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The Master-of-Nets Garden.[Photo/Xinhua]

The Master-of-Nets Garden.[Photo/Xinhua]

The Master-of-Nets Garden (Suzhou, China)

This residential garden in Southeast China, called Wangshiyuan in Chinese, was designed during the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1270). The arrangement of pavilions, halls, music rooms, winsome bamboo groves, and waterside perches is an exercise in natural harmony. The central section is a small world within itself; piles of yellow stones form "mountains" complete with caverns, and a tiny arched bridge called the "leading to quietude" crosses a pond to a small pavilion in the center.