He Yuan (the Garden of Harmony) is a late Qing Dynasty private garden — smaller than Ge Yuan but in some ways more sophisticated, built for a retired official who had travelled widely and wanted to incorporate the influences he had encountered into his own space. The defining feature is the two-storey covered walkway that runs around the entire garden perimeter, giving views over the central pool and rockeries from above.
The garden's design is more dynamic than the standard Jiangnan formula — the western section is more open, the eastern more enclosed, and the connecting passages between them create a sense of spatial variety. The individual scenes are exquisitely composed: a moon-gate framing a willow, a rock face lit by a skylight, water channels that amplify sound. It is less visited than Ge Yuan and often quieter in the afternoons.