The Ministry of Construction has released the names of the first
batch of 20 national parks, including 9 Suzhou classical gardens:
Zhuozheng Garden, Liu Garden, Wangshi Garden, Huanxiu Villa, Lion
Grove, Yipu Garden, Ou Garden, Tuisi Garden and Canglang
Pavilion.
National parks refer to the famous city parks and gardens.
Suzhou classical gardens are a part of China's precious cultural
heritage (all the 9 gardens are on the list of World Cultural
Heritage) as well as an indispensable part of the life of Suzhou
citizens. In addition to all of this, they are also world-renowned
tourism resorts. In fact, their unique historical and cultural
background serves to contribute to their ranking among national
parks.
The earliest classical gardens in Suzhou can be dated back to
the Song Dynasty (960-1279). However, the gardens impress their
visitors not only with their age-old history but also with their
delicate scenes, particularly Canglang Pavilion, Zhuozheng Garden,
Lion Grove, and Liu Garden, the most famous 4 that represent
different styles of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
In 1978, an imitation of a Suzhou classical garden was set up by
Chen Congzhou (the author of the book Suzhou Classical Gardens) in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, which was the first
time ever to directly introduce Chinese ancient architecture to
Westerners.
(China News Service February 27, 2007)
