留園 Suzhou Garden:Liu-Yuan

In the evening of Dragon Boat Festival, we visited another Chinese garden--Liu Yuan.  Liu Yuan is one of the four most famous Chinese Gardens in China.  It is also a World Heritage certified by UN.  The most spectacular scene in the garden is a Tai-hu Rock called Guan Yun Feng which stands for "the hill over the clouds". It is also the tallest object among the neighborhood. This rock is a heritage from Song Dynasty.

We walked along the winding roofed walkway and  zigzaged stone path to different gardens and forests. Some old trees standing firmly on the rock based forest provided shades for visitors in the hot summer. As we walked, the view was changing. The variety of plants change with the seasons, which gives us a good reason for more re-visits in other seasons.

留園與拙政園、北京颐和園、承德避暑山庄齊名，為中國"四大名園"。1961年列为中国重点文物保護单位。1997年列入"世界遗產名录"。留园三绝是：冠云峰、楠木殿、鱼化石。這次摄影师 Richy只拍到冠云峰和楠木殿，鱼化石因为體積小，加上出發前没有先做好研究，所以遗漏了。下次必定將它找出，我们有庭园卡在手，随时可以再访留园，江南庭园四季的景色各有特色，值得一地数游。說實話，那张楠木殿的照片也拍得不太成功(攝影技術?)，下次一併補齊囉!

 

Guan-Yun Feng, the Tai-Hu Rock

冠云峰是太湖石中的绝品，集太湖石的"瘦、皺、漏、透、醜"五奇於一身，相傳這塊奇石是宋末年花石綱中的遗物。

Roofed path over the water

 

Rock mountain

Stone table

 

Stone paved ground with animal picture

Chinese Word "壽" for " Longevity" , with five bats"五福" stands for "5 blessings"

 

 

 Birds picking tree barks for nest-building. A wild-life lesson for Winston

 Man-made mountain and fish pool

Zizag stone paths