[2025 Suzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Qiyuan Garden (Updated Mar)

Qi Garden is the only garden in Suzhou built among mountains and rivers, hence its reputation as “Lake Tai's No. 1 Garden”. This garden contains the Imperial Marina built during the Kangxi period, and has an extremely idyllic appeal. This area is perfect for dressing in period costume and taking pictures. Drinking bilochun tea in the Jinghu building is also an amazing experience.

Qi Garden, also known as the Xi Family Garden, is located at No. 39 Qiyuan Road, Dongshan Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. It is the only garden in Suzhou built against a hill and beside the water. Composed of a courtyard, a garden, and the Liu Yi Courtyard, it covers an area of over 50 mu. The garden was built in 1933 by Dongshan businessman Xi Qisun to commemorate his ancestors' glorious history of welcoming Emperor Kangxi here. 🌟Highlights: - Unique landscape layout: Built against a hill and beside the water, Qi Garden combines the delicate and intricate artistry of Suzhou gardens with the grandeur of the 72 peaks and the vast expanse of Taihu Lake. - Exquisite garden design: Halls, pavilions, corridors, galleries, lotus ponds, winding shores, flower paths, and stone bridges blend seamlessly with the natural landscape. A multi-level corridor runs through the garden, adding depth and variety to the scenery. - Rich cultural heritage: Qi Garden boasts a rich history and cultural significance. Its architecture, inscriptions, and other features hold high artistic and historical value, making it an outstanding representative of Chinese garden art. ✅Must-sees: - The Imperial Wharf: Where Emperor Kangxi landed, extending into the water with majestic and poetic charm. - The Kangxi Emperor's Hand-Planted Red Bayberry Tree: Legend has it that Emperor Kangxi rested under this tree, witnessing the garden's passage through time. - Liu Yi Well: Said to be a relic of the mythical story "Liu Yi Delivers a Letter," with a stone tablet inscribed by Wang Ao, a Grand Scholar of the Ming Dynasty, in 1520. - The Four-Sided Mirror Lake Hall: A brick and wood structure with upturned eaves, simple yet elegant. To the east, it features the Five Old Men Peak and artificial bamboo shoots, surrounded by lush flowers and trees. - Mirror Lake: The pool surrounding Mirror Lake Hall, where fish dart playfully. Exquisite Taihu rocks are piled around the edge of the pool. 🗓Suggested Itinerary: Upon entering, start with the courtyard, admiring the ancient and elegant architecture and the intricate brick carvings on the gatehouse. Then, proceed to the garden and stroll along Mirror Lake, taking in the scenery of Mirror Lake Hall and the Five Old Men Peak. Cross the multi-level corridor to reach Rongchun Hall. Continue to the rockery, entering through the cave and winding upwards to enjoy views of the fruit trees on the hill and Taihu Lake. Finally, visit the Liu Yi Courtyard and discover the story of Liu Yi Well. 💰Tickets: CNY 45 for adults, free for seniors over 70. Wuzhong Taihu Tourist Annual Pass is accepted.

Suzhou! Check out the ginkgo trees! It's worth it for two people. 😭😭 Suzhou is so ahead of the times! The ground is covered with ginkgo leaves. 🍁 ✔ Outdoor garden ✔ Tea room with bathtub ✔ Pet-friendly Go with your loved one and record the autumn in Suzhou. . ✅ Beautiful environment + smart facilities The room is super comfortable. 🛏 The smart toilet and electric curtains are so convenient. The courtyard is full of roses and ginkgo trees, and there are many popular photo spots. . ✅ Thoughtful service + surprise gifts The butler service is first-class. 💯 I asked if I could use a membership to watch TV, and they immediately got me a membership account. When I left, they gave me homemade cakes. 🍰 So warm and thoughtful. . ✅ Suitable for couples + families + pet-friendly The food here is amazing. 🍜 Foodies must not miss it. All the food is from Suzhou Dongshan Farmhouse, made with fresh ingredients. 🍲 Whether you're a couple 💑 or a family with kids 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, it's perfect for you. . 📍 Location: Qiyuan Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou

Who in Suzhou hasn't been to this place to take pictures of the ginkgo trees. Ah, it's so beautiful it drives me crazy 😭 I took hundreds of photos with my phone, I won't allow there to be any sisters who haven't been here 😘 The ginkgo leaves have turned yellow, the weather has been super good recently, the ginkgo trees under the sunlight are incredibly beautiful, I didn't expect there to be so few people on a weekday, sisters who want to come should hurry up, not much else to say, the original photos are unfiltered and straight out of the camera ‼️Remember to make a reservation in advance at 106 Qiyuan Road We open at 10:00, you can also book a homestay (with an inner courtyard), we only had a meal (in the outer courtyard), one word, rush‼️

