The most famous water township in China is commonly referred to as the "Venice of the east". The city is full of bridges, canals, temples and outstandingly preserved homes of past wealthy Chinese scholars. The centerpiece of these homes are their meticulously manicured gardens. These classical gardens have been added to UNESCO's list of world heritage sites as they "represent the development of Chinese landscape garden design over more that two thousand years". The two that I visited were Master of the Nets Garden (constructed in 1140) was centered around a 334m2 pool /pond. The other being the Couple's Retreat Garden (constructed in 1874) The city of Suzhou is a wonderful expression of a classical Chinese city while also being one ofnthe fastest growing city's in the world. (at Suzhou, Jiangsu)















