The Lion Forest was built in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (1342), covering an area of 11,000 square meters (open area of 8,800 square meters), and is one of the four major gardens in Suzhou. Compared with most Suzhou gardens, the Lion Forest is a very unique existence - a temple garden, so it is completely different from the traditional private garden painting style that emphasizes feng shui and set balance.

In 1341 A.D., the Buddhist monk Tianru Zen Master arrived in Suzhou and was warmly embraced by his disciples. In the following year, many disciples "contributed money at the same rate to buy land and settle houses in order to live as their teachers". In the courtyard, "there are bamboo ten thousand in the forest, and there are many strange stones under the bamboo, and the shape is like a lion (lion)", and Tianru Zen master got the law in the middle peak of the Lion Rock Puying National Division in Tianmu Mountain, Zhejiang, so the temple got the name Lion Forest. When Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, he must visit the lion forest every time, which shows his love for these Taihu Lake stones. The last owner of the Lion Grove was Pei Runsheng, the uncle of the world-famous architect I.M. Pei, who spent nearly seven years repairing the garden and adding buildings with a distinctly Western style.

When you arrive at the lion forest of the "rockery kingdom", how can you not watch the rockery group that looks like a lion fighting. These Taihu stones have been artificially carved, and their forms are ever-changing. But visitors may be disappointed if they expect to see the statue come to life. According to Buddhism, the lion is the beast of the Buddha country, and it is all up to the original believers' meditation practice. The treasure of the town garden is the Nine Lion Peak located in the northeast, the form is huge, and the "nine heads" are majestic and solemn. It is alone in a courtyard, and no other Taihu stone can compete with it. According to the different ages, the rockery group of the Lion Forest can be divided into the main rockery of the Yuan Dynasty and the modern rockery, with a total of 9 rockery mountains and 21 caves. The former has a long history and a larger area, making it more popular among tourists. In the main rockery, all kinds of trails are like a labyrinth walkway. Visitors can hear the calls of friends close to them, but it can take a lot of hard work to find each other. It is worth noting that the main rockery can be divided into dry rockery and water rockery, the latter will flood the trail on days of heavy rain, and tourists should pay more attention to safety at that time.

As a representative of Suzhou garden, the overall building of the Lion Forest is relatively simple, but the Zhenqu Pavilion is resplendent and brilliant, with a strong royal atmosphere, just because the pavilion is named by Qianlong. Qianlong visited the lion forest six times, and loved this garden very much, and wrote a large number of poems and imperial titles. In view of the tens of thousands of poems created by Qianlong in his lifetime and the general consensus of the literary world, I will not make too many comments here. But this "really interesting" imperial inscription plaque has a well-known and widely known allusion. At that time, Qianlong was playing in the Lion Forest, and on a whim, he wrote the words "really interesting". When Huang Xi, the champion of the accompanying tour, felt a little cheesy, he asked Qianlong to give the word "have" to him who was "destitute". Qianlong heard the sound outside the strings and agreed to this request. After Qianlong left, the magistrate built a pavilion here and hung a plaque.

The stone boat and the pavilion in the lake built in modern times are the idea of Bei Runsheng, with strong Western architectural elements, which are incompatible with the lion forest and have a mixed reputation.

Information Reference

Tickets:

Peak season tickets: 40 yuan/person (April, May, July, August, September, October)

Off-season fare: 30 yuan/person (January, February, March, June, November, December)

Opening Hours:

7:30-17:30 (March 1-October 15)

7:30-17:00 (October 16 - end of February)