Cultural site · JIANGSU · UNESCO
Lion Grove Garden
狮子林 · Shīzilín
About
Yuan-dynasty garden famous for its lion-shaped rockeries — a maze of Taihu limestone you can walk through.
Lion Grove Garden was built in 1342 by a Buddhist monk and later owned by the family of the architect I.M. Pei. The defining feature is a rockery of Taihu limestone arranged in shapes resembling lions — 12 named formations, plus a maze of caves and tunnels children love. Visit early before tour groups; the rockery becomes impossible to navigate at peak times.
How to get there
Metro Line 4 to Beisita.
When to visit
Weekday morning.
Gallery
Other attractions in Suzhou
Itineraries featuring this site
- Classical Gardens Circuit — Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Beyond, 12 days
12d · China's finest classical gardens in sequence: Suzhou's UNESCO garden quartet, Hangzhou's West Lake landscape, Yangzhou's slender garden tradition, and Shaoxing's canal-town context.
- Off the beaten path — two weeks (Pingyao, Datong, Hongcun)
14d · Walled towns, cliff temples, southern villages — China away from the tour-bus routes.
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