Swallow Garden

Yanyuan, one of the oldest and most completely preserved private gardens in the classical gardens of Changshu, is also known as Yangugarden. Although not large in size, it is ingeniously conceived, uniquely crafted, and distinctive, making it one of the famous classical gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. Yanyuan has two origin stories: One says that it was built by Jiang Yuanxu, the son of Jiang Pu, a Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, and a prefect of Taiwan. It was originally named 'Jiangyuan'. Later, it came into the possession of his nephew, Jiang Yinpei, the county magistrate of Tai'an, who commissioned the renowned rockwork master Jinling Ge Yuliang to build a yellow rockery, naming it 'Yangugarden', and hence the garden was called 'Yanyuan'. Another story suggests that in the 45th year of Qianlong's reign, Jiang Yuanxu, who was then the Inspector and Educational Commissioner of Fujian and Taiwan, encountered danger at sea. Upon his return to Changshu, he named the garden 'Yanyuan', implying 'the swallows returning', which is also a reference used for the campuses of Peking University and Yanshan University. Yanyuan may not be as large as the famous Zhao Yuan or Fangta Yuan gardens, but it has its own unique charm. Upon entering, one can immediately see a bamboo grove, and further inside, there are sparse bamboo branches, upon closer inspection, they are purple bamboo. Every few steps one takes, the scenery changes, especially with the rockery, which is both imposing and beautiful!

Located in the old town of Changshu (18 Xinfeng Lane), next to Yushan Jinjiang Hotel, there is a Qing Dynasty ancient garden called Yan Garden, which has a history of more than two hundred years. Yan Garden covers an area of four acres, with closely packed scenery, which can be described as a snail shell doing a dojo. Although there are so-called sixteen famous scenes such as Yan Valley Cave Heaven and Three Chanjuan Rooms, it seems to be frivolous of ancient literati. In my opinion, Yan Garden is just like a general ancient garden in the south of the Yangtze River. For this tiny area of 4 acres, there is actually no outstanding place to circle and point out. How can it be listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit? I speculate that one is the participation of Ge Yuliang, the master of overlapping mountains in the Qianjia era in the south of the Yangtze River: in Yan Garden, he used a small amount of stones to highly refine the peaks and caves in natural landscapes in a very limited space, achieving the 'cliffs and greenery, reflecting pool water, deep mountains and secluded valleys, as if they were naturally formed'. No wonder the folk call Ge Yuliang has the magic of 'a few feet of landscape, city mountains and forests'; the second is the long history of the garden: Yan Garden, built in the Qianlong (1780) period, has a garden history of more than 240 years. The third is the heavy cultural and historical background of the garden owner: the garden was originally built by Jiang Yuanshu, the son of Jiang Pu, the Grand Scholar of the East Pavilion of the Qing Dynasty Qianlong, and the governor of Taiwan, who had a great influence in Changshu. It is reported that there are four ancient gardens in Changshu, Fangta Garden, Yan Garden, Zeng Garden and Zhao Garden (merged). Starting this year, Fangta Garden, Zeng Garden and Zhao Garden have all reduced their ticket prices to 30 yuan, benefiting the people and allowing more citizens to enjoy the garden. But only Yan Garden (the past ticket price was 40 yuan) still charges 10 yuan. In terms of garden area, scenery and landscape, Yan Garden is far inferior to the first three, and can only rank last. In fact, it takes about a quarter of an hour to walk around the entire Yan Garden, and there is nothing particularly eye-catching. The number of visitors entering the garden in a day can be counted on one's fingers, and this 10 yuan ticket is really out of tune. It seems that it is this 'national key cultural relics protection unit' that gives it a full charge. However, tourists do not buy this account. Looking at the four major ancient gardens in Changshu, the free Zeng Garden, Zhao Garden, and Fangta Garden are crowded with visitors, while Yan Garden is sparsely populated, which can be described as 'the door can be described as sparsely populated'. Those of you who have visited Yan Garden, do you feel the same?

Yan Garden Changshu·Suzhou Jiangnan has many famous gardens, and Changshu Yan Garden is one of them. Yan Garden is located in Xinfeng Lane in the ancient city area of Changshu, deep in the winding alley, on the grey tiles and pink walls is a low-key and heavy stone gate, which is its entrance, just like most Suzhou gardens, it's low-key, but there's a different world inside. Yan Garden, one of the longest existing and most completely preserved private gardens in Changshu's classical gardens, also known as Yan Valley Garden, is not large, but it's ingeniously designed, unique, and distinctive. In the 43rd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1778), Jiang Yuanshu, the governor of Taiwan, returned home after his term of office, and he was lucky to escape danger when crossing the sea; after returning to his hometown Changshu, he built a small garden for his later years, which was initially called 'Jiang Garden'. In the 5th and 6th years of Daoguang (1825, 1826), Jiang Yinpei, who had been the county magistrate of Taian, returned to Changshu after being dismissed and traveled around, and he renovated the garden, and hired Ge Yuliang, a master of stacking mountains, to stack a fake mountain in the garden with Huangshi from Yushan, named 'Yan Valley', and the garden was renamed 'Yan Garden'. During the Guangxu period, the garden belonged to Zhang Hong, a Langzhong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was renamed 'Zhang Garden'. Because there is a 'Yan Valley' fake mountain in the garden, Zhang Hong called himself 'Old Man of Yan Valley', and completed the writing of the famous book 'Continuation of the Sea Flower' in the garden. After the founding of New China, Yan Garden was successively occupied by the Public Security Bureau, the Cultural Museum and other units, and later belonged to the Leather Factory. Although Changshu Yan Garden is not large, the combination of spaces in the garden is variable, the design is ingenious, the courtyard is deep, it is said that there are 'Sixteen Sceneries of Yan Garden', which is listed as one of the famous gardens. This is similar to the Huanxiu Villa, which is also created by Ge Yuliang, the master of stacking mountains, with a perfect fake mountain as the main scene, which amazes people. Therefore, Yan Garden has also become one of the important attractions in Jiangnan private gardens. Yan Garden opening hours: 08:00-16:00, ticket: 10 yuan/person.

