Garden of Pleasance

Lesser-known classical garden noted for its extraordinary window frames

The Garden of Pleasance is among the lesser-known of Suzhou's classical gardens, which means it is often quieter than the big four. This in itself is a good reason to visit: you can walk the covered corridors and linger at the pavilions without navigating tour groups. The garden dates from the late Qing dynasty and is particularly celebrated for its leakage windows — decoratively shaped openings in the garden walls through which glimpses of other areas are framed like paintings.

The design makes heavy use of grey tile lattice in patterns of different geometries — hexagons, octagons, flowers, and abstract shapes — which were intended to suggest the variety of experience in a single stroll. The central pool is small but well-proportioned, and the surrounding corridors are pleasantly shaded even in midsummer. Admission is inexpensive and the crowds rarely overwhelming.

things to do garden classical garden sight
A story
The garden was assembled in the 1870s by a retired official named Gu Wenbin, who reportedly collected the most beautiful elements he could find from other gardens in Suzhou. The elaborately carved window frames — no two are alike — were commissioned from the finest craftsmen of the era. Gu's collection approach gave the garden an eclectic character that some find more interesting than the more formally unified designs of the major UNESCO gardens.