Yiyuan
No. 1265 Renmin Road, Gusu District, Suzhou City
- Yiyuan is a private garden built by the wealthy man Gu Wenbin during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. It was built late among Suzhou gardens, so it was able to absorb the strengths of other gardens and form its collection-like characteristics. Due to its compact layout and appropriate techniques, it has a high ornamental value. The entire garden covers an area of about nine acres, and is long and narrow from east to west. The garden landscape is divided into two parts, east and west, according to local conditions. The middle is separated by a complex corridor, and the corridor wall has flower windows, which connect the east and west scenery to increase the depth of field. The east side of the corridor is dominated by courtyard buildings. The curved corridor surrounds the pavilion courtyard and is decorated with flowers, trees and stone peaks. Looking through the empty windows of the curved corridor, it becomes a rich Chinese painting. The west side of the corridor is the main scenic area of the whole garden, with the pool in the middle, surrounded by rockery, flowers, trees and buildings. The water surface in the middle is gathered, and the east and west ends are long and narrow, and curved bridges and water gates are built to show the meaning of the pool water circling and trickling. The rockery in the north of the pool is all stacked with beautiful lake stones. Although the mountain is not high, it has peaks, caves and valleys, which are set off by trees and pavilions. The main hall, Ouxiangxie, is a four-sided hall in the style of a mandarin duck hall. It faces the pond to the north, the courtyard to the south, a small bridge to the right, pavilions and caves to the left and right, and leads to the scenic spots in the west. There are dozens of stone tablets with calligraphy and paintings by famous people in the east and west, which can be viewed and appreciated, and are called "Yiyuan Calligraphy".
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