Flower power
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 26, 2013
The garden has a covered walkway, so if it's raining, visitors can still enjoy the scenery without being soaked.
The most beautiful time for the evening tour is when the full moon is hanging in the sky. In the center of the garden is the Pavilion Where the Moon Meets the Breeze, with a huge mirror hung on the wall.
On nights when there's a full moon, its reflection on the water and in the mirror create a stunning "three moon" composition.
The Master-of-Nets Garden
Admission: 30 yuan (April 16-October 30); 20 yuan (October 31-April 15); 100 yuan for evening tour
Address: 11 Kuojiatou Lane
Tel: 0512-6520-3514
How to get there: Tour Bus No. 2
Surrounding attractions
Shiquan Street, at the exit of the Master-of-Nets Garden is a popular bar street in Suzhou. As two hotels here were the only accommodation available for overseas visitors in the past, it became a favorite area with foreigners. Even though the city now has other entertainment zones, there is still a buzz here at night.Tiger Hill and the Lingerings Garden
The cradle of Suzhou, Tiger Hill remains one of the most popular scenic areas in the city. Bonsai has become one of the key features of Tiger Hill, with thousands of miniature trees collected in a garden called "Garden of All Sceneries." This includes a precious Chinese sweet plum bonsai, which has a history of more than 400 years.
Bonsai masters in the garden demonstrate their delicate horticultural skills, and visitors can also have a go.
"Such interactive activities are very popular, especially among foreign visitors," said Wang Jianqiang, a bonsai master who has been working for more than two decades at the garden.
Wang said most foreign bonsai lovers are more familiar with Japanese bonsai, but as China was the cradle of the culture, Chinese bonsai has a stronger cultural background and greater achievements.
Yunyan tea is another attraction of Tiger Hill. Grown on the far side of the hill, it is too precious to sell. Visitors can only taste it in a nearby tea house.
Every spring, a tea festival is held in the field, on which visitors can learn to pick and process the tea leaves.
The Lingerings Garden is not far from Tiger Hill. Along with the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingerings Garden, created during the Ming Dynasty, is listed as among "the best four gardens in China" (the other two are royal gardens in Beijing and Hebei Province). The garden is renowned as among the best places to appreciate Taihu Lake stone, an attractive type of limestone found around the lake.
The garden has three treasures.
There is a masterpiece of Taihu Lake stone - slender, with folds and numerous holes which allow light to flood through. It is joined by a natural cross-section of marble, which resembles a painting of a landscape beneath the moon.
The third treasure is a 200-millionyear-old fossil of a cod. It is said the former owner of the garden just loved the stone's pattern, without realizing that it was a fossil of a fish.
Tiger Hill
Admission: 60 yuan (April 16-October 30); 40 yuan (October 31-April 15)
Address: Inside the Tiger Hill Gate
Tel: 0512-6723-2305
How to go: Tour Bus No. 1, 2
The Lingerings Garden
Admission: 40 yuan (April 16-October 30); 30 yuan (October 31-April 15)
Address: 79 Liuyuan Rd
Tel: 0512-6533-7903
Transport: Tour Bus No. 1, 2
Surrounding attractions
Shantang Street is an ancient street with more than 1,000 years of history. Visitors can enjoy traditional Suzhou snacks here, while accommodation is available in homey Suzhou-style bed-and-breakfasts.
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