In an interesting old residential area of Sūzhōu, this quiet, unpretentious historic house has a lovely classical Chinese garden. It belonged to Yu Yue (1821-1906), a scholar and imperial official in the late Qing dynasty (1644-1912) and is a tranquil retreat from some of Sūzhōu's busier tourist sites.
Yu Yue retired from official duties because the questions he set for the Chinese imperial civil service examinations were regarded as breaking from traditional thought. He moved to Sūzhōu, designed his house and garden himself, and devoted his life full-time to classical studies.