Travel Report: Humble Administrator’s Garden Part II – Suzhou.

Want to get the full picture? Before reading this why not start with my article: Humble Administrator’s Garden Part I

December 2018. I really enjoyed my Christmas Day wanderings around Humble Administrator’s Garden. In all honesty this second parter is a bit self indulgent. I was just so charmed by the place that I thought, why not push out another article from Suzhou’s most impressive ancient garden!

Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou.

There are all kinds of beautiful wooden buildings peppered around Humble Administrator’s Garden. However, a special mention goes to this wonderfully wonky structure, The Hall of the Thirty Six Mandarin Ducks. Moreover, there were even some actual ducks bobbing about in the pond at the back of the building! Inside you’ll find antique wooden furniture, classical paintings and stained glass windows.

Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou.

The Humble Administrator’s Garden also features a very cool bonsai section, with some stupendous trees. If you’re into bonsai, you’ll certainly love this corner of the compound.

Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou.

A Christmas Day walk in Suzhou, China.

Located in a western corner of the complex, there are about 700 bonsais on display here. Furthermore, some of them have protected status as rare and endangered breeds.

In case you missed my Christmas Day message on social media, here’s my “Merry Christmas” video from Suzhou. It was delivered under the intense stare of about twelve Chinese tourists, who stood watching me open mouthed from a nearby tree. “Foreigner!” Yes, correct.

A Christmas Day walk in Suzhou, China.

Humble Administrator’s Garden is located at 178 Dongbei Street, next to Suzhou Museum. Open daily from 07:30-17:00, entrance tickets are 90RMB (£10.30/€11.45/$13) and they accept cash only. Allow an hour for exploring at the very least. Maybe even two if you find yourself as charmed as I was.

A Christmas Day walk in Suzhou, China.

For a deeper look into the garden’s history, check out its Wikpedia page.

You can also read more about this cool city with my travel guide to Suzhou, or maybe delve further afield with my stacks of reports from across China.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 30 countries.