Suzhou is called "the city of gardens". Suzhou gardens have a long history. In the heyday of Ming and Qing dynasties, there were more than 200 gardens all over the ancient city. Up to now, there are dozens of well-preserved gardens, which respectively represent the garden styles of southern China during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Suzhou classical garden is a unique tourism resource in Suzhou. With its ancient, beautiful, exquisite and elegant characteristics, Suzhou classical garden enjoys the reputation of "Jiangnan garden is the best in the world and Suzhou garden is the first in the south of the Yangtze River". 1997 65438+On February 4th, the 2nd1plenary session of the United Nations World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion of Suzhou classical gardens with Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Master Garden and Huanxiu Villa as typical examples in the World Heritage List; On June 30th, 2000, the 24th session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee approved the inclusion of Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, Art Garden, Lovers Garden and Retreat Garden in the World Heritage List.
Suzhou gardeners use unique gardening techniques, in a limited space, by stacking mountains and managing water, planting flowers and trees, configuring garden buildings, and using a large number of plaques, couplets, paintings and calligraphy, sculptures, steles, furniture furnishings and various ornaments to reflect ancient philosophical concepts, cultural awareness and aesthetic taste, thus forming a poetic literati landscape garden, so that people can "not go out of the city."
Suzhou city has a long history. Private gardens were built in the 6th century BC, especially in the Ming Dynasty. At the end of Qing Dynasty, there were more than 70 gardens/kloc-0 inside and outside the city. It won the title of "Garden City" for Suzhou. There are more than ten famous gardens, among which Canglang Pavilion, Lion Forest, Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Netlion Garden and Yiyuan Garden are famous. Suzhou gardens have a small battlefield area. It adopts endless and eclectic artistic techniques, and has the interest of China landscape flowers and birds, and the artistic conception of Tang poetry and Song poetry. In a limited space, pavilions and ponds are decorated with rockeries and trees, so that Suzhou gardens can win by scenery, and the scenery between gardens is different, giving people an artistic effect of seeing the big from the small. Humble Administrator's Garden enjoys the reputation of "the essence of famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River". Gardens in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties all have their own natural, historical, cultural and artistic characteristics.
Suzhou is a famous historical and cultural city and a national key scenic tourist city with rich resources and outstanding people. Suzhou has been known as "the city of gardens" since ancient times, and enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad. Suzhou classical gardens have a history of more than 2000 years, which has its unique historical position and value in the history of world gardening. Suzhou classical gardens, with superb artistic techniques of freehand brushwork of landscapes, contain strong traditional ideological and cultural connotations, and show a model of gardening art of oriental civilization. It is really an artistic treasure of the Chinese nation. Suzhou scenic spots, such as Tiger Hill, Tianping Mountain and Shihu Lake, which are equally famous as "Suzhou Gardens", are also tourist attractions that Chinese and foreign tourists yearn for at all times.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the feudal economic and cultural development in Suzhou reached its peak, and the gardening art became mature, and a group of gardening artists appeared, which made the gardening activities reach its climax. In its heyday, Suzhou had more than 280 private gardens and courtyards. Up to now, there are Canglang Pavilion and Wangshiyuan built in Song Dynasty, Lion Forest in Yuan Dynasty, Humble Administrator's Garden and Art Garden in Ming Dynasty, Lingering Garden, Lovers Garden, Yiyuan Garden, Quyuan Garden and Fengting Garden in Qing Dynasty. Among them, Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Master of Nets Garden and Huanxiu Mountain Villa were listed as "World Cultural Heritage" by UNESCO at the end of 1997 because of their exquisite gardening art and distinctive artistic characteristics.
