Couple's Retreat Garden

A tranquil classical garden in the northeastern corner of old Suzhou, laid out in the Qing dynasty and later remodeled for a retired official and his wife, giving it a distinctive dual layout of eastern and western gardens flanking a central residence. Uniquely among the city's gardens it is bordered by canals on three sides, so pleasure boats glide past its water gates. Rockeries, a lotus pool and refined halls fill the enclosure, one of Suzhou's UNESCO-listed gardens. Visitors wander the paired courtyards and arrive by canal boat.