Suzhou Yan Family Garden丨Jiangnan Garden hidden in the ancient town

Yan Family Garden is located on the bank of Wangjia Bridge on Shantang Street, Mudu Town, Suzhou City. It faces Xiangxi River and backs onto Lingyan Rock. "Although it is located in the mountains, the structure of the garden is as exquisite as that in the city." It is one of the famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River.
The predecessor of Yan Family Garden was the "Zhu Xiao Xuan", the former residence of Shen Deqian, a famous Suzhou scholar and editor of "The Source of Ancient Poems" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. In the eighth year of Daoguang's reign (1828 AD), Shen's descendants gave the garden to the Mudu poet Qian Duanxi. Qian stacked stones to dredge the pond, built pavilions and towers, and named it "Duanyuan". In the 28th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1902 AD), Yan Guoxiang (grandfather of Taiwanese politician Yan Jiagan), the richest man in Mudu, bought Duan Garden and carried out a large-scale renovation, renaming it "Xian Garden". Because the owner's surname was Yan, the locals called it "Yan Family Garden".
Yan Family Garden covers an area of about 11,100 square meters, with the central part being residential and the three sides being gardens. The garden layout is tortuous and profound, and the spatial division is quite unique. The middle road is the main building with five entrances, namely the entrance hall, Yibin Hall, Shangxian Hall, Mingshi Building and Hanong Building. Among them, Shangxian Hall, located in the third courtyard, is a rare Ming-style nanmu entrance hall in Suzhou, with a history of more than 400 years. These buildings are magnificent and exquisite, showing a solemn bearing and character. The courtyards in the park are also divided into different functional areas, creating ever-changing scenery. Each courtyard is not large in area, but has all the elements of Jiangnan gardens, such as buildings, rockery, fish ponds, and covered bridges, fully reflecting the characteristics of Jiangnan gardens: "small but complete, small but exquisite." A garden without flowers and trees is as lifeless as a mountain. Yan's Garden is also unique in its layout and arrangement of plants and flowers. It cleverly plants flowers and trees of all seasons, forming four small scenic spots with their own characteristics in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The flowers, trees and buildings complement each other.
Walking in Yan Family Garden, it feels like traveling through time, feeling the sedimentation of history and the tranquility of the garden. Every detail of the garden reveals the ingenuity of the garden designer, making people linger.

📍Detailed address:
No. 188 Shantang Street, Mudu Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

🚉Transportation strategy:
1️⃣｛Get on the train at Suzhou Railway Station｝, take Metro Line 2 to Laodong Road Station, transfer to Metro Line 5 to Lingyanshan Station, and walk 739 meters to reach the destination.
2️⃣｛Get on the high-speed rail at Suzhou North Station｝, take Metro Line 4 to Nanmen Station, transfer to Metro Line 5 to Lingyanshan Station, and walk 739 meters to reach the destination.

🕙Business hours:
08:30-17:00

⏳Play time:
1-2 hours
🎫Tickets:
Yan Family Garden single ticket: 40 yuan
Ancient town scenic spot combined ticket: 78 yuan