Suzhou gardens, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden, Suzhou, China 06/20 Suzhou, in east China's Jiangsu Province, is famous around the world for its elegant gardens. The history of Suzhou's gardens can be traced as far back as the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC). Distinctive gardens continued to appear throughout the subsequent dynasties, but it was during the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) that the garden art of Suzhou was at its zenith. The prospering city and its outskirts were dotted with exquisite private gardens. Dozens of them, such as Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden and Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa, are still well preserved today. The ancient gardens of Suzhou were designed to be lived in as much as were the houses to which they were attached. Paths invited residents and their guests to wander, offering a new view at every bend; pavilions, gazebos or simple seats offered comfortable spots in which to relax, chat, and perhaps to take some refreshments or pen a poem. This type of landscaping was often used in the densely populated cities, where residents recalled the countryside with nostalgia and yearned to commune with nature. Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden and Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa of Suzhou are representative of the Ming- and Qing-dynasty landscape architecture in areas south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In fact, it was the perfection of the designs and workmanship of these gardens that influenced landscaping throughout the region. In 1997, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added to its prestigious list of world cultural heritage sites Suzhou's Zhuozheng (Humble Administrator's) Garden, Wangshi (Master of Nets) Garden, Liuyuan (Lingering) Garden, Canglang (Surging Waves) Pavilion, Yipu Garden (Garden of Cultivation), Huanxiu (Embracing Beauty) Mountain Villa, Ouyuan (Couple's Garden Retreat) Garden, Shizilin (Lion Forest) Garden and Tuisiyuan (Retreat and Reflection) Garden. Have a nice weekl Henk