The Suzhou Confucian Temple (Chinese: ????); also named the Suzhou Stone Inscription Museum and Suzhou Prefecture School (Chinese: ????; a state-run school); was built by Fan Zhongyan; the Prefect of Suzhou; in 1035 CE. It was the first temple school in China and is notable for containing the four greatest steles of the Song Dynasty.

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