The Ministry of Construction has released the names of the first batch of 20 national parks, including 9 Suzhou classical gardens: Zhuozheng Garden, Liu Garden, Wangshi Garden, Huanxiu Villa, Lion Grove, Yipu Garden, Ou Garden, Tuisi Garden and Canglang Pavilion.

National parks refer to the famous city parks and gardens. Suzhou classical gardens are a part of China's precious cultural heritage (all the 9 gardens are on the list of World Cultural Heritage) as well as an indispensable part of the life of Suzhou citizens. In addition to all of this, they are also world-renowned tourism resorts. In fact, their unique historical and cultural background serves to contribute to their ranking among national parks.

The earliest classical gardens in Suzhou can be dated back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). However, the gardens impress their visitors not only with their age-old history but also with their delicate scenes, particularly Canglang Pavilion, Zhuozheng Garden, Lion Grove, and Liu Garden, the most famous 4 that represent different styles of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

In 1978, an imitation of a Suzhou classical garden was set up by Chen Congzhou (the author of the book Suzhou Classical Gardens) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, which was the first time ever to directly introduce Chinese ancient architecture to Westerners.

(China News Service February 27, 2007)