Suzhou Gardens, China (Expoza)

This is from a series of films by Global Television shot all over world, giving well photographed introductions to various places, of which we will be focusing on the ones of interest to Buddhists.

The films are quite light introductions to their subjects, mainly good photography, well chosen soundtracks, and a reasonable, but sometimes inaccurate, narration giving a cultural and historical introduction to its subject.

This week we go to Suzhou – the Venice of the East, as Marco Polo called it. It is situated just outside of Shanghai, and used to be an administrative centre that attracted ministers and other court officials, who built some of the finest gardens and canals here.

Here we once again see how important balance and harmony are in Chinese culture, and the gardens, which are at once economic in their use of space, and lavish in their design, fit together to make a pleasing and attractive space, which now brings visitors from all over China.