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Garden of Master of the Nets

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It is the smallest of the Suzhou residential gardens and the most exquisite in design. Its total area only accounts one sixth of that of Humble Administrator’s Garden, but it is listed in the World Cultural Heritage. It is the most impressive because of its use of space that creates the illusion of an area that is much greater than its actual size. Sometimes the smallest package can contain the most magnificent gift. Wangshi Garden is a clear example of this and becomes the favorite of many people specialized in garden architecture. Even more than the architectural achievement is the mood of tranquility and harmony that this humble garden embodies.

The Garden of the Master of the Net  was first built in the Southern Song Dynasty and was the former site of “Wanjuan Hall” owned by Yangzhou intellectual Shi Zhengzhi who was a book collector and vice minister of the Song Dynasty. The former name of Wangshi Garden was “Yuyin (fisher living in seclusion)”. During the reign of Qian Long, Song Zhongyuan, a retired official, rebuilt the garden. Facing Wangsi Lane (today’s Kuojietou Lane), the garden was given a new name “Wangshi Garden” because Wangsi and Wangshi are homophonic. Wangshi (fisher) is the same with “Yuyin” in meaning of living in seclusion. In the years of the ‘republic of China, warlord Zhuang Zuolin gave this garden to his teacher Zhuang Junjian and later Zhuang Junjian settled in the north of China. Wangshi Garden was rented to calligrapher Ye Gongchuo and traditional Chinese painting master Zhang Daqian and his brother. Wangshi Garden is divided into two sections: residential section and garden. It is a typical residential garden in Jiangnan region and can be also divided into three parts: the eastern part, the central part and the western part.

The garden lies to the northwest of the house, making up four fifth of the total area. Quite different from the normal architecture in the east, the garden architecture enjoys a considerable degree of free. Varieties of building are laid out to meet the needs of reading, painting, viewing, resting, and sipping tea. Holding small banquet among scholarly friends, capping verse, performing on a musical instrument, meditating on nature and cultivating one's mind. Roughly speaking, there are three parts in the garden. The Small Hill and Osmanthus, Fragrance Pavilion, the Daohe House and the Music Room constitute the middle distance of the confined southern part of the garden. The technique of emancipation by suppression and contrasting light with shade are remarkably employed to make the middle part of the garden appear more impressive that it is when seen alone.

The middle part of the garden has a pond in the center covering about 440 sq.m. With a small bay to the northwest and a streamlet to the southeast giving the impression of infinity. It is curved round by a roofed walkway, natural-looking mountains made from yellow stones piled up in layers forming hollows and caverns within, a tiny arch bridge called "the Leading to Quietude", and a number of delicate and well-proportioned pavilions, namely the Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion over the water, the Moon Comes with Breeze Pavilion, the Prunus Mume Pavilion and the Duck-Shooting Veranda. The Washing-My-Ribbon Pavilion over the water is the best viewing place of the garden. The northern part of the garden features studies and studios with beautiful garden courts. Some noteworthy places include the Peony Study. The Watching Pines and Appreciating Paintings Studio, the Meditation Study, the Five Peaks Library and the Cloud Stairway Room. With whitewashed walls as their backdrop, stones bamboo, Prunus mumm and Musa basjoo partly concealed by windows and buildings have incredibly come to form numerous picturesque scenes.

The western part is the inner garden that is elegant and exquisite in design and many Chinese peonies are abundantly planted here. The most famous house here is “Dianchunyi” where architecture style, furniture and palace lanterns have the distinction of the Ming Dynasty and was used as the model for the Ming Hall Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1979, which made Chinese garden world-wide known.

Edition HistoryAddLocation:

Edition HistoryAddTicket Price:

Edition HistoryEdit Opening Time:
Opening time: 8：00—17：30

Edition HistoryEdit How to get there:
Traffic: tourists can take No. 2 touring bus, No.202 (former No.2 bus), No.204 (former No.4 bus), No.529 (No. 29 bus), No. 931(former No.32 bus), No.47, No.501 (former No. 401 bus) and No.55 bus to Wangshi Garden.

Edition HistoryEdit Tips:
Tips: the classical night garden in Wangshi Garden is open from March to November every year and opening time is 19:30—22:00 every night. If tour party comes here near the closing time, opening time will be prolonged. Every program is performed about average ten minutes. As soon as tourists arrive, the performance begins. Performers and audiences sit together and viewing at short distance gives tourists wonderful enjoyment.