[2025 Suzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Tianxiang Xiaozhu Villa (Updated Feb)

Tianxiang Xiaozhu was built in 1935. It is a garden villa with a combination of Chinese and Western styles, incorporating the characteristics of northern Chinese and Western architecture. It is now the ancient books department of Suzhou Library. The existing building is divided into two parts: the residence and the garden. There is a hall, a main building, and east and west wing buildings. The garden is full of trees, with a mountain made of piled earth and stones, stone steps, and paths. The main building is square, with corridors on the east, south, west, and north sides, and a courtyard in the middle. The floor plan forms the Chinese character "回" (hui). The corridors on the ground floor are inlaid with exquisite hanging decorations and palace lanterns.

Tianxiang Xiaozhu was built in the early years of the Republic of China. It was originally the residence of the Jin family, who were engaged in the financial industry. In 1920, it was owned by Su Qian, a lieutenant general of the Beiyang Government, and was called Su Zhuang. In 1933, it was rebuilt into a garden villa with a combination of Chinese and Western styles by Xi Qisun, the manager of the three major banks in Shanghai, and was renamed Tianxiang Xiaozhu. It now covers an area of 2,400 square meters, with a building area of 1,033 square meters, and is divided into two parts: the three-entry residence on the west side and the garden on the east side. 📍Address: No. 858 Renmin Road, Gusu District, Suzhou 🚇Subway: Exit 3, Sanyuanfang Station 🚘Self-driving: Navigate to Suzhou Library Parking Lot 🅿️Parking: CNY 5 🎫Tickets: Free 🕰️Opening hours: 09:00–17:00 🌈Features 1️⃣Tianxiang Xiaozhu is based on the layout and structural form of traditional Suzhou gardens, absorbing the style of northern architecture and integrating the characteristics of Western architecture, combining Chinese and Western styles, and northern and southern styles. 2️⃣The main hall is in the style of Suzhou Xiangshan architecture, while the front and back halls are in the style of Western architecture. 3️⃣The decoration combines glazed tile roofs, stained glass, patterned floor tiles, and traditional brick doors, flower windows, hanging doors, floor-to-ceiling covers, etc. The corridors are connected by two small courtyards, decorated with lake stones and flowers. 4️⃣The interior of the building preserves many works of art and exquisite decorations, such as various animal stone carvings, "Luoshen Futu" by Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, calligraphy by Zhu Zhishan of the Ming Dynasty, "Farewell Picture" by Shen Zhou, "Autumn Leaves in the West Wind" by Tang Bohu, etc.

Suzhou's 10th Garden: Tianxiang Xiaozhu Tianxiang Xiaozhu was first built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1933. The building is based on the layout and structure of traditional Suzhou courtyard houses, incorporating northern architectural styles and Western architectural features. Tianxiang Xiaozhu is a seventh batch national key cultural relic protection unit.

Inside the Suzhou Library, there is a free garden that was built in the first year of the Republic of China: 🏠 Tianxiang Xiaozhu·✅ Tianxiang Xiaozhu is based on the layout and structure of traditional Suzhou houses and gardens, absorbing the architectural style of the north and integrating the characteristics of Western architecture, combining Chinese and Western, and North and South. —✅ The main body of the hall belongs to the Suzhou Xiangshan Gang architectural style, and the main body of the front hall and the back hall belongs to the Western architectural style. —✅ The decoration uses glazed tile roofs, colored glass, patterned floor tiles and traditional brick doors, flower windows, hanging, floor covers, etc., connected by corridors, with two small courtyards, dotted with lake stones and flowers. —✅ The interior of the building preserves many artworks and exquisite decorations, such as various animal stone carvings, Gu Kaizhi's "Luo Shen Fu Tu" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhu Zhishan's calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou's "Farewell Picture", and Tang Bohu's "West Wind Autumn Leaves Picture" and so on.