Location
The Liyuan Garden is located in the fertile fields of Genghua village in Tangkou town, 20 kilometers from downtown Kaiping, and was built between the years 1926 and 1936. It covers an area of 11,000 square meters approximately. It not only has the lingering charm of Chinese gardens, but also includes the exotic atmosphere of Western architectures. Both blend harmoniously together.
 
Background
It is said that in the late “Spring and Autumn Period”, Minister Fan Li of The Kingdom of Yue chose to flee his native state together with the beaautiful Xi Shi, after assisting his king to finally subjugate The Kingdom of Wu in 474 B.C. by successfully applying the “beauty trap” strategy. Living a reclusive life, the two enjoyed boating on a lake, which was later named Lake Lihu after the minister. In 1928, a native of Wuxi, Wang Yuqing, built a garden on the edge of the lake and named it Liyuan after the lake. Then in 1930 another Wuxi native Chen Meifang built his garden just next to the Liyuan Garden. Chen called his garden Yu Zhuang or Fishing Hamlet. In 1952, a long corridor was built by the then Wuxi government linking up and merging the two gardens into one under the name of Liyuan Garden. In 1982, a new part was added to the garden, in which a three-storey building called “Spring and Autumn Tower” stands as the chief attraction.
Backed by distant hills and the close vast lake, Liyuan Garden showcases an unmistakable characteristic of China’s modern gardens in Jiangnan.
 
Introduction
The garden is surrounded by water on three sides. You can see green hills in the distance and at close range the dike, long corridor, and rockery. The scenery in the garden can be divided into three sections: Man-made hills in the middle section, the scenic spots such as long dike and Four Seasons Pavilions in the west section and abundant spots including the Spring and Autumn Pavilion and long corridor in the east section.

In the middle section, man-made hills have been piled high in various shapes and styles. Some are sharp and angular, of which some are purely magnificent. There is a stone path which is wide in some sections but narrows in others, also bright in some sections but obscure in others. Walking along the path can be just like being in a maze. The man-made hills are endowed with more vitality by the lake. The two seem to form a whole unit and bring us a great enjoyment of nature’s beauty.

The Four Seasons Pavilions are in fact four pavilions - Spring Pavilion, Summer Pavilion, Autumn Pavilion and Winter Pavilion. They were built all in the same style. Pictures of flowers in four seasons are painted on their pillars. Beside each pavilion, a special kind of flower has been planted. Plum blossoms have been planted beside the Spring Pavilion, and oleanders planted beside the Summer Pavilion. Sweet-scented osmanthus can be found by the Autumn Pavilion and calyx canthus by the Winter Pavilion. Therefore, tourists can enjoy beautiful flowers here in any season. The Spring and Autumn Pavilions are three storeys high, with the eaves cocked upwards. The pavilion gained its name for it is relation to Fan Li and Xi Shi who lived in the Spring and Autumn Periods. The name causes people to imagine the ancient time and the sweet love story between them. The pavilion is the highest architecture in the garden, thus providing people a good place to overlook the panoramic view around the garden.

From June to September, a lotus exhibition is held in the garden, and night tours are also held here from July to September.