The Classical Gardens of Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州园林; pinyin: Sūzhōu yuánlín; Suzhounese (Wugniu): sou1-tseu1 yoe2-lin2) are a group of gardens in the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu, China, which have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Spanning a period of almost one thousand years, from the Northern Song to the late Qing dynasties (11th-19th century), these gardens, most of them built by scholars, standardized many of the key features of classical Chinese garden design with constructed landscapes mimicking natural scenery of rocks, hills and rivers with strategically located pavilions and pagodas.
[1] Today, there are 69 preserved gardens in Suzhou,[4] and all of them are designated as protected "National Heritage Sites.
"[5] In 1997 and 2000, eight of the finest gardens in Suzhou along with one in the nearby ancient town of Tongli were selected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site to represent the art of Suzhou-style classical gardens.
[4] Famous Suzhou garden designers include Zhang Liang, Ji Cheng, Ge Yuliang, and Chen Congzhou.