The first thing to remember is that these were man-made constructions that modeled nature, but perfected it. The best gardens were those that looked most pristine, seemingly untouched by man.
Additionally, you can feel of the breath of artists and scholars at every corner of the gardens, since they contributed to its design. The gardens are a blend of poetry, paintings, literature, and opera.
Art is built into its very blood and soul.
Chinese characters are difficult to read, but poetic. Just like this poem here, many of the poems mentioned birds, they mentioned water, grass, and this garden is poetic in the same sense because it brings these elements all together just from people¡¯s imagination into reality
With the design contribution of scholars, like one of the four great scholars, Wen Zhengming participation in the Humble Administrator Garden, gardens turned into art themselves, with a poetic nature. The calligraphy on any regular terrace became an allusion, filled with emotion.
Layout was also based on the principles of feng shui, and the arrangement of the objects was more important than the objects themselves. Their design created a balanced relationship between nature, the objects in the garden, literary allusions and the observer.
A long time ago, a girl named Yin decided to build her own classical garden. She had some water, threw in some rocks and even planted a few trees. But then when she stepped aside and took a look, Oh, it was ugly. Well that¡¯s because there are some basic rules to building a classical garden. The rules had to be followed and a certain balance needed to be attained. What are those rules?
The four basic elements were rock formation, water, plants and other constructed elements.
First are the unmoving rock-mountains. These rock formations were built like sculptures, either standing alone or in groups. They were shipped from Lake Tai and made into specific designs that looked like mountains.
Water was another crucial element, sometimes making up over half of the size of the garden. The flowing waters contrasted sharply with the solid mountains and added to the natural feel. Many objects would be constructed based on the water flow¡¯s direction, the reflection of the sky and other objects in the water, and the sound of the ripples.
Plants and flowers were chosen for their symbolic meanings and literary associations. For instance, pines, with their tough and rugged points, were considered symbols of the virtuous scholar; the cypress, twisted and withered, was a symbol of longevity.
The shortest distance between point A and point B is a straight line. Well, maybe this bridge wasn¡¯t created with that in mind, because it was created with twists and turns, a zigzag pattern. That is a part of the culture of the Suzhou classical gardens. And also, if you think about the paths. They are all the same. Also, the windows are also partially hidden. Everything is hidden, obscure, or veiled.
Gardens typically had meandering, almost maze-like arrangement of walkways, to create a feeling of great size and unexpected surprises. The rooms facing the garden would contain a window placed to frame a specific view, like a photograph. You'd never expect how different each photo was.
Sort of looks like abstract art. This kind of window right is here and its strange use of space, even in the Ming Dynasty. And it¡¯s also said that with every step, a whole different view and that¡¯s because each window is unique, only one of each kind in the garden. And of course, if you look outside, you see a difference face of the garden. The doors are different as well.
The windows were highly ornate and the square framed windows are decorated with elegant latticework in abstract geometric designs or patterns evoking the foliage of plants and flowers or animals. Each one is unique and, in Suzhou  oldest Pavilion of Calm Waves, there are a total of 108 different windows.
The windows were not the only objects that set a tone of mystery, the twisting pathways allowed a visitor to explore their way in the garden. Just when you thought there was no more, behind the blocked wall was a whole new building or hallway. Even the doorframes are like the windows in their different structures, providing a different panorama. Behind the doors as well, the design is carefully planned to reflect some deeper meaning.
This is a pretty deceiving room. From the outside, it seems like one room, but stepping inside you will find two rooms, and the rooms are divided by this decorated door here. And that board over there. The tiles on this side are small and the tiles on that side are big. That is one of the differences for the rooms for greeting men and the rooms for greeting women. Do you see that beam up there? That side is designed very ornately and it is almost a square rectangular shape, and that side, the beam is very simple and round. This is a pretty interesting difference. The men¡¯s side windows are large and very square with nice flowers. For women, the windows are octangular and no nice flowers, just horizontal and vertical bars. What does this reflect? It reflects the different social statuses for men and women back in the old day. Men were more important, first class citizens. Women were neglected. It shows the progress women have made in recent years.