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yet harmoniously spaced,the Lion Forest Garden has a prominent
part for series of man-made mountains with various buildings
around the lake ,and an artificial waterfall and cliffs at
the edge of the lake on the west. Remains of the 14th century
man-made mountains,covering 1,152 sq.m.and being the largest
of all at Suzhou,can be still seen today.Noted for its labyrinthine
mountains with winding pathways and caverns,old pines and
cypress trees,awesome peaks and jogged rocks of grotesque
shapes resembling dancing lions with striking and unusral
poses,it possesses with pride the true delights of mountain
and forest scenery in limited space with a flavor of Zen Buddhism.
The Hall of Peace and Happiness,one of the principal buildings
in the garden,is a master-piece of typical mandarin ducks'hall
at Suzhou. Divided in halves, the northern half of the hall
differs from the southen half in many particular aspects ,such
as beam-framing systems,furnishings,pavements,carvings,window
designs and so forth.With painted patterns and beam carvings
and looking splendid in green and gold,the True Delight Pavilion
in the royal style with the "True Delight "tablet
inscribed by the Qing Emperor Qianlong is a main viewing place
in the garden and differs from the other plain and elegant
gardens of Suzhou.Other buildings include the pointing at
Cypress Trees Hall,the Asking Prunus Mume Pavilion and the
Stone Boat, etc.
 The
Lion Forest Garden boasts 22 buildings of varied types, 25tablets
and plateaux,71steles inscribed with the famous Calligraphy
Collection of the Listening to Rain Tower,23 brick carvings,5
carved wooden screens,and 13 valuable old trees such as gingo
biloba L.,pinus bungeana Zucc,etc.,which fall into 5 catalogues.
Website:http://www.szszl.com/
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