Located at the southeast of Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市), the Master of the Nets Garden (wǎng shī yuán 网师园) is one of the four famous classic gardens in Suzhou. It is a typical Suzhou private garden, and also a piece of representative work of middle and small-sized classic gardens in the south region of the Yangtze River.

 
The Garden of Cultivation (yì pǔ 艺圃) is located at the northwest of Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市). It was originally constructed in the reign of Emperor Jiajing (jiā jìng nián jiān 嘉靖年间) of Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), and called Yaopu (yào pǔ 药圃) at first. During the early years of Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝), its name was changed to the present one, but also called Jingting Mountain Cottage (jìng tíng shān fáng 敬亭山房). The garden is small in scale but distinctive in artistic characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. And it is also a famous one among all the classic gardens in Suzhou.

 
Situated in the southwest of Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市), the Surging Waves Pavilion (cāng làng tíng 沧浪亭) is one of the oldest gardens in Suzhou. It was originally constructed during Northern Song Dynasty (běi sòng 北宋). And it was the private garden of Su Shunqin (sū shùn qīn 苏舜钦), who is a poet, and gave the name “Surging Waves Pavilion”. And it became famous after the poem written by Ouyang Xiu (ōu yáng xiū 欧阳修). After the death of Su Shunqin, the garden changed hands many times. In the early years of Southern Song Dynasty (nán sòng 南宋), it was the mansion of General Han Shizhong (hán shì zhōng 韩世忠). In the year 1696, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (kāng xī dì 康熙帝), the garden was reconstructed by grand coordinators Song Luo (sòng luò 宋荦), who moved the pavilions beside the pond to the top of the rockery, and made the painting of Wen Zhengming (wén zhēng míng 文征明) into a stele hanging on the front gate. Though the original appearance of the garden was changed, the ancient woods are still growing there which are partly reflected the style of the Song Dynasty.

 
Lion Grove Garden (shī zǐ lín 狮子林) is located at the Yuanlin Road (yuán lín lù 园林路), northeast of Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市). It is one of the four most famous and representative classic gardens in Suzhou. It was first given the name of Lion Grove, as the grotesque rocks of its man-made hill resembled lions.