Long corridor
Over the water.
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A water garden on the north shore of Lake Li, an inlet of Lake Tai named after Fan Li, a minister of the Spring and Autumn period who, the story goes, sailed these waters with the beauty Xi Shi after helping the King of Yue defeat the state of Wu. The garden covers 8.2 hectares, 3.5 of them water; local merchants built it between 1927 and 1936, and a neighbouring garden was joined to it after 1952; its best-known feature is a long covered corridor of 289 metres over the water, pierced by carved windows looking out on the lake. It also has elaborate rockeries, a mid-lake pavilion and the Pavilions of the Four Seasons, with yellow roofs and red pillars, each set beside its own plant, plum for winter, oleander for summer and sweet osmanthus for autumn, alongside a small, elegant pagoda that has become the garden's emblem. Tickets are about CNY 60 including Xishi Village and a boat ride, per visitor guides. Spring, when the trees blossom over the water, is the loveliest time.
Over the water.
Pavilions.
And Xi Shi.
North shore of Lake Li, Binhu District, Wuxi
About CNY 60, including Xishi Village and a boat ride on Lake Li, per visitor guides.