Chai Garden

Chai Garden

Chai Garden is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chai Garden is located at No. 44 Cu Ku Lane in Suzhou. It is a classical Chinese garden architecture built in the late Qing Dynasty. Originally, the site was the residential garden of Pan Zengqi during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty. In the Guangxu era, it was purchased by Chai Anpu from Shangyu, Zhejiang, who renovated and expanded it, after which it became known as "Chai Garden." The layout features residences to the east and a garden to the west, with a Mandarin Duck Hall at the front of the garden—spacious and luxurious—and a Nanmu Hall at the rear, elegant and rustic. The garden is divided into four courtyard areas, among which the central garden is the most outstanding, featuring a serene pond, a tranquil boat hall, exquisitely arranged rockeries, and naturally formed hills and valleys, showcasing the wisdom and artistic creativity of the Chinese working people. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, it gradually became scattered residential houses. In the 1950s, the People's Government of the Southern District once had its offices here. After 1957, it was used as a school. In 1978, the building north of the pond was demolished and replaced with a three-story teaching building. In 1985, the Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee and the Civil Affairs Bureau jointly funded major repairs to the Mandarin Duck Hall and the Boat Hall. In 1982, it was listed as a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The current area of Chai Garden is 2,150 square meters. The garden still retains structures such as the Mandarin Duck Hall, Boat Hall, waterside pavilion, winding corridor, half pavilion, rockery, pond, and various plants and flowers. The eastern residential section preserves the entrance hall and the main hall building, in front of which is a gate adorned with a brick inscription reading "Jia Men Shan Xiang" (Auspicious Gate, Good Omen), inscribed by Gu Wenbin, owner of the nearby Yi Garden.