Suzhou 苏州

~ Lion Forest Garden 狮子林 ~
  
Yuan-dynasty Garden a.k.a. Kingdom of Rockeries. 苏州四大名园之一，元代名园，假山王国。
It is the only garden having survived from the end of Yuan Dynasty.

The well-known Yuan artist Ni Zan 倪瓒 (Yunlin 云林) painted a scroll of the Lion Forest Garden (狮子林图).
Emperors Kangxi (清康熙) and Qianlong (乾隆) visited it several times, and made replicas of the garden at
Yuan Ming Garden (圆明园) and Imperial Mountain Resort (避暑山庄).
 
1: The “True Delight” tablet inscribed by emperor QianLong. 乾隆皇帝题写的“真趣”匾。
2 & 3: The Mid-Lake Pavilion (观瀑亭).
It's full of man-made limestone mountains with winding pathways, caverns, terraces and towers.

1 & 2: Purple flowers | 3: Sakura.
2: Hall of Peace and Happiness 燕誉堂。
In 2000, Lion Forest Garden was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

~ Tiger Hill 虎丘 ~
 No.1 Sight of Suzhou (吴中第一虎丘名胜) with history of over 2500 years.
Song poet Su Shi (Su DongPo): "It would be a pity if you had been to Suzhou but didn't get to visit the Tiger Hill".
The artistic flower-show in spring from March - May. | 3: Beijing 2008 Olympic characters.
宋代大文豪苏东坡：“到苏州不游虎丘乃憾事也！”。
2: Walking on the 53 Steps of Stone (五十三参) to the Mahavira Temple - DaXiongBaoDian (大雄宝殿).
The Sword Pool (剑池) conceals the secrets of the Tomb of King Wu (吴王墓) with his valuable swords.

1: The Pagoda Yard | 2/3/4: China no.1 Leaning Tower of Suzhou (云岩寺塔)，中国第一斜塔。
Due to the cause of foundation, it started leaning towards north-west direction.
The leaning extent is almost similar to the leaning Pisa Tower. It has over 1000 years of history.
有测量器对着斜塔测量斜度，已不再继续斜下去。

~ Suzhou Traditional Chinese Architecture ~

By seeing the rooftops, we can differentiate whether that family gave birth a son or daughter.
Roof with sharp horn - Male. Flat horn - female. 如果屋角好像牛角的是生男，如果屋角是平的或圆的，那就是生女。
从前苏州姑娘善于刺绣，男性不适合刺绣工作所以多数是书生，以便可以考状元当官。
上海看人头，杭州看树头，苏州看丫头。To praise Suzhou pretty girl, they say:"A-yoyo~".

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