from wikipedia 留园位于苏州古城西北的阊门外，始建于明万历二十一年（1593年），为当时已罢官的太仆寺少卿徐泰时邀请叠石名人周时臣设计建造的私家园林，名东园。清嘉庆三年（1798年），刘恕在原已破落的东园旧址基础上改建，以“竹色清寒，波光澄碧”命名为寒碧庄，同时因园主姓刘，所以也叫做刘园。道光三年（1823年）起，园林开始对民众开放，成为一处著名景点。但到太平天国时，由于战祸和缺乏管理，留园逐渐荒芜。同治十二年（1873年），湖北布政使盛康（盛宣怀之父）购得此园，花了三年时间进行大规模改修、增建，终于在光绪二年（1876年）落成，并以“刘园”的同音易名为“留园”。但此后的日本侵華战争期间，留园又被弃置，甚至沦为军队养马之所。直到中华人民共和国成立后，苏州市政府接手此园进行整修，于1954年重新对民众开放。今与北京颐和园、承德避暑山庄和苏州拙政园并列为中国四大古典园林。 园林特色 留园以建筑变化多样，奇石众多，且与亭台、古木等配置得宜而著称。园林规模较大，总面积约3万多平方米（50亩），分中、东、西、北四部分，它的中部即为原寒碧山庄，另外三部分则由盛康扩建。四个区块各自呈现不同的特色，利用建筑群对各景点进行隔断，同时又通过窗棂将景物相联，并建造曲廊连接全园各部分。曲廊随势而变，时攀山腰，时畔水际，逶迤曲折，全长700余米。廊壁更镶嵌刘恕收集的历代碑刻300余方，称“留园法帖”，其中尤以明董汉策刻王羲之、王献之父子的“二王法帖”最为有名。 留园最著名的是假山奇石之多姿多彩，它的三任主要主人徐泰时、刘恕和盛康都是好石之士。留园历史上的著名奇石“瑞云峰”，有“妍巧甲于江南”之誉，為江南三大名石之一，系宋徽宗时的花石纲遗物，属湖州董氏所有，后董氏与徐泰时家联姻，知徐好石，便将此石作为嫁妆相赠，置于东园，传为一时佳话。清乾隆四十四年（1779年），瑞云峰被搬到同城的织造署西行宫内（石至今犹存），原址则补立一石，仍名瑞云，但姿态相去甚远。清末盛康接掌此园，用“留园三峰”来给自己的三个孙女取名，但其中瑞云早逝，盛康认为乃瑞云峰非原物所致，盛怒之余，敲碎此峰，故今仅余断石。而在寒碧山庄修复后，刘恕布置了造型优美的十二太湖石，名奎宿、玉女、箬帽、青芝、累黍、一云、印月、猕猴、鸡冠、指袖、仙掌、干霄等（大都仍存），并在嘉庆七年（1802年），邀请画家王学浩绘制了寒碧庄十二峰图，现由上海博物馆收藏。 园林布局 苏州留园可亭 苏州留园又一村 留园中部即原寒碧山庄，是全园的精华，以山水为胜。水池居中央，有小蓬莱岛，架曲桥连接两岸。周围环以土质假山和明瑟楼、涵碧山房、闻木樨香轩、可亭、远翠阁、清风池馆等，临水而筑，错落有致。涵碧山房（朱熹“一水方涵碧，千林已变红”）是主厅，面阔三间，坐南朝北。厅前有宽广月台，依荷花池，故又名“荷花厅”。明瑟楼（郦道元《水经注》“目对鱼鸟，水木明瑟”）西接主厅，远观两者形如一艘画舫。清风池馆（苏轼《赤壁赋》“清风徐来，水波不兴”）居池东北角，向西敞开，最适观鱼。 水池的东岸即为留园东部，多建筑庭院，分别以五峰仙馆和林泉耆宿之馆为核心，东西并列，布局紧密。这里的建筑外观富丽堂皇，内部宽敞明亮，装饰与陈设亦相当精美。主厅五峰仙馆（李白《观庐山五老峰》“庐山东南五老峰，青天削出金芙蓉”）是江南园林中最大的厅堂，面阔五间，以楠木为柱，俗称“楠木厅”。厅内用隔扇划分出多重空间，四周环绕着数座厅堂院落。林泉耆宿之馆也叫作“鸳鸯厅”，室内被屏风分隔为南北二室，南室素净淡雅，北室雕梁画栋，风格大相径庭，因而得名。其北院有著名的“留园三峰”——冠云峰、瑞云峰、岫云峰，居中的冠云峰也是北宋花石纲的遗物，高约6.5米，亭亭玉立，是江南最大的湖石，具有“漏、瘦、透、皱、秀”等特点。三峰周边还建有水池浣云沼和亭台楼阁等，均为赏石之所，自成一组院落。其中冠云楼地势较高，登临其上可一览全园景致，并可远眺虎丘。楼下有上古鱼化石一方。 留园的北部广种桃李竹杏等树木，又一村（陆游《游山西村》“山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村”）建有葡萄、紫藤架，其余为盆景园，颇具田园意味。又一村之西则为园林的西部，南北狭长，以土山为主，体现自然风光。山上枫树成林，其北小溪溪流宛转，溪边水榭名“活泼泼地”，遍植柳树，隔出一片桃园，唤作“小桃坞”。

