Garden of the Master of the Nets
From ChinaTravelGuide
East China (华东) » Jiangsu (江苏) » Suzhou (苏州) » Gardens of Suzhou (苏州园林) » Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wangshiyuan, 网师园)Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wangshiyuan, 网师园) | |
| Address: | NO.11 Koujiatou Lane, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006 |
| Phone: | 86 512 65293190 |
| Web site: | http://www.szwsy.com/ |
| Price Range: | 10.31~4.15 RMB 20.00￥ ~ 4.16~10.30 RMB 30.00￥ |
| Hours: | 3.1~11.15 7：30~17：30；11.16~2.29 7：30~17：00 |
| Tourist Rating: |  |
| Short Description: | The Master-Of-Nets Garden is one of the four famous gardens in Suzhou, which has also won the titles of world cultural heritage site, a scenic spot of national 4A level and historical and cultural relics under state protection. The park is located in No. 11, Kuojiatou Lane, Daichengqiao Road, which is in the southeast part of Suzhou City, the Park is about 120 km from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, is a typical Suzhou Mansion garden, and also is the magnum opus of middle and small-sized classical garden of River South of China. |
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[edit] Description
While many rich officials and merchants built gardens simply to entertain, the more scholarly and poetic among the rich wanted to create contemplative retreats. The most perfect of these retreats, is Wang Shi Yuan, the Master of Nets Garden, a masterpiece of landscape compression. Founded by a retired politician, who claimed he had given up public life to become a fisherman, it covers barely more than one acre. Smallest of all Suzhou's gardens, it is situated right in the center of town.
The Master-Of-Nets Garden is one of the four famous gardens in Suzhou, which has also won the titles of world cultural heritage site, a scenic spot of national 4A level and historical and cultural relics under state protection. The park is located in No. 11, Kuojiatou Lane, Daichengqiao Road, which is in the southeast part of Suzhou City, the Park is about 120 km from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, is a typical Suzhou Mansion garden, and also is the magnum opus of middle and small-sized classical garden of River South of China. The Park was built in Chunxi Year of Southern Song Dynasty (1174 A.D.) by Shi Lang (an ancient Chinese official title) Shi Zhengzhi after he retired from the Court. It is a private Garden with thousands of collected books. So it's also called the Hall of 10000 Volumes. Flower garden was built opposite the gate, which is called Yu Yin. During the Qian Long Period of Qing Dynasty (about 1765), a Shao Qing (a title) of Guanglu Temple named Song Zongyuan bought the Garden and make it a villa. The garden was enlarged with 12 scenes of storied building, pavilion, platform and etc., and Song Zongyuan named the Master-Of-Nets Scenery. Late of Qian Long Period (1795 A.D.m), a merchant prince in Taicang named Qu Yuancun bought the garden and built Plum Blossom Tieshi Hill House, the Small Hill and Osmanthus Fragrans Pavilion, the Washing My Ribbon Pavilion, the Daohe House, the Moon Comes with Breeze Pavilion, the Cloudy Mountain, the Prunus Mume Pavilion, the Meditation Study etc. to make the basic layout of the current garden. The Garden followed the name of “Master-Of-Net”. The Garden was also named “Qu Garden ”as the owner had a family name of Qu. During the Tong Zhi Period, the Garden was taken over by an An Cha Shi (Chinese Official Title) of Jiangsu named Li Hongyi and Li changed its name into “Su Lin Scenery”. After Li passed away, his heritor Li Shaomei inherited the Garden and added the Beauty within Reach Tower in the 22nd Year of Guang Xu Period (1896 A.D.). In the 33rd Year of Guang Xu Period (1907 A.D.), the Garden was transferred to General Da Gui of that Period. Later after Xin Hai Revolution, a warlord from Northeast China named Zhang Zuolin purchased the Garden from Da Gui at the expense of silver currency of 300,000 Liang (a Chinese currency unit). In the 5th Year of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin gave the Garden to his teacher Zhang Xiluan as a birthday present, and entitled it a new name “Yi Garden”. The Garden in this period was also called “Zhang’s Garden” and the spots of Full of Beauty Hall, Recalling Ancientry Pavilion, the Peony Study, Moon Sieving Pavilion etc. were all built then. Before the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Daqian and his brother Zhang Shanzi, two great Chinese Painting masters, resided in the Garden, there’re also some modern inscription calligraphers and painters such as Ye Gongchuo living together. Dafeng Studio, the studio of the Zhang brothers, is just the Peony Study now. In 1940, a connoisseur and collector named He Yanong bought the Garden and resumed the name of “the Master-Of-Nets Garden”. In 1950, the later generation of He Yanong donated the Garden to the country. In 1958, Suzhou Garden Management Bureau made overall refitting on 台he Master-Of-Nets Garden, the Cloud Stairway Hall was enlarged and new spots such as Green Jade Spring and Cold Spring Pavilion were built, the Garden was renewed then. In October of 1958, the the Master-Of-Nets Garden was formally opened to the public.
