China Diary -- Part 40 More Gardening in Suzhou

As I mentioned before the classical gardens of Suzhou are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Go here to see the whole array of gardens, including a spectacular 360 degree daytime view of our next stop -- the "Master-of-Nets Garden" [Wangshi Yuan] . It was constructed back in the Twelfth Century by the Southern Song Dynasty to represent the solitary life of a fisherman. It was restored by a government official in the Eighteenth Century. A portion of the garden has been reproduced in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

We visited the garden at night. The entire complex is divided into several rooms around a central pool. As we progressed from room to room we were treated to a series of entertainments.








Our visit ended, as so many of them did, with another "shopping opportunity". The last performance took place in a well-appointed gift shop.


Then it was out into the night, through the streets of the city and back to our hotel for some much-needed rest.