[2025 Suzhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Dongshan Carved Building (Updated Apr)

#Mainland China Attractions The Diaohua Building is located in Dongshan Town, Dongting Lake, Suzhou, a manor-style imitation Ming Dynasty building. It is a representative work of architectural sculpture in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, and a rare object for studying the traditions, local schools and techniques of modern and contemporary Chinese folk sculpture art. Dongshan has been a major tourist attraction since ancient times. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, dignitaries, landlords and wealthy local families chose this place to build villas and gardens for their own entertainment. The Carved Building is one of them, and it is also an outstanding example of Suzhou Ming and Qing architecture. After decades of development, the number of immigrants in Suzhou is several times that of the original inhabitants, but Dongshan Town is still dominated by locals. If you want to experience the real Suzhou folk customs, you will definitely not be disappointed here. #architecture #Suzhou #carving #Taihu Lake #Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture #the little style of Suzhou gardens #pond #lotus pond #woodcarving #Yichuangge #good places for the New Year

Suzhou's 107th Garden: Dongshan Carved Building Dongshan Carved Building was originally the residence of the Jin family. Construction began in 1922 and took 3 years to complete. It was built by craftsmen from the Xiangshan School and cost 3,741 taels of gold. Dongshan Carved Building is a magnificent and luxurious manor-style building modeled after the Ming Dynasty. The carved bricks on the doors feature three-dimensional sculptures of Yao visiting Shun, Jiang Ziya meeting King Wen at the age of 80, and Guo Ziyi celebrating his birthday, all of which are metaphors for good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. The carved building resembles a fairy palace, with beams, eaves, columns, and eaves all carved with flowers and feathers. The moon beams are shaped like double-headed phoenixes, the eaves columns are carved with long bamboo poles, and the beam heads are carved with stories such as the Oath of the Peach Garden. The door and window panels are carved with the Twenty-four Filial Exemplars. The garden to the north of the building features bamboo and stone bamboo shoots to symbolize spring, lotus ponds and small bridges to symbolize summer, crape myrtle and osmanthus to symbolize autumn, and nandina and wintersweet to symbolize winter. The garden is beautiful in all four seasons. The Taihu stone rockery features stone animals in the shape of monkeys, camels, qilins, tigers, bears, cows, elephants, geese, and lions, all of which are naturally formed.

My trip to Suzhou was all about following my heart. At noon, I left Qian Xiaoping Songjin Workshop. It was drizzling, and I thought I had time, so I went to Dongshan to see the recently popular internet celebrity check-in spot, the "Little Kamakura" of Suzhou. The rain got heavier and heavier. After driving into the Dongshan Scenic Area, I could drive around and reach every attraction. We first took my mother to Diaohualou. Every step was a work of art, with wood carvings, stone carvings, brick carvings, and gold carvings. The advantage of rainy days is that there are fewer tourists. Leaning against the window and watching the rain was like a day in autumn a hundred years ago. Dongshan is full of loquat and ginkgo trees. In a few days, the ginkgo leaves will turn yellow, and it will be a different scene. We took a souvenir photo at the entrance of Lu Lane Village and left Huanhu Road with a little regret for not seeing the sunset. Looking forward to the next encounter.

📍Address: Located in Dianhua Building, Dongshan Island, Taihu Lake Tourist Area, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City 🚗Transportation: It is most suitable for self-driving, especially motorcycles. If possible, bring a bicycle and ride for a while. There is a parking lot directly opposite the scenic spot, 6 yuan per hour, and you can enter the scenic spot in 1 minute on foot. 👍️Must-visit attractions: Dianhua Building 🎟️Ticket related: Book online one day in advance for 50 yuan, buy online on the same day for 55 yuan, and buy directly in the scenic spot for 60 yuan. 💗Other tips: Dianhua Building is the mansion of Dongshan tycoon Jin Xizhi. It combines Chinese and Western styles, and combines wood carving, stone carving, gold carving, and clay carving. Many film and television dramas have been filmed here, so it is also known as the "first building in the south of the Yangtze River". Dianhua Building is mainly an indoor building, with a patio terrace and garden, basically no need for sun protection and umbrella, but the indoor is still relatively hot, you can prepare a small fan or fan. The carving art in the building is exquisite, it is best to have an interpreter or a tour guide to explain it, so that it is more flavorful to appreciate. Here is the champion appointed by the emperor, and there is a wishing tree at the exit. You can write a blessing for your child's studies, and I wish everyone who sees this article will be on the list!

