Lesser Lotus Manor, Chinese garden in Nanxun District, China.

Lesser Lotus Manor is a Chinese garden built around a large pond, with pathways connecting various structures throughout the property. The site features a two-story red brick house, stone archways, and multiple courtyards that organize the layout.

Begun in 1885 under the Qing merchant Liu Yong and completed in 1924 by his grandson Liu Chenggan, the garden took forty years to finish. It combines a garden, an ancestral hall and a charitable estate on about 27 mu. The name echoes the Lotus Garden that the Yuan painter Zhao Mengfu laid out in Huzhou. It became a provincial heritage site in 1981 and a national one in 2001.

The garden was created as a private retreat for a merchant family, and the choice of plants and water features still reflects their personal preferences and tastes. Visitors can explore the everyday spaces where the household members spent their time and relaxed.

Most visitors need one to two hours to explore the grounds and see the different areas at a comfortable pace. Wear comfortable shoes since you will walk quite a bit and some paths can be uneven in places.

The red brick house was specifically designed as a private space for the female household members, reflecting social arrangements of that era. This separation of rooms tells us something about how the family was organized and what domestic life was like at the time.