The Master-Of-Nets Garden only has an area of a little more than 8 Mu (a unit of area), the garden can be divided into three major parts: housing area as the east part, where mansions concentrating; landscape scenery area as the middle part; and inner garden as the west part, which is also called Garden in Garden. The design of layout balanced the outer shape of the Garden and diversified the inner scenery as landscape changing. The east part is consisted with Ancestry Hall, Entrance Hall, the Sedan-chair Hall, Lobby (main hall) - the Hall of 10000 Volumes, fine bricks gate tower “Zao Yao Gao Xiang”, inner hall (Women Hall, The Beauty within Reach Tower) and the Cloud Stairway Hall. The middle part is consisted with Tieshi Hill House, the Music Room, the Daohe House, the Washing My Ribbon Pavilion, the Rosy Clouds Pool, the Moon Comes with Breeze Pavilion, the Watching Pine and Appreciating Painting Studio, the Prunus Mume Pavilion, the Meditation Study, the Maid Tower, the Five Peak's Library, Duck Shooting Corridor and the Leading to Quietude Bridge (Three-step Bridge) The West Part is consisted with Dew Elite House, Green Jade Spring, Cold Spring Pavilion and the Peony Study. The architectures of the garden are outstanding by their beautiful shaping and delicate designs. The pavilions around the spring share the characters of small-sized, low height and penetrative patterns, the furniture in the pavilions are mainly made of rosewood, fancy and elegant. Yellow stones are used in the rockery, flower table and bank, and lake stones are used in other yards, the design is reasonable as avoiding the stones mixed together. There are not many plants in the Garden but each are essential, the main species of the plants are green maple, laurel, white bark pine, black pine, wisteria and yulan etc. Flowers such as peony are planted in the Dew Elite House. The cypress planted by Shi Zhengzhi, the first owner of the Garden, has witnessed the eras changing for nearly a thousands of years. With exquisite gardening techniques, deep cultural details and elegant garden intensions, the Master-Of-Net Garden won the title of the typical classical middle and small sized garden of River South without doubt, and as a “Perfect Small-sized Garden”, the Garden has gain a high reputation at home and aboard.
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Bus： 529、931、55、202、204、47、501、511、Special tour line 2
[edit] Fees/Hours
Ticket Prices 4.16~10.30 RMB 30.00￥
10.31~4.15 RMB 20.00￥
Open Time
3.1~11.15 7：30~17：30
11.16~2.29 7：30~17：00
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[edit] Other Local Attractions
- Temple of Secrets (Xuanmiao Guan, 玄妙观) (distance 1)
- Second Hill Gate (Er Shanmen, 二山门) (distance 2)
- Sword Lake (Jianchi, 剑池) (distance 3)
- Tiger Hill (Huqiu Hill, 虎丘) (distance 4)
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Enjoying a high reputation at home and abroad thanks to the movie "Satisfied Or Not”, the Deyuelou Restaurant, located in the busiest downtown center of the delicacy street of Taijian Lane, is a Chinese catering store renowned both inside and outside the county and one of national ten-excellence restaurant. Founded in the years under Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, it has a history of over 400 years and has been mainly engaged in Suzhou cuisine dishes, with "beauty Xi Shi enjoying looking at the moon”,” honey flavored braised ham", etc. being among its well-known dishes. Deyuelou's building ,of primitive simplicity and with a view in every step, is of the quintessence of Suzhou garden architecture being one of the ten major buildings in Suzhou.
Being a "Time-honored Store in China", it was founded in 1930s, with the reputation of "its noodle varieties being well-known in the region from Nanjing to Shanghai". Later it was moved to the quaternary road crossing near the Humble Administration Garden, with its varieties increased into various fried noodles, fried Spring Festival cakes, presently fried garnishes to be served with on top of noodles, breakfast tea pastries, etc, in the way of incessantly bringing forth the new through discarding the old.
Suzhou mooncakes, featured by their soft surface, elegant color and delicious filling, are regarded as the cream of Suzhou pastry. There are two types of mooncakes: sweet and salty according to the taste, or baked and toasted to the method. The sweet mooncakes are made baked, including such kinds as rose mooncake, gingko mooncake, etc; while the salty ones are made toasted including such kinds as ham mooncake with lard, fresh meat mooncake, etc. The materials including flavorings of Suzhou mooncakes are carefully chosen, carrying typical local characteristics. The fillings of sweet mooncakes are mainly roses, osmanthus flowers, walnut kernels, shelled melon seeds, peanut kernels, seasame meat, etc. Those of salty ones are mainly ham, meat, shrimp meat, lard, onion, etc. While the surface part of the cakes are mainly compounded with flour, white sugar, maltose, fat, etc.
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