Spring has come, and when walking along the lake, there's an illusion of being in Qingdao, with greenery all around. Everywhere you look, there's catkins floating in the air, and by the river, many elderly and children are leisurely catching fish. In the early morning, strolling along Pingjiang Road, you see white walls and black tiles, small bridges over flowing water, and the blooming fragrances of osmanthus and wisteria. In the afternoon, walking around Dushu Lake, you see hydrangeas, late cherry blossoms, and maples The moving ripples, the play of light and shadow in the woods, the chance encounter with a kitten, accompanying X The flat little dog. At the Master of the Nets Garden, you view the scenes through the windows, with the mottled light and shadow, the green maple leaves fluttering in the wind, the koi fish swimming back and forth in the lake, and the crowd under the wisteria flowers is endless. At Jinji Lake, you watch the sunset amidst the crowd, wander around Eslite bookstore, go eat Suzhou-style dishes, and take a digestive stroll under the moonlight on Shantang Street. Suzhou is a beauty that cannot be fully captured in eighteen pictures, slowly changing.

🎬 These films and TV shows were shot in Suzhou, come and check in with your travel buddies! 📸 Suzhou, a city with both rich cultural heritage and picturesque natural scenery, is favored by many film and TV directors. 🎥 Over two hundred film and television works have been staged here, each leaving its unique mark. 👣 📍 Mudu Town The TV series 'Jasmine Flower' was filmed here, starring Chen Daoming, and tells the story of family feuds in a water town. 🌊 🎫 Ticket: 78 RMB 🚌 Public Transport: Take Metro Line 5 to Lingyanshan Station and walk about 800 meters 📝 Travel Recommendations: 1️⃣ Yan's Garden: Pingtan and Kunqu opera during the day, live-action drama at night 🎭 2️⃣ Hongyin Mountain House: Check in at the same filming location 📷 3️⃣ Gusu Garden: View the 500-year-old pine trees 🌲 📍 Qionglong Mountain 'The Military Saint' was born here, based on 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu, shaping the legendary life of a military sage. 🛡️ 🎫 Ticket: 80 RMB 🚌 Public Transport: Take the Qionglong Mountain Guangfu special line to Qionglong Mountain Scenic Area and walk about 155 meters 📝 Travel Recommendations: 1️⃣ Imperial Path: Stroll through the woods, a natural oxygen bar 🌳 2️⃣ Wanghu Garden: Overlook the beautiful scenery below the mountain 🌄 3️⃣ Sun Wu Garden: The creation site of 'The Art of War' 📜 📍 Dongshan Town Zhang Yimou's 'Refuge Island' in the lens, the filming location of the movie 'Shake, Shake, Shake to Grandma's Bridge' starring Gong Li. 🎬 🚌 Public Transport: Take bus 627 to Yangwan Zhangxiang and walk about 100 meters 📝 Travel Recommendations: 1️⃣ Yuhua Scenic Spot: Natural scenery, historical sites, and cultural landscapes in one 🌈 2️⃣ Luxiang Ancient Village: Ming and Qing architecture, taste local cuisine 🍽️ 3️⃣ Diaohua Building: Exquisite pavilion, famous for 'carving everywhere, engraving everywhere' 🏰 📍 Qiyuan The martial arts drama 'Shui Yue Dong Tian' was filmed here, featuring the Longze Villa. 🗡️ 🎫 Ticket: 56 RMB 🚌 Public Transport: Take bus 581 to Dongshan Traffic Police Squadron and walk about 800 meters 📝 Travel Recommendations: 1️⃣ Liuyi Well: An ancient well with a thousand years of history 🕳️ 2️⃣ Emperor Kangxi's Dock: Suitable for taking photos and checking in 📸 📍 Luzhi The filming location of the 1986 version of 'Journey to the West', the bridge that the master and disciples crossed is called 'Jinli Bridge'. 🐉 🎫 Ticket: 60 RMB 🚌 Public Transport: Take bus 52 to Luzhi Post Office and walk about 400 meters 📝 Travel Recommendations: 1️⃣ Jiangnan Cultural Park: A landscape park integrating leisure, entertainment, and sightseeing 🏞️ 2️⃣ Wansheng Rice Shop: The place described by Mr. Ye Shengtao 📚 3️⃣ Shen's House: A well-preserved luxurious mansion 🏛️ Come to Suzhou, follow the light and shadows, and leave your footprints! 👣✨