Suzhou gardens are "urban mountains and forests" full of natural interest in the city. People living in downtown areas can enjoy the "joy of mountains and rivers" of nature as soon as they enter the garden. In this concentrated "nature", "one spoon replaces water, one punch replaces mountains", four Jeffery Ji dislocations in the garden, the withering of vegetation in spring and autumn, and the seasonal changes of landscape flowers and trees make people "enjoy the mountains without leaving the city, and live in the downtown area with the joy of nymphs"
Suzhou Garden is a "literati freehand landscape garden" with profound cultural heritage. Gardeners in ancient times all had high cultural accomplishment and were good at painting. When gardening, painting is the main theme, and poetry is the theme. By digging ponds, planting flowers and trees, poetic landscapes are created. They are called "silent poems, three-dimensional paintings". Swimming in the garden is like enjoying poetry and painting. In order to express the taste, ideal and pursuit of the garden owner, there are poems such as plaques and couplets in garden buildings and landscapes, elegant lotus fragrance as a metaphor for personal character ("Yuanxiangtang" in my humble administrator's garden), elegant vanilla as a metaphor for noble temperament ("Xiangzhou" in my humble administrator's garden) and admiration for the ancients (Hua Fang Zhai by Yiyuan).
Suzhou gardens are small, but ancient gardeners have created rich and diverse landscapes with various artistic techniques. They can swim in the garden, or see "how deep the courtyard is", or "the dark flower village", or see the small bridge with flowing water and white walls, or see the winding paths leading to a secluded place, or see the ever-changing scenery. As for those flower windows with different shapes and exquisite patterns, those paved roads, those roads that can't reach your feet like brocade, and those sketches that seem to be inadvertently scattered in every corner ... people can't finish reading them and have endless aftertaste.
"China Garden is the mother of world gardening, and Suzhou Garden is the outstanding representative of China Garden", which is the evaluation of Suzhou classical garden by the 265438th plenary session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee. In recent years, according to the Convention for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of World Cultural and Classical Gardens and the Regulations on the Protection and Management of Gardens in Suzhou, Suzhou has actively protected gardens and consolidated the achievements of applying for the World Heritage. Excavate the connotation of garden culture and carry forward Wu culture. Adhere to the principle of "repairing the old as the old" and follow the policy of "protecting, dredging, restoring and developing" to make the garden city worthy of the name. Suzhou Bureau of Landscaping and Greening introduced the advanced technology and management experience of the world counterparts, applied international standards to protect, manage and standardize classical gardens, and established a modern garden management system: first, restorative protection; Second, excavation and protection, such as the Humble Administrator's Garden reappearing the thirty-one scenes of Wen Zhiming in Ming Dynasty and Canglang Pavilion reappearing the precious cultural relics of Lin Zexu. Third, constructive protection; Fourthly, integrated protection, Humble Administrator's Garden was rated as the first batch of 4A scenic spots in China and passed the ISO9002 quality system certification. Lingering Garden, Lion Forest and Netscape Garden were also rated as 4A-level scenic spots. Suzhou Gardens have continuously launched a series of special tourism activities, such as Tiger Hill Art Flower Festival, Golden Autumn Temple Fair, Humble Administrator's Garden Rhododendron Festival, Lotus Festival, Wu Culture Activities in the Garden, Night Tour of Teachers' College and Yiyuan Narcissus Exhibition, Lion Forest Seasonal Flower Exhibition, Hongfeng Festival, Shihu Moonwalking, Canglangting Orchid Chrysanthemum Exhibition, and Ouyuan Watertown Special Tour. Suzhou gardens also grasp the four links of "protection, development, management and service", making classical gardens an important window to reflect the achievements of Suzhou's spiritual civilization construction. In 2003, it was named by the Central Civilization Committee as the national advanced unit to create a civilized industry.
For more than 20 years, Suzhou garden art was first exported from 1980 to Xuan Ming, the Ming-style courtyard of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, USA, and the "brand" effect became prominent. He has designed, built and won many honors: Ikeda Qifang Pavilion in Japan, Yiyuan Garden in Canada, Yunxiu Garden in Singapore, Kanazawa Jin Lan Pavilion in Japan, Miniature Scenic Area in splendid china, Florida, Kowloon Walled City Park in Hong Kong, Staten Island Bird Park in new york, Jixing Garden in the United States, and Soochow Pavilion in the 99 Kunming World Expo (comprehensive
The 28th World Heritage Expo was held in Suzhou from June 28th to July 7th, 2004, which was the highest-level UNESCO international conference hosted by the government of China. Nearly 100 countries, more than 500 delegates, Chinese and foreign journalists and more than 800 people attended the meeting. It is conducive to the world's further understanding of Suzhou and Suzhou's further entry into the world.