Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou (must see)

The Humble Administrator's Garden is a renowned Chinese garden in Suzhou. At 51,950 m2, it is the largest garden in Suzhou and is generally considered to be the finest garden in all of southern China. In 1997 it was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.

Today's garden is only very loosely related to its earliest version, but maintains its late Qing appearance, with numerous pavilions and bridges set among a maze of connected pools and islands. It consists of three major parts set about a large lake: the central part (Zhuozheng Yuan), the eastern part (Dwelling Upon Return to the Countryside), and a western part (the Supplementary Garden).

In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 stelae, 21 precious old trees, and over 700 Suzhou-style penjing/penzai. Eastern Garden Composed of a few buildings around a central great lawn and pond combination. Central Garden is composed of many scenes arranged around the Surging Wave Pond. Within the pond three islands recreate the scenery of the fariy islands of the east sea.