Yiyuan
Among so many gardens in Suzhou, Yi Yuan (The Garden of Pleasure怡园) is a small garden situated in the very downtown of Suzhou. It is good for solo adventurers and visits during their free time by themselves, thanks to the convenient transportation. The area is a good place to enjoy a cup of green tea and observe what locals do.
Among so many gardens in Suzhou, like Humble Administrator Garden and Lingering Garden, Yi Yuan is not so famous, both in scale and history. It was built in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), which was later than most gardens. However, the bright side is that it absorbed the advantages of the most famous and classical gardens and presented the essence in a small area, becoming a specialty of southern gardens.
What to See
Yi Yuan is also called Si Yuan (似园). The garden is divided into two parts—east and west. The western part was once the temple, and the south part residence.
East Part
The East Part is from the entrance of the garden. The highlights for this part are courtyards and buildings.
Follow the winding corridor and walk southward to Yuyuan Pavilion. Next, turn in the northwest direction and reach Xiaosa Pavilion. Then there are two paths before. The ones to the west include Yuhong Pavilion, Stone Boat, Suolv Pavilion, and a rockery. The one to the south presents Po Xian Qin Pavilion, Baishi Pavilion, and then turns westward and back to the west again.
West Part
This part is surrounded by a pool, which is the heart of the western part. The south side of the pool boasts a Yuanyang Hall. It is a kind of hall divided into a north hall and a south hall. The north hall is for enjoying the summer by appreciating lotuses, and the south hall is for winter by appreciating plum blossoms and snow.
The north side of the pool has elegant rockeries, pavilions, and stone boats in a different style from that of the east part.
Anecdote
The garden was once a villa for a high official in the early Qing Dynasty, Jinmei Zhao.
There is an interesting story during the construction of the villa. At that time, someone reported to the emperor that Jinmei Zhao had built a palace in his hometown,n which stimulated the scale and structure of the royal palace.
This angered the emperor, who sent officials to check immediately. Zhao's family got the news rapidly and named a major temple in the garden, The Temple of Luzu (The founder of the main branch of Daoism), that very night. The officials sent from the royal palace left without finding any proof. Zhao's family avoided a disaster cleverly, and the garden has luckily survived until today.
Best Time to Visit
Spring and Autumn are the best seasons to go when the flowers are colorful in spring and leaves turn different colors in autumn. In summer, lotus flowers are very beautiful, while in winter, visitors can see a very rare snowy scene in the garden.