Tongli Retreat and Reflection Garden (UNESCO)

The Retreat and Reflection Garden, or Tuisi Yuan, lies in Tongli Ancient Town in Wujiang District, Suzhou, Jiangsu. It was built in 1885, during the late Qing dynasty, by Ren Lansheng, an official who had been dismissed from office and returned to his home town. The name, meaning to retreat and reflect, refers to his self-examination after losing his post. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 2001 as part of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou, following the earlier 1997 and 2000 additions. Though small, at a little over 0.6 hectares, the garden is admired for a clever and unusual layout. Instead of placing water in the middle with buildings around it in the typical manner, its designers set the pavilions, halls and corridors close to the surface of the pond, so that buildings appear to float on the water. The garden is divided into a residential area, a courtyard section and a garden section, arranged in sequence from west to east. Highlights include the Bright Pavilion, the Cloud-Cloaked Hall, the Bridge of Ringing Waves and the zigzag covered walks that skirt the pond. Rockeries and carefully chosen trees, including pines and maples, add texture. Because of its late date, the garden shows a mature, refined stage of Jiangnan garden design and is often studied as a model of compact planning. Restoration has retained the original layout, with periodic repairs to woodwork, roofing and stone. As with other Suzhou gardens, the experience is immersive: visitors are meant to move slowly through shifting views. Tongli itself is a canal town with old bridges and merchant houses, and the garden is included in the combined town ticket. A visit lasts about one hour, and the town merits several more hours for a full day trip from Suzhou.