Tuisi Garden in Tongli

Tuisi Garden in Tongli

Tuisi Garden in Tongli is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Tuisi Garden, commonly known as the Ren Family Garden, is located at No. 234 Xintian Street

Situated in the ancient town area of Tongli, it connects to Lize Girls' School to the east, faces Tuisi Small Square and Ming-Qing Street to the south, neighbors Tuisi Square and the ancient theater stage to the west, and borders Nanhaolong Lane to the north.

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the garden features a unique architectural layout that extends horizontally from west to east—residences in the west and the garden in the east—breaking away conceptually from the more conventional vertical arrangement of residences in front and gardens behind. The residential and garden areas are each divided into two sections from west to east, making a total of four groups. The entire complex is compact yet flexible, capable of being divided into separate courtyards or unified as one. It includes pavilions, terraces, towers, halls, corridors, bridges, terraces, rooms, and verandas—all essential elements—arranged seamlessly from the residence to the courtyard. A thematic sequence of the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—is presented cohesively. The main garden also integrates refined concepts representing the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The design is truly ingenious and exquisitely crafted.

The main residential buildings of Tuisi Garden are divided into two groups: west and east. The western group consists of three sections: the sedan chair hall, tea hall, and flower hall. The eastern group forms the inner residence, featuring two five-story buildings called the “Wanxiang Tower,” one facing north and the other south, connected by double-layered east-west corridors, commonly known as the “horse-walking corridor.” The garden itself is also divided into two parts: the western courtyard and the eastern garden. The courtyard serves as the prelude to the garden, featuring a dry boat, the Sitting-in-Spring Moon-Viewing Tower, and the Cold-Winter Retreat. The garden centers around a lotus pond, exemplifying a rare waterside garden design where rooms, halls, corridors, terraces, pavilions, and boats are all built close to or directly over the water’s surface, creating the illusion of floating on the water—an exceptional feature in the Jiangnan region and a marvel in architectural aesthetics. The Tuisi Thatched Hall on the northern bank is the focal point of the garden. From the platform in front of the hall, visitors can enjoy views of the music room, Zigzag Bridge, Cloud-Sleeping Pavilion, Duckweed Rain Cool Pavilion, Sky Bridge, Xintai, Zigzag Corridor, Red-Rousing Boat, Water-Aroma Pavilion, and the Scenic-Viewing Pavilion, along with rockeries and flowers, forming an expansive and well-balanced scenic area that resembles a grand ink-wash landscape painting. Each structure can stand as an independent scene or serve as a framed view of another, echoing beautifully. The Sitting-in-Spring Moon-Viewing Tower, Duckweed Rain Cool Pavilion, Osmanthus Hall, and Cold-Winter Retreat highlight the sceneries of spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively, while the music room, Cloud-Sleeping Pavilion, Xintai, and Scenic-Viewing Pavilion embody the four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Though compact, Tuisi Garden achieves remarkable completeness and stands as a masterpiece in the history of garden architecture.

The art of gardening is the art of designing space. Within limited space, Tuisi Garden carves out its own path, encompassing a rich essence of artistic achievement, which can be summarized as: three marvels, three treasures, and three unique features.

The exceptional landscaping techniques of the garden creators include several distinctive features, earning the title of “marvels” among Jiangnan gardens. First, the Scenic-Viewing Pavilion skillfully transitions spaces and enriches the inner garden’s scenery. Nestled within the garden, it utilizes borrowing scenery techniques to stunning effect. Second, the Sky Bridge connects Xintai and the Duckweed Rain Cool Pavilion. Visitors can reach either structure from different routes, including a stone path leading upward, offering an enlightening experience—hailed as a marvel. In 1985, during the selection of China’s Top Ten Scenic Spots, it stood out as the premier choice among Suzhou gardens and was featured in the first issue of People’s Pictorial in 1986 under the “China’s Top Ten Scenic Spots” column, becoming the most representative masterpiece of Suzhou gardens. Third, the middle section of the Duckweed Rain Cool Pavilion’s northern side features short windows above and a lattice below. Inside the pavilion, a mirror faces the pool, with an Xiangfei couch placed before it, where a beauty reclines, seemingly lying on a lotus—capturing the vivid image of the “Sleeping Beauty.” Even more remarkable are the three water channels beneath the pavilion, through which the pond water circulates, creating a natural cooling system—truly a clever way to “bring coolness.”

The “three treasures” refer to three precious artifacts. The rubbing of the “Ode to Returning Home” stele in the Tuisi Thatched Hall was inscribed by the great Yuan Dynasty artist Zhao Mengfu, known for his “Zhao style,” and is considered a unique treasure in China. Among the hollow windows in the Zigzag Corridor, one is inlaid with the verse: “Breezes and bright moons need not be bought for a single coin.” The script used is stone drum script, one of China’s earliest carved scripts, rarely seen in Jiangnan gardens. There is also a unique Taihu rock in the garden that resembles an elderly man, hence called the “Elderly Man Peak.” Atop it sits a peculiar stone resembling the man’s hat, made of Lingbi stone. The two stones form a naturally integrated whole.

Special features in the garden’s design include: first, the use of both dry and waterside boat-like structures, yielding distinct artistic effects; second, the exquisite craftsmanship of the Red-Rousing Boat, which is supported by naturally scattered lake stones and elevated above the water surface, with rocks appearing like surging waves—an ingenious touch; third, the Cloud-Sleeping Pavilion adopts a two-tiered design with the pavilion above and a chamber below, the lower part functioning as a cave-like room with a winding path connecting the levels—an outstanding technique in hillside pavilion construction.

In summary, Tuisi Garden, built during the late Qing Dynasty, not only adheres closely to the principle from the garden design classic Yuanye (“The Craft of Gardens”) that “though made by man, it appears as if created by nature,” but also emphasizes charm and poetic expression to enhance its artistic appeal. This is a hallmark of classical Chinese gardens and a prime example of “poetic garden design.”

The garden covers an area of 5,674 square meters, with a built-up area of 2,622 square meters. On June 25, 2001, it was designated as part of the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units under State Council approval [Guo Fa [2001] No. 25]. On November 30, 2000, it was officially inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tongli Town: One of China’s Six Ancient Towns of the Yangtze River Delta, Tongli was formerly known as “Futu” (Rich Land), renamed “Tongli” (Same Land) in the early Tang Dynasty, and further adapted in the Song Dynasty by splitting the characters of its former name. Established in the Song Dynasty, Tongli has a history of over 1,000 years as of 2015 and is a classic water town in China.

Located in Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Tongli is 18 kilometers from downtown Suzhou and 80 kilometers from Shanghai. The town spans 33 hectares, embraced by five lakes and connected by 49 bridges, with a network of rivers dividing the area into seven islands. Traditional houses in the ancient town face the water, and boats provide access from every home. Well-preserved bridges from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties remain. In 1982... More details about Tongli Town++

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units