Suzhou's Dongshan Carved Flower Building, also known as Chun Zai Lou, is a scenic spot that combines Suzhou-style gardens with classical Chinese architecture. In the midsummer season, the lotus flowers in the garden bloom competitively, with the green lotus leaves and pink lotus flowers reflecting each other, adding a bit of vitality and vigor to this quaint top-scorer's mansion. The style of the top-scorer's mansion is very high, and the Carved Flower Building is the finishing touch of this mansion. It is three stories high, and each floor is carved with various flowers and plants, lifelike. What is even more astonishing is that inside the building, there are also carved group paintings of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars. These exquisite carvings not only demonstrate the craftsmen's superb skills but also inherit the cultural essence of the Chinese nation.

🌟 Highlights: The Dongshan Carved Building is located in Dongshan Town of Dushu Lake in Suzhou. It is a representative work of architectural carving in Xiangshan, Wuxian County (now part of Suzhou Wuzhong). The wood relief is carved by the Xiangshan woodcarving artist Zhou Yunlong. It is a rare physical object for studying the tradition, local schools, and techniques of Chinese modern and contemporary folk carving art. 📍 Detailed Address: Nanguangming Village, Dongshan, Suzhou City Bus route: Route 502 (Suzhou Railway Station---Dongshan), Route 622 (Nanmen Haoyoudo---Dongshan) Self-driving route: (1) Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway (New District exit) -- West Ring Road Elevated -- Youxin Road Elevated (Yuehu Road exit) -- Yuehu Road -- Huanhu Road -- Carved Building (Recommended route) (2) Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway (Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway interchange) -- Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway (direction of Wuzhong) -- Ring City Expressway Wuzhong Interchange -- Ring City Expressway Dongshan Exit -- Huanhu Road -- Carved Building (3) Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway (New District exit) -- Jinfeng Road -- Jinfeng South Road -- Tourist Special Line Highway -- Dongshan Avenue -- Shanshui Road -- Carved Building

The "treasure carpet" at the entrance to the small garden on the east side hides the magical instruments held by the Eight Immortals. Li Tieguai's gourd crutch, He Xiangu's lotus, Han Xiangzi's flute... This place is opposite the back door of the Jin family, and it is to invite the Eight Immortals to guard the Jin family's home. There are two doors in the north garden, with "Singing in the Wind" and "Listening to the Rain" engraved on them respectively. There are huge ancient crape myrtles, Michelia and sandalwood plums in the garden. Of course, there are also many places in the carved building that reflect the leisurely and elegant atmosphere. For example, if you come down from the third floor, the back half leads to a small balcony outside. On the balcony there is a mountain-viewing pavilion with the inscription: "Green mountains cannot reveal their true appearance, while green waters intentionally hide their secluded beauty." Standing here, you can have a panoramic view of the scenery of Dongshan Mountain. There is a small garden on the north side of the building, with a small bridge, lotus pond, pavilions and towers. There is also a rare lotus tree in Jiangnan, which is 300 years old. According to records, this lotus tree was planted in the Qing Dynasty. Weng Tianzhang from Dongshan brought it back to his hometown from Yunnan. The flower is as small as a fingernail, shaped like a lotus, and its color is as rosy as a baby's face, so it is called baby lotus. There is another one of the same age in Yunnan. Since 1979, Diaohualou has received more than 300,000 foreign guests and overseas Chinese from 91 countries and regions, and there are also photos of many big names in the entertainment industry visiting here. Walking out of the carved building, one is truly amazed by the exquisite craftsmanship of "everywhere in the building is carved and every carving is exquisite". Dongshan Carved Building Open: 08:30-17:00, last admission after 17:00 Tickets: 60 yuan Address: No. 58 Zijin Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

