Chinese people started to build gardens more than 2000 years ago. Over this long period of time, three styles of gardens came into being: the imperial garden, the temple garden and the private garden. Among them, the most famous imperial garden extant today is the Summer Palace in Beijing, while the private gardens south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River boast a unique ambience of their own. Scattered through Suzhou, Yangzhou and other places, the private gardens are mostly legacies from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Each resembling a landscape painting, they are of unmatched charm.

中国人建造园林有两千多年的历史，在漫长的时间里，形成了皇家园林、寺观园林、私家园林三足鼎立的格局。现存的皇家园林如北京颐和园，就是举世闻名的园林。在这中间，江南私家园林独居风味，今天在江南和长江沿岸的苏州、扬州等地缩减的园林，多是明清那个时代留下的，它们如同一幅幅山水画，展现其独特的魅力。

——摘自《中国文化读本》，叶朗 朱良志 著

要说苏州园林，最出名的莫过于拙政园（Zhuozheng Garden）了，它由四大才子之一文徵明设计，足足经过了16年才建成。院子分为三个部分，后来归属于不同的主人。苏州园林几乎都是白墙黑瓦（white walls and black tiles），园林常常采用借景（borrowing scenery），分景（dividing scenery）以及隔景（separating scenery）的手法来布置空间。通过这些手法，能够丰富游览者对于空间的美的感受。