Private Gardens in Jiangnan - Changshu Yan Garden

Yan Garden Changshu·Suzhou Jiangnan has many famous gardens, and Changshu Yan Garden is one of them. Yan Garden is located in Xinfeng Lane in the ancient city area of Changshu, deep in the winding alley, on the grey tiles and pink walls is a low-key and heavy stone gate, which is its entrance, just like most Suzhou gardens, it's low-key, but there's a different world inside. Yan Garden, one of the longest existing and most completely preserved private gardens in Changshu's classical gardens, also known as Yan Valley Garden, is not large, but it's ingeniously designed, unique, and distinctive. In the 43rd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1778), Jiang Yuanshu, the governor of Taiwan, returned home after his term of office, and he was lucky to escape danger when crossing the sea; after returning to his hometown Changshu, he built a small garden for his later years, which was initially called 'Jiang Garden'. In the 5th and 6th years of Daoguang (1825, 1826), Jiang Yinpei, who had been the county magistrate of Taian, returned to Changshu after being dismissed and traveled around, and he renovated the garden, and hired Ge Yuliang, a master of stacking mountains, to stack a fake mountain in the garden with Huangshi from Yushan, named 'Yan Valley', and the garden was renamed 'Yan Garden'. During the Guangxu period, the garden belonged to Zhang Hong, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was renamed 'Zhang Garden'. Because there is a 'Yan Valley' fake mountain in the garden, Zhang Hong called himself 'Old Man of Yan Valley', and completed the writing of the famous book 'Continuation of the Sea Flower' in the garden. After the founding of New China, Yan Garden was successively occupied by the Public Security Bureau, the Cultural Museum and other units, and later belonged to the Leather Factory. Although Changshu Yan Garden is not large, the combination of spaces in the garden is variable, the design is ingenious, the courtyard is deep, it is said that there are 'Sixteen Sceneries of Yan Garden', which is listed as one of the famous gardens. This is similar to the Huanxiu Villa, which is also created by Ge Yuliang, the master of stacking mountains, with a perfect fake mountain as the main scene, which amazes people. Therefore, Yan Garden has also become one of the important attractions in Jiangnan private gardens. Yan Garden opening hours: 08:00-16:00, ticket: 10 yuan/person.