Classical gardens throughout China, with their beautiful scenery and unique structures, attract many tourist.

The most prominent feature of classical Chinese garden is the emphasis on the harmony between nature and human. Ancient garden architects successfully integrated man-make scenes into the natural landscape, creating the impression of traveling in a picture of grotesque peaks, exotic rocks, flowing currents, tranquil lakes, spanning bridges, fragrant flowers and rare plants.

Chinese classical gardens are often full of surprises in terms of scenes, variable in composition and complicated in design. Serpentine walkways, for instance, lead to places of tranquility. Much attention is paid to the creation of varied scenery; with each step, could lead a different scene. Buildings of different forms and different architectural styles are well integrated with the garden scenery. Flowers, plants and trees are elaborately cultivated and planned with a definite eyes on their heights and blooming seasons. Another feature of classical Chinese garden is that decorative art is ingeniously merged with the garden scenery. On buildings there are horizontal boards carved with calligraphy, antithetical couplets, and painted beams with carvings.

Classical Chinese gardens can be roughly divided into two categories, namely, the royal gardens in the south, Royal gardens tend to make use of natural elements in creating clusters of stylish architectural structures in imitation of the best in the country. With golden glazed titles, vermilion colonnades, white marble balustrades, refined ornamented beams, they are filled with a sense of magnificence and grandeur. The best-preserved royal gardens are Summer Palace and Beihai Park in Beijing , Summer Resort in Chengdu. Private gardens of the south are mostly seen in Suzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, such as Zhuozheng Garden and Liuyuan Garden in Wuxi, Geyuan Garden in Yangzhou, etc. Small in size, those gardens are characteristic of ingenious design; with miniature mountains and rivers and variable scenes, they are natural and beautiful.