Suzhou Puyuan (Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints Museum)

Suzhou Puyuan (Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints Museum)

Suzhou Puyuan (Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints Museum) is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Suzhou.

Puyuan is located at No. 8 Xiaochangqiao Road, Pingmen. The site was originally wasteland, purchased in 1932 by Shanghai egg merchant Mr. Wang, who built a residential garden on the one-hectare plot at a cost of 100,000 silver dollars. During the Japanese puppet regime, the garden was occupied by Japanese military officers. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, it was used as quarters for the Nationalist army. In 1953, the Third Engineering Team of the National Highway Administration acquired the garden, converted it into a sanatorium, and added a three-story building. In 1974, it was handed over to the Municipal Health Bureau and became home to the Epidemic Prevention Station. In 1985, the rockery was renovated.

The garden is enclosed by granite walls and designed with a traditional layout, featuring landscapes as the main attraction. It includes a man-made hill covered with stone and earth, with undulating peaks, a pond spanned by a winding bridge that both gathers and divides the water. Architectural elements include a four-sided hall, a flower hall, pavilions, and corridors. The garden is richly planted with trees and flowers such as white pine, Buddhist pine, magnolia, cherry blossoms, and azaleas. The most precious are two in-ground five-needle pines, about two meters tall and growing vigorously.

In 2005, after protective restoration, Puyuan became the Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center and the Taohuawu Woodblock New Year Prints Museum.