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the Garden of Cultivation
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 ˇˇˇCThe
pond in the middle of the garden occupies one fourth of the
total area.It features "mountain scenery" to the south
of the pond and buildings to the north.The pond has a roughly
rectangular shape with coves at the southeast and southwest
corners,which are spanned by low,flat and small bridges. On
the east and west banks of the pond are roofed and open-sided
galleries,pavilions,rocks and trees, serving transitionally
as a foil to the northern and southern scenes. At the southeast
corner of the pond is the Fry Pavilion that dates from the Ming
Dynasty.A moon gate in the wall that borders the pond and the
mountains leads to a small garden court on the southwest. The
6-pillar-wide Water Pavilion of Longevity lies to the north
of the pond,overlooking the broad expanse of water,and is the
biggest water pavilion at Suzhou.To the north of the water pavilion
is the 6-pillar-wide Hall of Erudition and Elegance in the style
of the Ming. The Garden of Cultivation,simple,rustic and natural,still
keeps much of the layout,design principles and othercharacteristics
of the Ming garden.It has 13 buildings,17 tablets and parallel
couplets,8 steles and stone carvings,pinus bungeana Zucc, podocarpus
macrophyllus D.Don,and other valuable old trees. |
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