✨The gardens of Changshu are very similar to those of Suzhou, most of them are hidden in the alleys of the old city. On the way to Changshu Yanyuan, from the bustling streets, slowly entering the quiet alley, it instantly reminded me of the memory of going to Suzhou Yipu before. 📖Changshu Yanyuan, originally named 'Jiangyuan', was later renamed 'Yanyuan' because of the 'Yan Valley Yellow Stone Rockery' stacked in the garden. Although Yanyuan covers an area of only 4 acres, it has as many as 16 scenes, really achieving exquisite beauty. 🔸Wuzhi Hall: The owner's living room, 'Wuzhi' is the 'Red Yellow Black White Son' five divine fungi mentioned by ancient alchemists; 🔹Shangshi Pavilion: The place for chanting poems, it is also an excellent place to enjoy the scenery of Yanyuan; 🔸Tongchu Xianguan: A private school for home education; 🔹Tianji Guizhou: A pavilion by the water, shaped like a boat, 🔸can be seen in many gardens in the south of the Yangtze River; 🔹Mengqing Lotus Temple: A place to worship the sea god Mazu, chant Buddha and burn incense; 🔸Bingling Gongdian Theater: It used to be used for worshiping the fire god, and later it was converted into a theater. It is said to be to inspire the morale of the officers and soldiers; 🔹Seventy-two Stone Monkeys: It is famous for its shape resembling a group of monkeys, but after I watched it, I didn't find it similar. Is it because I didn't find the right angle? 😂 🍃This season (end of September and beginning of October), is when the pomegranate trees in the garden bear fruit and the osmanthus flowers fill the garden. In a compact but not cramped environment, leisurely strolling in the garden, every step is a scene, it is extremely comfortable. 📍Address: 18 Xinfeng Lane, Changshu City, Jiangsu Province 🚇Transportation: Bus 5, 7, 8, 9, etc. ⏱️Opening hours: 8:00-16:30 💰Cost: 10 yuan

🌟Highlights: 1️⃣Yanyuan has two beautifully shaped wintersweet trees, one of which is over two hundred years old and grows on the Seventy-two Stone Monkey rockery. The small yellow wintersweet flowers bloom densely among the old trunk and twisted branches, contrasting with the grey walls and black tiles of the garden buildings, adding vitality and dynamism to the bleak winter garden. 2️⃣There is also a wintersweet tree full of flowers next to the Yangu Valley corridor, shaped like an open fan, which is eye-catching whether viewed from afar or up close. It reminds one of the poem praising the wintersweet flower: 'The horizontal branches are naturally thin like jade, and the broken gold is particularly fragrant.' ❤Reasons for recommendation: The small wintersweet flowers, fragrant in the ancient alleys of Changshu, take a walk in Yanyuan in the old city, the fragrance is floating, and you are inadvertently dyed with the cold and secluded fragrance of wintersweet. Finally understood, on a cold winter day, when you meet a woman in the small alleys of the south of the Yangtze River, you can always smell a faint elegant fragrance, which turns out to be the fragrance of wintersweet. No wonder the beauty of the women in the south of the Yangtze River has always been so memorable. 📷Wintersweet photo spots 1️⃣Seventy-two Stone Monkey rockery ♦️Enter the Yanyuan ticket gate, stand under the corridor and look up to take pictures, framing the black tiles of the corridor eaves, wintersweet flowers and the sky in the lens. ♦️Climb up the Stone Monkey rockery, the twisted branches of the ancient wintersweet tree and the garden buildings with pink walls and black tiles reflect each other, a casual shot, whether in color or the beauty of ancient charm, is just right. 2️⃣Yan Valley corridor ♦️Walk into the Three Charming Room and take a picture of the wintersweet tree from the flower window, including Yan Valley and the wintersweet tree in the lens, the composition method of Chinese Eastern garden aesthetics. ♦️Climb up the Yan Valley rockery, frame the wintersweet flowers and the black tiles of the southern houses in the lens, which is very layered and has a southern charm. Stroll along the corridor, the fragrance is bone-chilling, hide the simple and plain fragrance of wintersweet in your heart, the winter taste of the southern garden is given by the wintersweet. It's the right time to enjoy wintersweet in Yanyuan, let's go! 📍Detailed address: Xinfeng Lane, Changshu City