The famous Qi Garden in East Suzhou, built in the 1930s by the Xi family in memory of their ancestors' reception of Emperor Kangxi, is a classical private garden in China, also commonly known as Xi Family Garden. The builder of Qi Garden, Xi Qisun, the second son of Xi Zhengfu, in memory of his ancestor Xi's reception of Emperor Kangxi in 1684, spent 100,000 silver dollars in 1933 to select the site at Yejiabang, a low-lying area of more than ten acres where rice was grown and fish were raised by the Taihu Lake, and excavated 40 acres of soil to build the 'Qi Garden'. During the construction of the garden, famous painters such as Cai Xian, Fan Shaoyun, and Zhu Zhuyun designed it according to the artistic conception of 'Zhao Yin Garden·Jing Guan Tower' built by Wang Ao, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty from East Mountain, 'overlooking 36,000 hectares of waves and experiencing the verdant of 72 peaks', implying the profoundness of the lake and mountain scenery. It took three years to initially form the scale of the garden. Qi Garden is well-located, backed by mountains and facing the lake, situated between mountains and water. It is the only garden in Suzhou that is built by the mountain and by the water. The garden contains mountains and lakes, and the scenery changes with every step. It not only integrates the artistic features of Suzhou gardens, which are small and exquisite, and winding and deep, but also has the rough spirit of connecting 72 peaks and 36,000 hectares of waves. The halls, pavilions, corridors, and studios, the lake and rockery, the flower path and curved bridge, the flowers and trees are all balanced and scattered, very harmonious; the water in the pool in the garden is clear, and the fish can be counted; the bank of the pool is built with Taihu stones into a ring pool rockery, with different postures, vivid and lifelike; a 20-meter-long corridor runs through the garden, with a high wall built in the middle of the corridor, divided into two, with different patterns of leaky windows, vaguely seeing the separated garden scenery, giving people a sense of imagination and endlessness; the end of the corridor and both sides are decorated with pavilions, with high flying eaves, simple and dignified, more elegant; the whole garden is exquisite and beautiful, bright and beautiful, simple and elegant, winding and deep, using the towering Molifeng outside the garden and the boundless Taihu Lake, and contrasting with the islands rising and falling in the lake, blending with the natural mountains and waters, the scenery is beautiful, making people feel relaxed and happy, making people feel the infinite scenery. The ancient bayberry tree, the ancient Liuyi well, and the imperial dock where Kangxi came to the East Mountain in the garden are known as the three treasures of Qi Garden. Two of them are related to Kangxi, one is the imperial dock in the garden. A small curved bridge brings Taihu Lake into view; a memorial archway brings the imperial dock 'Chong Er' pavilion, also known as the boundless pavilion, into view. What is called 'holding the mountain and swallowing the lake', what is called 'borrowing the scenery and taking the materials', is simply amazing, the imperial dock stretches straight into the water, embedded in the rippling Taihu Lake, with a magnificent momentum, full of poetic and picturesque. One is the ancient bayberry tree said to have been planted by Kangxi himself, but the once bayberry forest has long since died, only this one is still lush, indeed a bit incredible, it is said to be stained with royal qi. Qi Garden can be said to occupy all the lake and mountain scenery, both the elegance of Suzhou gardens, small and exquisite, winding and deep, and the majesty of the waves of Taihu Lake and the misty peaks, can also be considered a rare mountain and lake garden in the south of the Yangtze River.

If Wu Zhongzhong is most impressed with me, it should be Kaiyuan. Among the many gardens in Suzhou, it is hardly known, but it has already been amazing to me at a glance. Although I have been to the famous gardens such as the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Net Master Garden, Kaiyuan still captured my heart. Walk in the spring rain of Kaiyuan, thinking that some encounters on this red dust are like the Qinghuan swaying in the years, full of depth, light smile, self-satisfaction joy. The private garden originally known as Xi Qizhen, commonly known as Xijia Garden, is a Chinese classical garden building that was built in the Republic of China. It has both the exquisiteness of Suzhou gardens and the artistic features of twists and turns. In the spring rain, colorful flowers are waiting to be released. There are many different kinds of flowers in Kaiyuan. It is no exaggeration to say that if you want to enjoy flowers, time is not enough, then its good to start the garden, it will not Disappointing you. The site of the Kaiyuan is well-suited. It is a rare mountain lakeside garden in the south of the Yangtze River. The Kaiyuan is built on the mountain and stands in the middle of the lake, between the mountains and rivers. Among all the Suzhou gardens, only Kaiyuan is adjacent to Taihu Lake. It hides the mountain lake, one step at a time, and the scenery is beautiful. The whole garden layout is centered on water, and the building arrangement is low with height. The building pavilions face the pool. The main building "Mirror Lake Hall" between the layers of forests and landscapes

The Kaiyuan on the side of Taihu Lake is a garden that we mistakenly hit. Originally, there was already a Humble Administrator's Garden in the private garden, and I thought there was no need to go to a garden. However, it turns out that we have not made a mistake. This garden is also an unexpected harvest of our trip. More elegant than the park, more than a garden, this is the Kaiyuan. Kaiyuan, commonly known as Xijia Garden, was built in 1933 to welcome the Emperor Kangxi. Walking along the Taihu Lake, we often compare this with the West Lake inadvertently. Walking in Kaiyuan is a bit like Fenghe in the West Lake. Of course, the garden here is not as big as the Quyuan Fenghe, and the Kaiyuan is more refined and detailed. When I first entered the garden, I couldn't find any difference with other Su-style gardens, but when I walked through the lotus pond to see Taihu Lake, I suddenly became more and more cheerful. Standing on the edge of the Taihu Lake, the wind blowing in my face, the aura of this garden was enchanting.