Lingering Gardens

Suzhou, China

I grew up amidst Chinese legends of sword-fighting heroes and delicate beauties weeping for lost love and dying of broken hearts. Romance of the 3 Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber comes to mind. And the moment I entered the Lingering Garden, my early fantasies came rushing back.

There it was, a majestic place was a labyrinth of numerous pavilions and villas, each nestled in a portion of the 23,310 sq.m of garden. Long wooden walkways with ornate roofs linked the buildings. The garden is separated into the middle, eastern, northern and western parts. The ancestral temple and the house lie to the south of the garden. In ancient times, each villa was occupied by a relative and a servant and in the private garden, he/she would paint, play music or write poetry.

Built in 1593 by retired official Xu Tai, the Lingering Garden is remarkably well-preserved. We were there during a festival month (April) and performers garbed in clothes of that era played the ancient string instruments - the er hu, the pipa and quqin, among others. Amidst the man-made mountain and lake scenery on one side and garden courts on the other, I was easily swept into the past. The inquisitive tourists and their incessant chattering all faded like magic as the music conjured up a different scenery. Poets, in their long gowns, exchange knowing looks with delicate maidens. Fat lady chaperon with a mole on her cheek, pretend to embroider, while keeping a stern eye on things. Little nuances unlike the crudeness of the present day.

The different parts of the garden have enchanting names like the Green Shade Pavilion, the Zigzag Stream Tower, the Refreshing Breeze Pavilion the Crane House and the Small Garden of Stone Forest. Several sculptures of limestone adorned the western part of the garden, including a winding brook lined with peach trees and weeping willows.

A modern addition to the garden is a bonsai area. These cultivations, unlike any bonsai I've seen, are intricate replicas of limestone mountains and trees. Standing in the middle of it all, I felt that I was Gulliver in Lilliput.

Today, the garden is on the list of the UNESCO's world heritage buildings and deservedly so.