I didn't visit the Humble Administrator's Garden so I can't comment on which one to visit, instead I thought I give some tips from my visit to Liuyuan or Lingering Garden. It's slightly out of the way as compared to Humble Adminstrator's Garden but it's actually within walking distance from Shantang street which is their old street. I thought Shantang street was pretty nice, similar to Old Town of Lijiang. So from the Shantang metro station, walk South East to the end of Shantang, after that head West to Lingering Gardens. There's a guided tour (in mandarin) which covers the 3 treasures of Lingering Garden, it's about 15minutes and only takes you to the East side of the garden (i.e., a quarter of the park) so you can backtrack and start all over again. The route is linear and very easy to navigate, practically taking you on the entirety of the garden.

Lingering Garden (留园）is a renowned classical Chinese garden, dating back to 1593. Since 1997 it has been recognized with seven other Classical Gardens of Suzhou as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden also contains two UNESCO Intangible World Heritage Arts; Pingtan (评弹) and Guqin music（古琴). Together with Zhuo Zheng Yuan拙政园, Shi Zi Lin狮子林, Cang lang ting沧浪亭，Liu yuan is one of the four most famous yuanlin gardens in suzhou take note this garden is small, but located in very busy district in terms of traffic, so always prepare to come early and better to buy tickets in advance. the whole tour may take 1 hour, but if you are going to listen to Pingtan评弹 which i highly recommend, it may take one more hour
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I’m into Bonzai, or as the Chinese call it “Penzai”. The Chinese are very representational and Penzai is a perfect example. “Tray Planting” to make miniature representations of forests, mountain ranges, and using micro trees, showing their struggle against the elements and the ravages of time. Wonderful stuff. I was stunned by the specimens in this garden. First, by the sheer volume of beautiful, centuries old examples. I’ve never been amidst that many knockouts at one time. Staggering. They claim 200 different Bonzai trees and I think I took a photo of every one. I hope. I’m comfortable enough in my manliness to say I was moved to near tears as I realized what I had stumbled upon. Go!!!!

The Liuyuan garden is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite gardens among the numerous UNESCO cultural heritage sites in Suzhou. I had the pleasure of visiting this garden many years ago, and it quickly became my favourite. I highly recommend visiting in autumn when the leaves on the trees turn to beautiful colours. Unlike the Humble Administrator's Garden, admission to this garden is not very expensive, and you don't need to make an appointment or purchase tickets online beforehand. Additionally, there aren't many tourists here, allowing you to enjoy the serene beauty of the garden in peace.
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Preserve the intact Suzhou garden landscape hundreds of years ago. The Lingering Garden is a classical garden in Suzhou, famous for its exquisite architectural arrangement and numerous strange stones. In 1961, the Lingering Garden was announced by the State Council of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 1997, four Suzhou classical gardens, including the Lingering Garden, were listed as World Cultural Heritage. 保存了数百年前完整的苏州园林景观。 留园是苏州的一座古典园林，以建筑布局精美、奇石多多而著称。 1961年，留园被国务院公布为第一批全国重点文物保护单位之一。 1997年，留园等4座苏州古典园林被列为世界文化遗产。

A must visit place if you are in Suzhou. It is a classic traditional Chinese town spread across about a 1km road with waterways, restraunts, temples and shops. You can take a beautiful boat ride into the waterway streets of this Shantang Road. It is also popularly called as Venice of East. And for those who have been to Venice it is off course smaller in area when compared to Venice but with zero smell and lot of greenery. You can book yourself to a 2 minute walking distance hotel - Hotel Sun Plaza which is very spacious and economical.

Absolutely worth the price of admission. Smaller and less ostentatious than the Humble Administrator’s Garden, but with more to see than Lion Grove, Master of Nets, etc., this was probably my favorite garden in Suzhou. The buildings, water, rocks, trees, and plants are arranged in such a beautiful and calming manner, if it weren’t for the throngs of tourists everyone you would never want to leave. And with an admission fee of only 45 rmb in non-peak season, this is a must-see, no excuses

Slightly less touristy than the Humble Administrator's Garden or Lion Stone Forest Garden, this garden was the best of the three main gardens I visited in Suzhou. It was extremely pretty with a really classical feeling (just my opinion, I don't know much about Chinese gardens). The musical performances add an extra dimension to your visit and take you back in time. Try to go early or out of season, but the crowds are bearable if you can't.

