Lingering Garden

Lingering Garden is situated outside of the Changmen Gate of Suzhou City, covering an area of 2.3 hectares. Originally it was a classic private garden and built in 1593 by XuTaishi, a bureaucrat of the Ming court, as his private residence. It is also one of the four most famous gardens in China, the other three being the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Mountain Summer Resort in Chengde, and the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou.

Like other famous gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden seeks to create stunning natural landscapes within limited space. In this garden, domiciles, ancestral temples and private gardens are included. Buildings, trees, and flowers blend harmoniously with their surroundings.

The garden can generally be divided into four parts: the central, eastern, western and northern parts according to the style of the buildings. These four parts are connected by a 700-meter (about 0.4 miles) long corridor on the wall of which calligraphy carved on the stone can be found.

Possessing typical Qing style, it is well-known for the exquisite beauty of its magnificent halls, and the various sizes, shapes, and colors of the buildings. In 1997, the garden was recorded on the list of the world heritage by UESCO.