Jingsi Garden

Jingsi Garden(Quietist Reflection Garden) is a state-level 4A scenic area located at 919, Yunli Rd, Wujiang of Jiangsu Province, about 3km away from the ancient town, Tongli. It is the private garden of the entrepreneur Mr. Chen Jingen. The construction started in 1993, and the garden opened in 2003. The title "Jingsi" means serenity and speculation.

Introduction

In Jingsi Garden you will find winding bridges and corridors, lakes and mountains, pavilions marble boats, rockeries and stones. There are quite a few scene spots including the Crane Pavilion Bridge, the Mini-Rainbow Bridge, the Jingyuan Hall, the Peony Study, the Pangshan Hall, the Suzhou Brick Engraving, the Bonsai Garden, and the Stele Corridor. A lager number of precious Lingbi stones are displayed in the Stone Hall, which covers more than 600 square metres. Accoding to the big world Guiness in Shanghai, the "Qingyun Peak" is the largest Lingbi Stone in the world.

Since its opening, Jingsi Garden has offered tourist kinds of tours, for example, water tour and night tour in the Garden. Besides, it has built multi-functional meeting rooms, tea houses and restaurants. Every year there are events like Senior Tour Festival and Stone Worshiping, and there are some local performance of Suzhou Pingtan, Jiangnan traditional music, stone-piano and waist drum. Both of the beautiful sight and wonderful performances make the Jingsi Garden an attractive place for tourists from home and abroad.

The Founder and Master--Mr. Chen Jingen

The garden was created by Chen Jingen, a businessman involved in chemical manufacturing and also an avid lover of old Chinese culture. He was a passionate stone collector.

It took 10 years of planning and an investment of more than 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million), but the 54-year-old finally managed to build his own private Chinese garden. Chen had dreamed of his own garden since he was eight years old when he first visited to Suzhou. “When I grow up, I will build a garden just like one of these,” the fascinated little boy swore to himself. When he grew into a successful businessman, he set about fulfilling his childhood dream and finally completed Jingsi Garden five years ago.

The Gate of Jingsi Garden

The brick engraving on the gate is a production of Ming and Qing Dynasty, and is transported from Hengjing, Suzhou. The pattern is delicate and lively, which makes the gate magnificent and sumptuous.

The Homebound Boat

Surrounded by water, this artificial architecture with short rails makes you feel like being at home.

The Stele Corridor of Chinese Scientists of Past Times

One of the most important scene spots in Jingsi Garden. The 318-metres-long corridor is a Patriotic Education Base of Juveniles. There are 56 steles with poets and 75 steles with pictures and words of famous scientists.

The Borrowed Red Pavilion

Built near the water the pavilion is high and special with a wide view. Surrounded by flowers and trees, the reflection looks like a gorgeous picture. It is a poetic rural scenery of Jiangnan waterside town.

Travel Routes

Shanghai—A9highway—SuZheHang Highway—the South of Wujiang—Jingsi Garden(80 min)
Nanjing—HuNing Highway—SuJiaHang Highway—Tongli(Wujiang)—Jingsi Garden(80 min)
Hangzhou—SuJiaHang Highway-- Tongli(Wujiang)—Jingsi Garden(90 min)
Tel: 0512-63439118

The Hall of Quietude and Foresight

As the biggest and most beautifully decorated building in the Jingsi Garden, the Hall of Quietude and Foresight works as the main hall for guests and events. The three characters of “静远堂” on the signboard was written by the former director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Mr. Sun Yiqing. Below the signboard is The Chronicle of Jingsi Garden written by the owner, Mr. Chen Jingen. With those exquisite redwood furniture this hall is magnificent and decent.
The Lize Pavilion

The roof of a traditional Chinese Pavilion is usually upturned and warped, but the one on the Lize Pavilion is different. The round edge looks like a bamboo hat wore by peasants, with a calabash-shaped top. The whole pavilion is a symbol of simplicity and struggling spirit of Chinese peasants.
The Crane Pavilion Bridge

A classic piece of architecture in the Jingsi Garden which combines magnificence of royal gardens and delicacy of Jiangnan gardens. It divides the sight of Mirror Lake into two balanced areas with movements and tranquility.
The Mini-Rainbow Bridge

The history of the Rainbow Bridge can be dated back to Northern Song Dynasty, when it was one of three gorgeous scene spots. Nowadays the once longest bridge in Jiangnan cannot be found, but the enjoyable scene of rainbows stay still.
The Bonsai Garden

There are more than 200 bonsai plants in this garden including elm trees, nettle trees, linalools, redflower loropetalums, cypress, and honeysuckles, etc. Most of them are of hundreds of years. Every bonsai has a unique look with its curled branches.
The Native Perch Pavilion

It is built as a restaurant above the water where the beautiful sight is outside and delicious Chen’s Family Cuisine, a special type of Suzhou cuisine, inside.