Ouyuan Garden (ǒu yuán 耦园) is located in the Xiaoxinqiao Lane (xiǎo xīn qiáo xiàng 小新桥巷), Neicang Street (nèi cāng jiē 内苍街), Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市), Jiangsu Province (jiāng sū shěng 江苏省). It is one of the four classical gardens in Suzhou. And it is listed in cultural relics unit under Jiangsu protection, as well as the world cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Ouyuan Garden was originally constructed in the early Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝) and called Sheyuan Garden (shè yuán 涉园). In the Tongzhi reign (tóng zhì nián jiān 同治年间), Shen Bingcheng (shěn bǐng chéng 沈秉成), who is a minister, rebuilt the garden and expanded it. Then it was named Ouyuan Garden because it consists of two gardens. The character “耦"(ǒu) has the same meaning with “偶"(ǒu), which means “double”. It also has the meaning of a couple working on the farm together, implying that this garden is a secluded, quiet place.

Ouyuan Garden consists two parts, namely, the eastern garden and the western garden. The eastern garden covers an area of 4 mu (mǔ 亩). It is centralized on the rockery, supplemented by the pool, which are matching each other very well, making the garden a very successful among the gardens in Suzhou. The main architecture is with double eaves and faces south, which is rarely seen in Suzhou gardens. In the southeast of the eastern garden, there are three little yards, which are called “the Chengqu Thatched Cottage”(chéng qǔ cǎo táng 城曲草堂) and made of a group of multi-storied buildings.

The western garden is much smaller than the eastern part. It takes the study and the study and the Zhilao House (zhī lǎo wū 织老屋) as the center, in front of which there is a platform, spacious and bright, and at the back of which there is a small yard, quiet and elegant. In the south of this garden, there is a yard in irregular shape. There are rockeries in the southwestern corner, with trees and flowers dotted on them, tranquil and interesting.

The theme of the Ouyuan Garden is the Yellowstone Rockery (huáng shí jiǎ shān 黄石假山), which is in front of the Chengqu Thatched Cottage, piled up with big and small rocks, natural and in an appropriate position. The eastern part of the rockery is bigger than the other part. Tourists can go to the flat east and the rockery room through the stone path in front of the hall. To the east of the flat, there is a cliff upon the pond. The western part of the rockery is much smaller. It is getting lower from the east to the west, ending at the right wall of the small hall. A passage connects the eastern and western part of the rockery, on both side of which there are the precipices. There is no pavilion on the rockery. Instead, dozens of flowers and trees are planted there, swinging with the wind. The pool is stretching with the rockery to the south, with a zigzag bridge spanning upon it. On the south of the pool there is pavilion called Shanshui Pavilion (shān shuǐ gé 山水阁), just opposite to the Chengqu Thatched Cottage, forming the beautiful scenic spot that takes the rockery as its major part.