The Classical Gardens of Suzhou, which are also called Suzhou Gardens, are a group of beautiful gardens in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province of China. The first classical garden was created during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. More gardens were built in the following centuries and most of them were private gardens of scholars (学者) and officials of that time. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the construction (建设) of the gardens came to its prime time because of the prosperity (繁荣) of Suzhou in that period. It is said that there were more than 200 gardens all over the city and Suzhou was famous as the “paradise on earth” and the “City of Gardens”.

Nowadays, 19 of the 69 well-protected gardens are open to the public as tourist attractions. Among them, some famous gardens are regarded as typical examples of Suzhou Gardens, such as Humble Administrator’s Garden, Lingering Garden, Master of the Nets Garden and so on.

Suzhou Gardens in many ways explain the ideas behind classic Chinese garden design (设计). Their owners were not just interested in having a pleasing arrangement (安排) of plants and flowers: they used history, philosophy, art and architecture(建筑学) in their designs. Each element (要素) of a classical Chinese garden—each hill, pond, plant and rock—is filled with meaning. Although every element was carefully designed, the end goal was always to have a garden which looked like it was created by nature, without the help of human hands.

Suzhou Gardens represent the development and maturity (成熟) of Chinese garden design of more than two thousand years. They are national 5A tourist attractions in China and two groups of them were added to UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List (世界文化遗产名录) in 1997 and 2000.