Mudu Ancient Town

Rebuilt in the Guangxu era by Mudu's richest man Yan Guoxin on the site of Shen Deqian's Xian Garden, Yanjia Garden is famed for its four seasonal gardens.

Late-Qing merchant Cai Shaoyu built Gusong Garden, where a 500-year-old Ming luohan pine stands amid finely carved brick and timber.

Praised for its streams, hills and pavilions, Hongyin Shanfang is said to have hosted the Qianlong Emperor for outings and opera on his southern tours.

Facing the Xiangxi River, this scholar-official mansion was home to Feng Guifen, a late-Qing thinker and early pioneer of reform.

Feng Guifen completed Jiaobinlu Kangyi in 1861, arguing for reform grounded in Chinese institutions while drawing on Western statecraft and technology.

During his six southern tours, the Qianlong emperor repeatedly stopped at Mudu, with Hongyin Shanfang among the gardens associated with his visits.

Suzhou tradition connects Wu-Yue palaces, the Guanwa Palace remains, and the name Mudu; the construction narrative is preserved as a Spring-and-Autumn tradition.