Shuihui Garden, Ming dynasty garden in Rugao, China

Shuihui Garden is a Ming Dynasty garden in Rugao designed with an intricate water system where rivers surround the entire grounds and stone bridges connect different areas. The complex contains historic structures, a museum, botanical collections featuring distinctive bonsai specimens, and other visitor areas.

Shuihui Garden was begun in the Ming Wanli era as the Mao family estate, and the Ming-Qing scholar Mao Xiang lived there before it declined. Under the Qianlong emperor Wang Zhiheng built the Shui Ming Lou, a two-storey painted-boat-style building beside the Xibo pool, giving the garden its present layout. It was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2001.

The garden served as a residence for scholars and literary figures who created works and exchanged ideas within these spaces. Visitors today can walk through the rooms where this cultural life unfolded.

The garden is straightforward to explore since paths are clearly marked by bridges and walkways that guide visitors comfortably from one section to another. It is wise to allow plenty of time as the grounds cover a large area with many different zones to see.

The garden's name, Shuihui, means "clear water", and its layout follows Mao Pijiang's design: rivers were used so that the water-ringed grounds resemble an ink painting. Among the structures are the two-storey Shui Ming Building, a boat-shaped pavilion beside the Xibo pool, plus Xiao San Wu Ting, Han Bi Tang and Huan Lei Feng.