Bao’en Temple.

A wooden memorial archway with four stone pillars, three bays, and five-tiered roof stood facing the street on the south side, along with a three-bay hard-gable entrance hall and an splayed screen wall with brick cladding.

The pagoda stood 76 meters high, nine stories with eight corners, towering behind yellow walls and green trees.

One subway stop and I was conveniently at the train station. The square in front was beautiful.

With high-speed rail, traveling between cities is so effortless. Next time, I’ll find a weekend and come especially for the Suzhou Museum. Some people wish for a perfect trip every time, but I quite like a little bit of regret. Regret means there will be a reason for the next journey.