[2025 Suzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Ming Xuan (Updated May)

Suzhou's 72nd Garden: Ming Xuan Model Ming Xuan is a model based on the Dianchunyi Courtyard of the Master of the Nets Garden, built as a model for the Chinese courtyard of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. It covers an area of 460 square meters, with a building area of 230 square meters. The courtyard is rectangular in shape, with houses, winding corridors, red pavilions, and clear springs, all laid out in a compact, sparse, and elegant manner.

Mingxuan is located within the Eastern Garden in Suzhou, and was constructed in the 1970s for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States, modeled after the 'Dian Chun Yi' in Suzhou's Master of the Nets Garden. It covers an area of 460 square meters, with a building area of 230 square meters. Mingxuan is open on the first Saturday of every month (09:00 - 16:30). There are few visitors, the area is not large, and it is very tranquil.

Coming out from the parking lot on the side of the Lotus Garden, walking a few hundred meters north along the Huancheng River Greenway, you will arrive at Dongyuan Park. This is a free public park that was created by utilizing the ruins of Jiang Taoyuan, the ancient city wall relics, and the inner city river, transformed artificially with a landscape of mountains and waters as the main scenery. The lake water is clear, the lawns are green, the red maples are like fire, and the flowers are blooming; the environment is extremely beautiful. The architecture and landscape of Dongyuan Park can be roughly divided into two parts: east and west. The western part mainly features the 'Hanbi Building' as the main scenery. There is also a Chinese-style courtyard model 'Mingxuan' built based on the 'Dianchunyi' of the Master of Nets Garden in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1979. Unfortunately, it is said that Mingxuan is only open one day a week on Saturdays, so I can only visit it next time. The eastern part is dominated by the mounds remaining from the ancient city wall, with lush trees on the mounds that stretch for hundreds of meters, exuding the atmosphere of mountain forests. Dongyuan Park is quite large, covering eighteen hectares, and there are many citizens who come here for leisure and play.