This was by far the busiest garden I visited in Suzhou - it gets the visitors because it's big, and it's lovely, but it loses a star for me because of the crowds. I was queuing my way around a lot of it and it just wasn't fun. I got there about 10am on a weekday, so it wasn't even that late. Bear in mind that it will be busy. Foreigners need to go beyond the entrance to the service centre to get a ticket.

This is an old classical garden with many structures inside, belonging to a former administration. It is located next to the Suzhu museum and the best way to get there is by subway. Line 6 has a stop with the Garden's name. As has been said the place is often overcrowded, making a nice relaxing walk somewhat of a challenge. But since it is one of the most famous gardens maybe even in China I still think you should see it, although as a total experience I can not give it 5 balls.

This is one of the less busy tourist places in Suzhou apparently. The day we went it was hot and sweaty, but there is a nice air conditioned room to sit in, have a cold drink or a tea and snack and cool down for a while. All up it should only take 60-90 minutes to see it, but for me the best part was walking through the old Hutong area to get there. In the nearby area there are many historical sites to see, but unless you know your way around the Hutong, sadly you probably won’t get to see them, as they don’t seem to be well marked. We were fortunate enough to have a local friend guide us around the area.