Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuo Zheng Yuan)

The basics

Bamboo groves, pine clusters, lotus ponds, weeping willows, wandering streams, elegant pavilions, and artfully framed views make the Humble Administrator’s Garden a masterpiece of the “mountain and water” Suzhou garden style. A section of the garden even hosts the Suzhou Garden Museum, dedicated to the art of Chinese gardens.

Join a garden tour to place the Humble Administrator’s Garden in context with two or three other classical gardens or opt for a cultural tour to discover the city's other sights, such as the Silk Museum, Tiger Hill, historic Pingjiang Road, and I. M. Pei's stunning Suzhou Museum. Tours from Shanghai often feature a water town—typically Zhouzhuang, Tongli, or Zhujiajiao—and sometimes a kunqu opera show as well.

Things to know before you go

• Allow 2–3 hours to appreciate the garden and museum in full.
• Steps, uneven paths, and bridges make the Suzhou gardens hard to manage with strollers.
• The Humble Administrator’s Garden is not wheelchair-accessible.

How to get there

The Humble Administrator’s Garden sits in central Suzhou, about a 2-mile (3-kilometer) drive southeast of Suzhou Station; catch the Y1 or Y2 tourist bus from the station to the Suzhou Museum next door. The bullet train from Shanghai takes half an hour, but be sure to book tickets for Suzhou Station, not Suzhou North Station.

When to get there

The Humble Administrator’s Garden is open from early morning until late afternoon, closing a little earlier in winter. Crowds flock here all year long, but for a more serene experience, arrive soon after opening on a weekday. The azalea festival celebrates spring blooms between March and May, while lotuses flower between June and October. Even in winter the garden has an austere beauty.

The best Suzhou gardens

You could spend days exploring Suzhou’s gardens. Many travelers opt for the Canglang Pavilion (Blue Wave Pavilion), the oldest of the gardens, first laid out in the 11th century. Others opt for the Master-of-Nets-Garden, one of the city’s best-preserved gardens; the Yipu Garden (Garden of Cultivation), which is less crowded than other Suzhou gardens; or the Lion Grove Garden, known for its extraordinary rock clusters.