The Pan Men (Pan Gate) is part of the ancient city wall built in 514 BCE that surrounded and protected Suzhou. Pan Men was the only entrance to the wall that surrounded ancient Suzhou. The present Pan Gate was built in the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Zhizheng aka Toghon Temur (r. 1333-1370 CE) at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

Suzhou; the city of canals and gardens; was called the 鈥榁enice of the East' by Marco Polo. An ancient Chinese proverb states: 鈥業n Heaven there is Paradise; on Earth there is Suzhou'.

The city's love affair with gardens dates back 2;500 years and continues still. At the time of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) there were 250 gardens; of which about a hundred survive; although only a few are open to the public. Pictures From Asia David Henley