A Spring Visit to the Retreat & Reflection Garden

The Retreat & Reflection Garden is located in Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and was built between the eleventh and thirteenth years of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (1885-1887). The designer of the garden was Yuan Long, covering an area of 5,674 square meters with a building area of 2,622 square meters. It integrates a variety of gardening techniques and is considered a masterpiece among gardens in China. It is a classical garden outside the city of Gusu that has been included in the World Cultural Heritage list and has served as the filming location for many movies and TV dramas. Due to the limitations of the terrain, the architectural layout breaks the convention, changing from vertical to horizontal, from west to east, with the west being the residence, the center being the courtyard, and the east being the garden. The garden encompasses the architectural features of southern Jiangnan gardens, including pavilions, terraces, towers, corridors, bridges, halls, and rooms. It boasts 'three unique trees, three absolute wonders, and three treasures,' with pavilions, terraces, towers, corridors, bridges, and rooms all present. The owner of the garden, Ren Lansheng, was impeached and dismissed from his post, and he named the garden 'Retreat & Reflection' in the hope of making amends. The Retreat & Reflection Garden was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO in November 2000, and in June 2001, it was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit.