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the Couple Garden Retreat
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 ĦĦĦCSurrounded
by the canal from three sides,the Couple's Garden Retreat has
piers close to the front and back entraces. The housing complex,located
in the middle and flanked by the East and West Garden, consists
of four buildings in succession and is joined with the gardens
by muti-storied buildings.
ĦĦĦĦThe East Garden has a dominant "mountain" rising
from a pond .The pavilions,terraces and towers are centered
upon the mountain. The Thatched Cottage at the City Corner,a
principal structure of the garden,is made up of a group of double-roofed
and muli-storied buildings,fronting a very natural and realistic
yellowstone mountain,running from east to ewst,piled up by the
great master Zhang Nanyang at the end of the Ming Dynasty.To
the south of the pond is the Amongst Mountains and Water Pavilion.
Made of ormosia wood in the Ming Dynasty ,the circular door
frame of the pavilion,about 4 m. across and 3.5 m.high, was
carved with an open-work picture of "Three Friends in the
Dead of Winter",namely pine,bamboo and prunus mume instinct
with life,an art treasure of this sort in the classical gardens
of Suzhou.
 ĦĦĦĦThe
West Garden consists of studies,pavilions and garden courts.One
enters the garden and gets a glimpse of limestone mountains
with caves connected up with each other below and an undulating
wall above,which encloses and divides space.To the north of
the mountains is the Old House with Woven Curtains,at the rear
of which there's a study ,a "L" shaped tower used
as a library,decorated with rocks,trees and flowers in front.
ĦĦĦĦThe Couple's Garden Retreat has 24 buildings,21 tablets and
parallel couplets,10 brick carvings,and 7 valuable old trees
such as pinus bungeana Zucc,pinus thunbergii Parl,wisteria sinensis
Sweet,etc. |
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