The Master of the Nets garden, then called Ten Thousand Volume Hall, was first constructed in 1140 by Shi Zhengzhi, the Deputy Civil Service Minister of the Southern Song dynasty government.

[1] Shi Zhengzhi was inspired by the simple and solitary life of a Chinese fisherman depicted in philosophical writings.

After his death, the garden passed through numerous ownership and subsequently fell into disarray until around 1785 when it was restored by Song Zongyuan, a retired government official of the Qing dynasty.

In his Notes on the Master of Nets Garden, Qian Daxin stated, "A good integration of the delights of the village and town.

The two dominant elements of the composition are the Barrier of Cloud grotto, a cypress tree dating from the Ming dynasty, and pine several centuries old.

The buildings are laid out in a style called close to the water which is used to give the Rosy Clouds Pool the illusion of great size.

A three-bay two-story tower with a front portico opening to a courtyard decorated with a Penzai collection.

Named after a verse from Xuan Shi Zhi by Zhang Du, "Zhou Sheng fetches the moon in after ascending to the clouds with a rope at the Mid-Autumn Festival".

A carved brick gate at the front depicts scenes from two Kunqu operas; Guo Ziyi Presents Birthday Gifts, and Wen Wang visits the Talents.

An orthogonal Pavilion structure with a hipped gable roofline and flying eves, beside the Shooting Ducks Corridor.

[1] It is a square pavilion with a hipped gable roofline and flying eves attached to the wall of the Inner Garden courtyard.

Named after verse by Li Bai, "There are five peaks south of Mount Lu which look like lotus flowers cut by nature".

[1] A tower with full gables and a bird-decorated ridge attached to the Meditation Study, the bottom floor is a five-bay hall.

It is built on the site of the former Ten Thousand Volume Hall of the Song dynasty garden.

This ridgeless three-bay hall with full gables and a front portico is contained in the Inner Garden courtyard.

Named for a verse by Han Yu, "The twilight brings the Autumn and the breeze sends the moon here".

Also called The Hall of Dewy Grace, a three-bay structure with full gables named for a Li Bai verse, "The spring breeze is stroking gently the balustrade and peony is wet with dew".

Named for a verse from Little Hill Appeals to the Hermit by Yu Xin, "Many sweet Osmanthus fragrans trees are growing at the foot of the mountain".

The yard in front of this hall holds a grove of Cassia trees and scholar stones.

"[1] The window screen has elaborately carved net motifs which allude to the garden's name.