Overview
The corridor is the garden’s argument: it compresses and releases, framing views through latticed windows so that the same pond reads differently at each opening. The four sections are distinct — central pond and rockery, eastern courtyards, northern bonsai, western woodland. Its buildings occupy a third of the site, an unusually high proportion, and are richly detailed.
Highlights
Walk the corridor slowly and look through the windows rather than past them; no two are alike. Crown of Clouds Peak, a 6.5-metre Taihu limestone, stands in the eastern courtyard. It is quieter than the Humble Administrator’s Garden and, for many visitors, the better hour.