If you want to know why Chinese gardens love rocks, go to the Lion Forest Garden. Built in 1342, during the Yuan dynasty, by monks of a Buddhist monastery in Suzhou in honour of their teacher, it is famous for its rockery, a maze of grey limestone from Lake Tai, twisted into peaks, caves and tunnels, some of which are said to resemble lions. The artist Ni Zan, a celebrated painter of the period, is said to have helped with the design. The garden is part of the Suzhou group inscribed by UNESCO in 1997.
The rock maze is the main event. Paths wind through it, rising and falling, passing through tunnels and over little bridges, so that in a small area you can walk quite a distance and get pleasantly lost. Children love it. The best way to see it is without hurrying, pausing to notice the shapes. Seeing the lions depends on your imagination, and the guides will be glad to help.
The garden later passed into private hands, and in the twentieth century, it belonged to the family of the architect I. M. Pei, who was born in China and whose relatives owned the property for a time. It was given to the state in the 1950s and restored. Around it, the buildings are typical of the late imperial period, with whitewashed walls, dark tiles and carved wooden windows, and a pond with a pavilion and a small boat-shaped hall.
Suzhou is a large, prosperous city and its streets are busy. In China, motorcycle use is limited in city centres, and foreign riders face licensing and registration obstacles, so getting around by metro, taxi or on foot is much more practical, and the garden is a short distance from the centre. Fuel, food and rooms are all easy to find. Local specialities include squirrel-shaped mandarin fish and crab roe dumplings, and tea houses offer a quiet place to rest. Visit early on a weekday, in spring or autumn, and give yourself time to explore the rockery. Mist or light rain makes the stones look wonderful.