The smallest of Suzhou's classical gardens is also the most refined. Every rock, pond, and pavilion has been placed with obsessive care, and the effect is of extraordinary space compressed into a very small area. It served as the model for the Astor Court garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — a fair testament to its quality.
The name comes from a retired official who owned the property and declared he'd rather be a fisherman. The garden was completed during the Song dynasty and has been restored several times since.