Shortly after dawn, the 680-year-old Lion Grove Garden wakes up to the sound of birds and its moist air is suffused with ascent. With a view of pavilions, early (visitor) to this garden in downtown Suzhou, can feelsense of Zenlike inner peace.
When monks during the Yuan Dynasty first constructed this garden, they may have wanted to enjoy a quiet retreat. But this charming garden has attracted celebrity guests, have left poems, paintings and (history) anecdotes in the following centuries.
"In recent years, we've tried (restore) the landscapes of classical gardens, but a delicate garden cannot be an empty shell," says Bai Lingzhi, deputy director of Suzhou Administrative Bureau of Garden and Landscaping. "We need creative ideas to lead people to the lifestyle (advocate) by the gardens in the era," she explains.
Last year, a new project was launched,(allow) tourists in small groups to reserve places to enter the garden in the early morning before the regular opening time. Their visit ends up making a traditional folding fan.
In 1997 and 2000, nine of the best-known classical gardens of Suzhou (register) onto the World Heritage List. As UNESCO remarks: "Classical Chinese garden design, which seeks to re-create natural landscapes in miniature, is nowhere (well) illustrated than in the nine gardens."
