Xiaolianzhuang Garden, Nanxun

Xiaolianzhuang Garden, within the Nanxun Ancient Town Scenic Area in Huzhou's Nanxun District, was built between 1885 and 1924 by the wealthy silk merchant Liu Yong and later completed by his descendants, making it one of the largest private gardens surviving from China's late Qing and early Republican periods. The garden combines classical Jiangnan landscape design, rockeries, ponds, and covered walkways, with an unusual layering of a family ancestral hall, a private library, and a lotus-pond complex within a single walled compound. Liu Yong made his fortune in the silk trade that dominated Nanxun's economy in the 19th century, and the garden's scale and refinement reflect the wealth accumulated by Nanxun's merchant families during that period, sometimes referred to locally as leading silk merchants of the Jiangnan region. Distinctive features include a Western-influenced glass-walled pavilion added in the early 20th century, blending European decorative elements with traditional Chinese garden architecture, a hybrid style found in several Nanxun merchant properties from the same era. The garden's ponds are crossed by stone bridges and lined with rock formations sourced from Lake Tai, a traditional material for Jiangnan garden design prized for its perforated, weathered texture. Restoration work in recent decades has maintained the garden's original layout and plantings rather than significantly altering its late Qing character.