Garden of the Politics of the Humble Man, Gardens of Suzhou Zhuozheng Yuan

The picturesque Garden of the Politics of the Humble Man (Zhuozheng Yuan), came into being in the 16th C, on the site of a former Buddhist monastery, to the north of the Lion Grove. The first owner, the retired minister Wang Xiancheng who named this garden, was inspired by a hermit's saying. He had said, ''the politics I indulge in as a humble man is to water the garden and plant vegetables''. His son apparently lost the garden in a game of chance. The site is divided into western, middle and eastern sections, the middle section is of particular interest to the visitor. Numerous towers and pavilions rise up on the banks of the pools, which occupy three fifths of the area, creating the impression that the whole garden is floating on water.Directly beyond the entrance is the beginning of the eastern section. Following the visitor's route the sights are: the Orchid and the Snow Palaces, the Hill of Cloud Hunting (Zhuiyun Feng), the Pavilion of the Spring of Heaven (Tianquan Ting), the Villa of the Fragrant Journey (Shuxiang Guan) and the Pavilion of the Beautiful Landscape (Fangyan Ting). In the middle garden are several pavilions, small villas and bridges arranged around a pool, in the middle of which rises a hill. Among the best-known buildings here are the Palace of the Distant Fragrance (Yuanxiang Tang), The Pavilion of the Four Winds (Hefengsimian Ting), the Pavilion of the Wind in the Pinewood (Songfeng Ting), the Pavilion of Waiting for Frost (Daishuang Ting) and the Bridge of the Fleeing Rainbow (Xiaofeihong).The most beautiful building in the western section of the garden is, without doubt, the Palace of the Mandarin Duck (Yuanyang Ting) with the Hall of Thirty-six Mandarin Ducks (Sanshiliu Yuanyang Guan), and the Hall of the Eighteen Camellias (Shiba Mantuohua Guan).