Canglangting Garden
Cangliangting Garden is the oldest of Suzhou's classical gardens, the Great Wave Pavilion (Canglang Ting) has perhaps the most natural mood. It incorporates a nearby canal, a small wooded hill, and a meandering, almost maze-like arrangement of walkways, groves, and walls to create a feeling of great size, natural calm, and unexpected surprises.
The Great Wave Pavilion was built in 1044 CE by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqing (1008–1048), on the site of a pre-existing imperial flower garden c 960 CE.
The name of the garden is derived from a verse in the poem Fishermen by Qu Yuan (ca. 340 BCE-278 BCE), a poet from the southern state of Chu during the Warring States Period, in his book Songs of the South, "If the Canglang River is dirty I wash my muddy feet; If the Canglang River is clean I wash my ribbon". This verse alludes to an honest official who removes himself from politics rather than act in a corrupt manner. Su Shunqing choose this to express his feelings after his removal from office.
After his death the garden passed through many owners and fell into disuse until 1696 CE when it was restored by Song Luo, governor of Jiangsu Province. In 1827 ownership was transferred to governor Tao Shu, and again in 1873 ownership was transferred to governor Zhang Shusheng. In 1955 the garden was opened to the public and in 2000 it was added to the UNESCO world cultural heritage monuments.
The garden lies next to one of Suzhou's canals, and alongside the garden it widens into a small pond (the "calm waves" of the garden's name). You enter the garden by crossing a bridge over the canal and passing through its main gate, where a side door leads to one of the garden's highlights, its double-sided waterside walkway. The wall separating the garden from the pond has walkways on both sides, and its walls are pierced by many windows, each with unique lattice patterns. Walking along the water side you can glimpse a changing panorama of the garden inside through the windows, while from inside the garden you can see the calm waters outside.
The windows of the walkway show another of the garden's highlights - its amazing array of different shaped windows and their distinctive latticework. Each one of the garden's several hundred windows are unique in design and decoration. The square framed windows are decorated with elegant latticework in abstract geometric designs or patterns evoking the foliage of plants and flowers, while other windows are more exotically shaped like leaves, flowers, crescents, and even chili peppers! The windows are placed to create interesting panoramas over the garden, hint at areas still to be seen, and add charm and interest.
Another special characteristic of the garden is its feeling of great size. Although not that much larger than many other classical gardens, the Canglang Ting is laid out to create the feeling of exploring a large natural area in the heart of the city. Just inside the main gate is a long, low hill covered with small trees, with a path along its crest dotted with tall and strangely shaped rocks. Climbing over the hill and is meant to evoke climbing mountains, and provides glimpses of the other sections of the garden.
Unlike some other gardens which are laid out in a clear and orderly fashion, the pavilions and passages in the rear of the garden are meandering and even slightly confusing. Moving through them, a narrow walkway suddenly opens into a thick grove of bamboo, and from there a small side door might lead into an artificial cave, while the door next to it might double back to an elegantly decorated courtyard.