The second floor of the carved building is the living room, study, and bedroom. In the center of the living room hangs a plaque "Spring in the Building", which is the original name of the carved building, meaning "the spring is always in the sunny house". Behind this plaque, there is also an entrance and exit of a secret passage, where the most valuable things of the Jin family were once stored. In the past, the Taihu bandits robbed the carved building three times, but they never discovered the secret of this secret passage. In addition to the exquisitely crafted mahogany carved furniture on the second floor, there is a painted evergreen treasure pot on the beam. After turning around the back building of the second floor, I thought I had finished watching, and was about to go downstairs, but I found that there was a narrow staircase leading to the third floor. This is a structural feature of the carved building, called the second floor in the open and the third floor in the dark. Because the third floor is two purlins recessed from the second floor, plus the cover of the gable walls and fire walls on both sides, people standing outside the building or in the courtyard can't see the third floor at all. This third floor is the place where the owner built to avoid wars and bandit harassment. The third floor has a well surrounded by carved railings, which is set up for the transfer of items upstairs and downstairs. After the cover of the well is put on, no trace can be seen from downstairs. The carved pillars of the horse corridor of the carved building are Greek Corinthian, the words on the cast iron railings on the railings are clearly the seal script "Prolonging Life", but the style is European Rococo, and the decoration of the railing eaves is Baroque flower ring. There is a painted evergreen treasure pot on the beam of the second floor, there is a special ironing table in the maid's room, the old-fashioned iron on the table has a long wooden handle, which looks very much like the one in the picture of Zhang Xuan's pounding. The master bedroom is all mahogany carved furniture, but the young master's study is decorated with a bit of Republic of China style, the sofa is Western style, the colored window lattices on the gable wall were imported from France back then, the colorful glass reflects the sunlight into the window, reminding people of the stained glass in the church. Dongshan Carved Building Opening: 08:30-17:00, stop admission at 17:00 Ticket: 60 yuan Address: No. 58, Zijin Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

