狮子林 - The Lion Forest Garden

Situated in the northeastern corner of Suzhou, next to the the Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园), the Lion Forest Garden (狮子林), is known for its expansive labyrinth of limestone rock formations said to resemble lions. Covering 1.1 hectares (or just under 2 4/5 acres), the current garden was constructed during the Yuan Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhizheng (至正) in A.D. 1342 by the disciples of the highly respected Zen Buddhist Abbot Weize. In addition to the rock formations themselves, the garden’s name is derived from the story of Abbot Weize’s teacher, Zhong Feng, who reportedly received enlightenment on the Lion Rock at Mt. Tianmu.

One of the many beautiful moon gates

Several Qing emperors frequented this garden in particular and created gardens inspired by it at several royal properties, including the Imperial Mountain Resort of Chengde (避暑山庄). Though the abstract images of the lions may not be obvious to all visitors, one cannot walk away from the garden without an intense wonder for the incredible maze of pathways meandering their way through the man-made mountains. Moreover, I was amazed at the incredible handiwork and beautiful design elements throughout the garden, including intricate mosaic walkways – created from smooth river stones, but the skill with which they were set, created an amazingly flat surface. In addition, the incredible sculptures and artistic elements on the roof ridgelines and pediments inspire thoughts of fantasy and whimsy – yet it was interesting to note that only a few visitors took the fortunate time to look up and chance a glance at them. Other details to awe visitors included ornate windows – each incredibly detailed and no two alike – not to mention the treasure trove of fanciful doorways and moon gates. I could go on forever, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words . . . so with that said, please enjoy “reading” the slideshow below.

**Some information from The Classical Gardens of Suzhou by Xu Wentao, trans. by Dong Xiaomin