If this is the garden place then I found it quite unexciting. The lingering garden When I hear the word garden then I think flowers and colour. I found it colourless and flowerless. Rockeries as in rocks piled on top of each other. Trees and weedy looking plants. The little pond and bridge was nice. Saw koi/goldfish in the pond. Bonsai trees were nice but by the time I got to them I was very bored and just wanted to get out of there.

This is a beautiful Chinese garden. A Chinese garden has for main attributes, rocks, water, buildings and plants. The key is to place all for into a place that's pleasing to the eyes. Most of the gardens visited are intended for a specific purpose. Some of for prayer, others meditation or reflection and some simply for relaxation. In this one, you could do all four. Just don't visit on the weekend because it's too crowded.

Very intricate garden. The attention to detail and the way it's presented. Way to show wealth without going extravaganza. Only downside is when you have a lot of tours going at same time, it's very crowded and the place loses its appealing peace. The corridors and walkways are very narrow and windy so it makes for a difficult visit.the Bonsai garden is a must within it. Those "dwarfs" are pretty fascinating.

The lingering garden is still lingering in my head and it's not in a good way. It's crowded and loud. Tour group is worst. At time, going thru the tour group can be a nightmare. There's pushing, shoving, and blocking passage way. Forget about personal space here. There no time to enjoy the garden or appreciate it. It being spoiled by the other tourist

WOW!!! The garden is so well maintained. So many spots look just like a post cards!! Have your camera ready because many awesome photo opportunity here! Pretty big garden too. Check out the photos I took at the garden. There are many souvenir shops around the garden. Definitely can spend at least half day in this area.

Lingering garden is a basically a yesteryear house of military personnel. It's a great place with concept gardening of different nature's including that of bonsai, rock gardens and variety of plants, trees and flowering trees. Must for any nature enthusiast and horticulturist.

Liu Yuan is one of top four gardens of China. In such a limited space, you have to use your imagination to picture the forest, oceans and mountains. If I have the chance to visit again, I will pick a less crowded time to really enjoy the tranquility of the place.

Top 4 garden in China, famous for its rocks, huge lakes and streams. Liu Yuan (留园, Lingering Garden) was built in 1593, during Ming Dynasty. It's really beautiful and large (2.3ha), so you'll need half a day.
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Absolutely beautiful garden love all the flower decorations indoor with natural sunlight. Cute shaped window looking out to the stunning garden. The stone garden is also amazing. Every little detail was carefully designed and very well maintained.…...

The rock formations are particularly well arranged. As expected, the more popular parts are very crowded, but nonetheless worth seeing. It does feel somewhat austere in the winter and I suspect that the best seasons to visit are spring and summer.

This was a very large and old garden. Unfortunately, there was so many people which made it difficult to enjoy quietly. However, I would recommend getting a guide to explain the history in order to appreciate this destination!

A pretty decent sized garden, but can be extremely crowded during peak periods especially summer. Great collection of bonsai trees which are otherwise rare outside of Asia. Go early to enjoy some peace and serenity.

国家5a级景区 虽然不大 但是该有的都有 仔细逛的话也能逛上大半天 建议先建议先听导游的重点讲解 然后在自己去园子里面逛 我个人比较喜欢的是 各式各样的漏窗 铺地 和小亭子 每一处风景 每一处建筑取的名字都非常的诗情画意 也都蕴含着一些典故或者是哲学智慧 逛的时候可以先从入口处拿一张留园的地图 甚至引导的方向逛 就能把这个园子不大下的逛完 就不会走回头路了

China is a must see - Great Wall ,Terracotta Warriors , Beijing, Westlake/Hangzou, not to mention Shanghai and the bullet trains(300 +kmph).Hope to get back there again ..

The Gardens were a wonder to see - lots of little areas to explore and zen out - large ponds and areas to sit and relax and breath in the tranquility of this magical spot

one of the best garden in china. really many people are in there. your ticket is only available for 1 hour valid. if you visiting suzhou, highly recommend.

个人觉得留园之精妙就在于漏窗借景。很忠实的贯彻了计成在中国古代造园专著《园冶》中“取景在借”的妙论：“峭壁山者，靠壁理也。籍以粉壁为纸，以石为绘业。理者向石皴纹，仿古人笔意，植黄山、松柏、古梅、美竹，收之园窗，宛然镜游也。”真可得“轩楹高爽，窗户虚邻；纳千顷之汪洋，收四时之烂漫”之畅然适意。

The tour guide introduced really clearly, but the construction is not well saved. Which is the drawback for most attractions in China.

