The Meiyuan Garden is a famous place to view the plum blossom in south China. In the garden grow over 40 varieties of plum blossom. In winter or early spring when the flowers are in full bloom, the garden takes on an imposing scene.
It was originally a private garden of a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations in feudal China at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In 1912, the garden was occupied by the Rong family who planted thousands of plum trees there, and the garden was then renamed as "Meiyuan Garden"( plum garden in English).
Numerous crimsoned structures, towers, pavilions, tea house, dot the landscape. A hexagonal three-storey's tower was built by the two sons of the Rong family to memorize the 80th netherworld birthday of their mother in 1930. The structure with red walls and green roofs is very attractive.
There are superior flowering and fruiting plum trees introduced from Japan and trees of orange, peach, plum, persimmon, gingko and megranate planted at intervals. It has the four sightseeing areas of Junzi (gentleman) Garden, Three Friends in Cold Weather, Sixiu Garden and Winter Plum.
Walking along the trees-lined path through the blossom plum affords an exhilarating experience.
Geographical Location: It is located on the south slope of Xushan Mountain in the west suburbs of Wuxi, seven kilometers away from the urban areas.
Best time to visit： Winter or early spring
