Yan Family Garden is a garden with great reputation and high gardening art in the ancient town. It was formerly known as ‘Lingyan Mountain Residence’ of Shen Deqian, a famous scholar and poetry selector in Suzhou during the Qianlong period. In 1902, Yan Guoxin, the richest man in Mudu, purchased this garden. Yao Chengzu, a master architect of Xiangshan School, led skilled craftsmen to renovate it and renamed it ‘Xianyuan’, commonly known as ‘Yan Family Garden’, covering an area of 16 mu.
The central route consists of five main buildings in sequence: the entrance hall, Yibin Hall, Shangxian Hall, Mingshi Tower and Tiaonong Tower. Among them, Shangxian Hall, which is the third entrance, is a rare Ming-style nanmu hall in Suzhou and has a history of more than 400 years. The whole garden is composed of four small scenic areas with distinct characteristics in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The spring scenic area centered on the ancient magnolia grandiflora; the summer scenic area with rockeries as the large volume. The four rockeries are made of bluestone and yellowstone respectively. When viewing the rockeries from the outside, there is a feeling of seeing the small from the large. When viewing the rockeries from the inside, there is a feeling of seeing the large from the small. The autumn scenic area suitable for climbing to pick osmanthus; the winter scenic area shows the artistic conception of ‘faint fragrance and sparse shadows’. There is also a new garden outside the winter scenic area, making people feel a lively natural scenery of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:30 to 17:00. Preferential policies: Children: Children under 6 years old (including 6 years old) or under 1.4 meters in height (including 1.4 meters) are exempted from tickets with valid identity documents. Free. Elderly: Elderly people over 70 years old (including 70 years old) are exempted from tickets with valid identity documents. Free. Children/elderly/students: Minors aged 6 years old (excluding 6 years old) to 18 years old (including 18 years old), full-time undergraduate and below students, and elderly people aged 60 years old (including 60 years old) to 70 years old (excluding 70 years old) can enjoy half-price tickets with valid identity documents. Preferential tickets. Active servicemen: Active servicemen of the People’s Republic of China and retired cadres of the military are exempted from tickets with valid identity documents. Free. Disabled people: Disabled people and one accompanying person of severely disabled people are exempted from tickets with valid identity documents. Free. Supplementary note: Preferential policies for the performance ticket of ‘Encountering Gusu · Past Events in Mudu’ in the ancient town of Mudu: Children under 1. 4 meters in height (excluding 1.4 meters) are exempted from tickets. For those over 1.4 meters (including 1.4 meters), please purchase adult tickets. The elderly, disabled people, military personnel, retired cadres, students, etc. are not entitled to project discounts. The above information is for reference only. The specific information is subject to the publicity of the scenic spot.Yan Family Garden
Yan Family Garden is a garden with great reputation and high gardening art in the ancient town. It w[...]
