The four famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River include the Zhan Garden in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, the Liuyuan Garden in Suzhou, the Humble Administrator's Garden, and the Jichang Garden in Wuxi.
1. Zhanyuan Garden in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province: Zhanyuan Garden is the oldest existing garden in Nanjing, with a history of more than 600 years, and is one of the four famous gardens in Jiangnan. It was first built in the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang built this mansion and garden for Xu Da because he missed his hero Xu Da and could not live in peace. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty stayed here during his southern tour and named it Zhanyuan. He also copied it and built "Ruyuan" in Changchun Garden in Beijing. Although Zhanyuan Garden is not big, it is quite distinctive. Mountains, water and rocks are the main scenery. The main building, Jingmiao Hall, divides the garden into two scenic areas, the north and the south. The northern area is larger, with rockeries accounting for about one-third. There is a pool in front of the mountain, and a verandah is built along the wall on the east bank of the pool. The west bank is a natural scene of mountains, flowers and trees.
2. The Lingering Garden in Suzhou: The Lingering Garden, a classical garden in Suzhou, is located at No. 338, Lingering Garden Road, Changmenwai, Suzhou. It was built in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called Hanbi Villa, commonly known as Liuyuan, and later changed to Liuyuan. It is famous for its exquisite architectural layout and numerous strange stones. It is one of the four famous gardens in China along with the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, the Summer Palace in Beijing, and the Chengde Summer Resort. The Liuyuan Garden is a large-scale classical private garden in China, covering an area of ??23,300 square meters. It represents the style of the Qing Dynasty. The garden is famous for its exquisite architectural art. The halls are grand and gorgeous, and the courtyards are rich in changes. The Taihu stone is crowned with Guanyun Peak, and there is no city outside. And get the joy of mountains and forests. Its architectural space processing is exquisite, and the gardeners used various artistic techniques to form a rhythmic garden space system, which has become a world-famous example of artistic processing of architectural space. The Lingering Garden is another business card of Suzhou. It is one of the four famous gardens in China together with the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. It has its own uniqueness. There is a saying that if the mountains are not high, there will be immortals, and if the water is not deep, there will be fish. . Although the Liuyuan Garden covers a small area, its ingenious layout and exquisite architecture are truly unparalleled. Suzhou classical gardens emphasize "one scene per step, changing scenery with each step", and the beauty of the Lingering Garden can be changed without moving. You only need to stand in place and turn your body to see the beautiful scenery.
3. Humble Administrator’s Garden: Humble Administrator’s Garden is an outstanding representative of Chinese gardens and a model of private gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. With its long humanistic history, rich cultural connotation, high gardening achievements, and open nature, the Humble Administrator’s Garden It is famous for its unique style, elegant and beautiful scenery. It is one of China's four famous gardens (Humble Administrator's Garden, Liuyuan Garden, Summer Palace, Chengde Summer Resort) and has the longest history. In 1961, it was listed as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council. In 1991, it was listed as a national-level special tourist attraction by the State Planning Commission, Tourism Bureau and Ministry of Construction. It was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1997. In 2000, it was awarded the title of one of the first batch of AAAA tourist attractions in the country by the National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Construction. Since 1996, the Humble Administrator's Garden has held the Rhododendron Tourism Festival and the Lotus Tourism Festival respectively in spring and summer every year.
4. Jichang Garden in Wuxi: Jichang Garden is a Han classical garden building built in the Ming Dynasty. It is located on Huishan Heng Street, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. The site of the garden was originally the dormitory of Huishan Temple and two monks' residences. In the early Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (around 1527 AD), Qin Jin, who served as the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, found it and turned it into a garden, named Fenggu Villa. After the death of Qin Jin, his nephew Qin Han and his son Qin Liang, the governor of Jiangxi Province, returned to the clan. In the 39th year of Jiajing reign (1560 AD), Qin Han renovated the garden and built a pond and stacked mountains. It was also called Fenggu Villa. After the death of Qin Liang, the garden was transferred to Qin Liang's nephew Qin Yao, the right deputy imperial envoy of the Duchayuan and the governor of Huguang. In the 19th year of Wanli (AD 1591), Qin Yao was dismissed because his mentor Zhang Juzheng was criticized. After returning to Wuxi, he expressed his depression among the mountains and rivers, dredged ponds, rebuilt gardens, and constructed twenty landscapes. He wrote a poem for each scene, exuding the spirit, temperament, and charm of the traditional culture of the Han nation.