Bai Tang Arboretum

Suzhou is famous for it's traditional Chinese gardens which are always packed with tourists.  On the North-East side of JinJi Lake there is a park for the local folks.  It is named BaiTang Arboretum.  Like Central Park, it was included in city master plan from the start as as a green space....a public space amidst the factories and commercial properties of the industrial park.  The city has been growing from West to East, and BaiTang Arboretum finds itself on the younger, Eastern side.  It was opened in 2006.

It is a large park, a rectangle of about 150 acres with rather large lake occupying the center portion.   There are a large variety of plants and trees all marked with their names in Chinese, English, and Latin.  But more importantly, there are a lot of paths for walking, spots for picnicking, and amusements for kids.  This is a park for the residents of Suzhou Industrial Park.... a place to take the kids on a glorious October weekend.

During the Golden Week holidays, the traditional gardens downtown were packed with people pumped up on the adrenalin of tourism.  Baitang Arboretum was busy but far from crowded.  It was filled with parents and children enjoying a lazy day in the neighborhood park.  (It was also filled with brides posing for wedding pictures....but that will be another story.)

 

 The photos above are random shots of Baitang Arboretum.   Just one comment....if the bottom photo looks like a river of rocks....well, that because it is intended to look like a river of rocks.  It is a dry river, which is a style borrowed from the Japanese.