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One thing that I noticed about the coastal cities of China is that they are covered in a veil of perpetual smog. At first I thought it was just the morning fog, and should clear up if the day was sunny enough. But was I wrong or what. The ‘fog’ lasted all day, every day, and some days worse than others. Asking around the locals, I found out that the fog was actually caused by severe air pollution.

Lion Grove Garden (Shizilin) in Suzhou

This is not surprising considering the rapid industrialization that is going on in China now. It is sad to see that the conservation of the environment has taken a back seat in the name of progress.

You can still see the smog hovering in the skyline.

Although the pollution in China is pretty bad, you can still find pockets of greenery amongst the hustle and bustle of the city streets. The Lion Grove Garden was such a sanctuary nestle within the city of Suzhou. It was a welcomed relieve from the honking motorists and the exhaust-fumes belching cars and lorries.

Limestone rocks in strange formations. But where are the Lions?

This historical garden boast a labyrinthine rockery that is made up of limestone arranged ingeniously to look like lions in different postures and verves: playing, roaring, fighting, sleeping, or even dancing. This is actually how the garden derived its namesake. However, due to the changes and ravages of the time and climate, the rockery now only bears little resemblance to its original arrangement.

Fishing for fallen leaves.

Autumn is here.

Labyrinth of rocks

It wouldn’t be a Chinese garden without bamboos.

Let’s hope that this historical garden will not be replaced by a skyscraper anytime soon. With the dizzying pace of development in China, there is no guarantee. But if that do happen, we can be sure all that remains of modern China will be a forest of concrete building covered in a perpetual fog of smog.