We woke to rain, rain and more rain today so we wondered how much we would be able to enjoy the lingering gardens that were on our itinerary. We needn’t have worried because when we got there most of the tour was inside looking out to the beautiful gardens. 

The gardens were privately owned and developed by a rich man hundreds of years ago. They were so famous that emperors would visit and then try and build their own gardens to be as beautiful.

All the rocks that form the base and features of this garden were dug from the lake. The very tall rock in one of these photos was famous for its size and apparently the amount of holes that were naturally formed within the rock. It has something like 70 holes. So if a fire is lit underneath it, the smoke will come out in all directions, if water is poured from the top it will flow like a fountain from the 70 holes.

As we wandered along the pathways and through the various rooms we were told of different Chinese customs – how some rooms were only for men, some chairs only for men and some screens in place so women could see but not be seen.

Different rooms and areas were used at different times of the year to appreciate the different seasons in the garden.

The pathways were ornate in places.

The other end of this pathway we did the tourist photo opportunity 🤣🤣

We are constantly on the move so ‘lingering’ anywhere is not going to happen it seems. However we are happy to experience as much as we can in the short time we are here.

My ‘lingering’ is done over my photos and reliving our day as I write this.