According to "Scenic Spots in Wuzhong", the construction of the Carved Building began in 1922. More than 250 craftsmen worked day and night for three years and spent 3,741 taels of gold. The Diaohua Building was originally a private garden. The beams, girders, columns and eaves of the entire building are decorated with bricks, stones, wood carvings and cast iron. Brick and wood reliefs are very rich, which is just one example among modern buildings in Jiangnan. 1⃣️The Carved Tower is also known as the Spring Tower, which is said to be taken from the poem "Flowers fall, spring remains" by Yu Yue, a poet in the Qing Dynasty. Dongshan Carved House is a mansion built by brothers Jin Xi and Jin Zhizhi who made a fortune in cotton yarn business in Shanghai to honor their mother. It was designed by Chen Guifang, a famous craftsman of Xiangshan Gang. Employs more than 250 craftsmen It cost 170,000 silver dollars. Construction began in 1922 and took three years to complete. The carved building faces east and covers an area of ​​2 acres. It is protected by a 20-meter-high black wind and fire wall on the outside and flanked by Hui-style horse-head walls on both sides, making the Dongshan carved building look like a mysterious castle from a distance. 2⃣️As soon as you enter the door, knowledge will come. The ground is paved with colorful stones. A large vase with three halberds inserted in it and a musical instrument, the sheng, next to it, symbolizing "three levels of promotion." Opposite the gate is a L-shaped wall with the words "Hongxi" carved in bricks, which means meeting happiness when going out. The bronze carved handles on the two black doors are called golden carvings, which are composed of chrysanthemum petals, ruyi and six ancient coins, implying that one will have money if he stretches out (pulls) his hand. Next It is a magnificent brick-carved gatehouse. 3⃣️Chinese people all pay attention to appearance. This gatehouse is like the face of the owner, how can you not pay attention to it? The brick carvings on the front gatehouse are divided into three layers. The four big characters "天锡纯嘏" are in the middle, which symbolizes great blessings from heaven. The stories of the meeting in the ancient city and the clarification of doubts in the ancient city from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are carved on the left and right sides, which symbolize loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. The upper side is carved with patterns of Ganoderma lucidum, peony, chrysanthemum, orchid, Buddha's hand, auspicious clouds, etc.; the lower side is carved with the four gentlemen of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, all of which represent auspiciousness. 4⃣️After entering the gate, look back and continue to look at the brick carvings on the gatehouse, which are more complex and more exciting than the front. Corresponding to "Tian Xi Chun Gu", the four characters "Yu Xiu Jue De" are written in the middle square, which were written by Yin Lixun, a calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, and mean practicing and accumulating virtue. The stories of Yao and Shun abdicating and King Wen visiting sages are carved on the left and right sides, which symbolize virtue and wisdom; the upper square is the scene of Queen Mother of the West holding the Peach Festival and the Eight Immortals celebrating her birthday, which means "longevity"; the next column is carved with 10 sika deer, which means both "perfect" and "lu"; the lower square is the scene of Tang Dynasty general Guo Ziyi celebrating his birthday and his 7 sons and 8 sons-in-law coming to congratulate him, which means having many children and good fortune, which means "blessing". Together with the double happiness characters above the lintel of the treasure basin in the middle of the ridge, they make up the five characters of "blessing, wealth, longevity, happiness and fortune". This brick-carved gatehouse alone cost 3,500 silver dollars. It is said that when Jin Xizhi heard the price, he became anxious and said, "This is outrageous!" In fact, everything had just begun. In order to carve and pile up beauty, huge amounts of silver dollars continued to be spent. Dongshan Carved Building Opening hours: 08:30-17:00, last admission after 17:00 Tickets: 60 yuan Address: No. 58 Zijin Road, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

The Carved Tower in Dongshan, Suzhou, is a top-ranking building featuring carved patterns. It shows the so-called glory of the past. The beautiful scenery of the past can be seen everywhere, leaving a lot for future generations to think about. I was attracted by the writing on the top scorer's test paper; the writing was so beautiful. Although it is the off-season, there are still some tourists visiting. Although there are fewer flowers and fallen leaves in winter, you can still see the beautiful scenery of its heyday. Choose a time to come and have a look, it is a great place to relax and study on vacation.

The bronze carving handles on the two gates of the Wuzhong carved building are called golden eagle, composed of chrysanthemum petals, Ruyi and six ancient coins, which means that they have money. The brick carving of the front door is divided into three levels. The middle square is the four characters of "Tianxi pure ", which means the gods are blessed by Hong Fu. Therefore, the ancients are very particular about the building. The front door building must have a face. Otherwise, the owner's face is lost. This is a brick-and-mortem door, which cost 3,500 silver dollars. In order to sculpt beautifully and pile up the beauty, a lot of silver dollars have been spent continuously. In the hall, there are several performances every day, demonstrating how the children who passed back to the Republic of China can give tea to the elders. The companions also actively participated in a young couple in the Republic of China and learned to tea for the elders. . China has paid attention to filial piety since ancient times and respected tea for the elders. Although it seems to be a trivial matter, to a certain extent, it also warns us that no matter how advanced the times are, we must not forget to respect the old. On the north side of the building, there is a small garden, a small bridge, a lotus pond, a pavilion and a pavilion. The pond also has a lot of red mullet. My companions and I are amazed at the fact that the building is carved and carved. The craftsmanship of everything is fine, one step back and three, I am afraid to miss something good.