Historical & well kept of ancient family building with numerous of owners. Need a tour guide in order to understand more about.

There are many things to see and the garden was beautiful to see!! Additionally, i recommend to go there in Spring and Autumn!!

留园比拙政园小了若干圈吧，粗粗走走可能都不要20分钟，但园里人却一点都不少。 下午4点多到的，原本想人少些可以看得仔细些，未想还是人挤人啊……走廊都快动不了了[流泪] 和拙政园比，更像之前看的胡雪岩故居，听说只保留了原景部分，住宅部分都已被划走另用了。

Fantastic environment. Park is well maintained and plants are kept groomed. Lots of different ponds and bonsai trees to see.

Easily one of the best pizza in the west coast, the downside is the waiting, it could be an hour or more so be there at 5pm

Beautiful place, you would see Aesthetics of old classic china in strange rock and building decorated with sculpture.

Easy to get lost here for hours. Great ambient atmosphere and likely more crowded during weekends/nice weather days.

Good for the family to visit. Parents can appreciate the history and kids will enjoy climbing the rock formations

Very beautiful place with many kinds of flowers, lotus, pond, lake, stone architecture, ferieswheel and garden.

It is a very nice historical place. Put the images of the way how weathy Chinese lived into proper perspective.

Very beautiful, just try to go in spring when things are blooming, I went in November it was too darn cold.

Beautiful garden with many sections. Best seen on a day with not many people as the paths can get tight.

An old Chinese southern traditional garden. Takes only 1-1.5 hours to slowly walk through the garden.

Probably hard to find a time when it's not crowded. Imagination and focus needed to enjoy its beauty.

Nice garden, was overcrowded in the off season. Can only imagine what peek season would be like

This is a great garden and there is plenty of shopping in the outdoor market just outside.

A beautiful place to walk and enjoy the history. There's so much beauty to take in...

This is overrated. Don't impulse buy something you can't get from Alina a or Amazon.

Superb, as many other gardens in the city. It just can get a bit crowded, you know.

This garden is beautiful in December, I will be back in another season to see more

Worth a visit. Quite well preserved and located conveniently in the city centre.

During China tour. Old Chinese tradition house / garden. Unesco heritage site

中国四大园林之一，面积不大，个人觉得没有拙政园看起来那么震撼，不过也是江南私家园林的极佳代表作。早上刚开园时人不算很多，比较清静。夏天来最美。满满的绿色。

Allow yourself some time to “linger” in the bonsai area- incredible. …...

A lot better than the humble magistrate garden, which is poorly maintained.

Lovely garden definitely worth a visit. Only 50 yuan per person for entry.

千万不要人多的时候来 否则你只会看到人人人人
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去过狮子林和拙政园再去的留园，感觉留园比那两个都好。园林层次丰富，每个小景都很精致，桂花香随着凉风弥漫整个留园。门票价格55，比较合理。

Peaceful relaxing were instant feelings walking into the garden!

中国四大园林之一，跟拙政园齐名的园林。特别适合在雨天游览。因为这里有长廊，亭子，从不同的窗花看到园子里面，一步换一景，妙趣横生。

I really enjoyed the visit. The garden is beautiful, a must see.

Great experience. Bonsai garden was great to walk through.

Beautiful place to visit. Really amazing Bonsai trees.

The tour was interesting and the garden is beautiful!

A very breath-taking view of china. Love it so much.

I could have spent all day there. It was beautiful.

Take time to enjoy the splendid scenery. Beautiful.

My favorite garden in Suzhou. Not to much crowdet.

Spectacular garden design and bonsai collection

The beauty and serenity here is unprecedented.

Lovely garden. Worth the stop to walk around

Beautiful garden, impressive landscape.

So beautiful. I will definitely be back

A beautiful garden with a nice pond.

Great place to visit and take photos

Great place to spend the afternoon.

Beautiful. Must see for yourself !

Just beautiful. Very nice garden.

留园特别有名，园林很有层次感，每一处小景都挺精致的，就是人挺多的。

What a beautiful garden in autumn

2013年9月14日苏州开会顺便去了一下，苏州园林，名不虚传！

Nice place to visit and safe

Nice ancient but lively town

A nice spot to take a walk.

Top joint. Don't miss it.

比拙政园小巧，直耸入云的太湖石很特别。

苏州四大名园之一，离虎丘不远，值得一去

园是好园，就是人特么太多了，挤来挤去的

一个破物流公司有这么多评论。太神奇了

綠色植物非常多，適合周末去踏青

比较有特点的一个苏州古典园林

留园很小，很精致的苏州园林

盆栽观赏，假山风水。