The Garden of the Master of the Nets

From Lonely Planet, China.  Page 345:

This is the smallest garden in Suzhou - half the size of the Canglang Ting and one-tenth the size of Zhuozheng Yuan.  It's small and hard to find, but well worth the trouble as it's better than all the others combined.

This garden was laid out in the 12th century, abandoned, then restored in the 18th century as part of the residence of a retired official.  According to one story, he announced that he'd had enough of bureaucracy and would rather be a fisherman.  Another explanation of the name is that it was simply near Wangshi Lu.  The eastern part of the of the garden is the residential area - originally with side rooms for sedan-chair lackeys, guest reception, and living quarters.  The central part is the main garden.  The western part is an inner garden where a courtyard contains the Dianchun Yi (Spring Rear Cottage), the master's study.  This section and the study, with its Ming-style furniture and palace lanterns, was duplicated and unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1981.

A miniature model of the whole garden, using Qingtian jade, Yingde rocks, Anhui paper, Suzhou silk and incorporating the halls, kiosks, ponds, blossoms, and rare plants of the original design, was produced especially for a display at the Pomidou Center in Paris in 1982.

The most striking feature of this garden is its use of space.  Despite its size, the scale of the buildings is large, but nothing appears cramped.  A section of the building is used by a co-operative of woodblock artists who find the peaceful atmosphere congenial to work.