There are 34 national key cultural relics protection units and 73 well-preserved classical gardens, among which Humble Administrator's Garden and Lingering Garden are listed as four famous gardens in China. Together with 9 classical gardens such as Master Wang Garden, Huanxiu Mountain Villa, Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, Art Garden, Lovers Garden and Retreat Garden, they were held in 1997 and/in February 2000 respectively.
The history of Suzhou classical gardens can be traced back to the gardens of King Wu in the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. Private gardens were first recorded in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Gardens have flourished in past dynasties, and there are more and more famous gardens.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suzhou became one of the most prosperous areas in China, with private gardens all over the ancient city. In the heyday of16-18th century, there were more than 200 gardens in Suzhou, so Suzhou was known as a paradise on earth.
There are 9 gardens in Suzhou, such as Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Lion Forest, Canglang Pavilion, Huanxiu Villa, Art Garden, Lover's Garden, Master's Garden and Retreat Garden, and 73 gardens in the urban area, such as Yiyuan Garden, Wufeng Garden and Yin Hui Garden.
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Suzhou is low and flat, with plains accounting for 55% of the total area. Suzhou belongs to the Yangtze River Delta Plain and Taihu Lake Plain, and four secondary natural areas, namely, Shazhou Plain along the Yangtze River, Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou Plain, Taihu Lake Lakeside Hilly Area and Yangcheng-Dianmao Lowland.
The terrain is characterized by gentle plains. The whole city is low and flat, and it slopes slowly from west to east. The plain is 3-4 meters above sea level, and the area around Yangcheng Lake and Wujiang River is only about 2 meters. ?
The ancient city of Suzhou is criss-crossed with rivers and harbors and densely covered with lakes. The most famous lakes are Taihu Lake and Caohu Lake in the west corner. There are Dianshan Lake and Hucheng Lake in the east; There is Kuncheng Lake in the north; Among them are Yangcheng Lake, Jinji Lake and Dushu Lake; The Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal run through the northern part of the city.
. The water from Taihu Lake flows into the river northward, eastward and then into the river through Huangpu River. The water in the canal flows into Wang Ting from the west and flows out of Shengze from the south. The "three rivers" that once went out to sea are now discharged into the river from the east of Huangpu River, thus forming three major water systems in Suzhou.
Suzhou is also known as water capital, water city and water town because of its criss-crossing rivers. /kloc-The Travels of Marco Polo in the 3rd century praised Suzhou as Venice of the East. Suzhou ancient city was praised as "magic" by Montesquieu, a French enlightenment thinker.