Suzhou garden tickets in 2026: the short answer
Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园) costs ¥80 in peak months and ¥70 in off-season months. It is one of three gardens that need a real-name ticket, and it must be booked 1 to 7 days ahead; the other two real-name gardens are Lingering Garden (留园) and Lion Grove (狮子林). As reported in July 2024, the bureau's other gardens had dropped real-name booking, and foreign visitors could scan a code to buy; Tiger Hill's rule is unclear (see below). Each garden is its own ticket; there is no multi-garden pass on the price table.
Humble Administrator's Garden ticket price and the other Suzhou gardens
The Suzhou Municipal Gardens and Greening Administration (苏州市园林和绿化管理局) publishes one price table, dated 11 July 2024. The price page still shows that table and no later change. Prices are in yuan.
| Garden | Peak season | Off-season |
|---|---|---|
| Humble Administrator's Garden (拙政园) | ¥80 | ¥70 |
| Tiger Hill (虎丘山) | ¥70 | ¥60 |
| Lingering Garden (留园) | ¥55 | ¥45 |
| Lion Grove Garden (狮子林) | ¥40 | ¥30 |
| Master of the Nets Garden (网师园) | ¥40 | ¥30 |
| Canglang Pavilion (沧浪亭) | ¥20 | ¥15 |
| Couple's Retreat Garden (耦园) | ¥25 | ¥20 |
| Ke Garden (可园) | ¥25 | ¥20 |
| Master of the Nets night garden (网师园夜花园) | ¥120, all year | |
| Yi Garden (怡园) | ¥15, all year | |
| Huanxiu Mountain Villa (环秀山庄) | ¥15, all year | |
| Yipu (艺圃) | ¥10, all year | |
| Wufeng Garden (五峰园) | Free | |
Which months are peak season for Suzhou garden tickets?
On the price table, peak season is April, May, July, August, September and October. Off-season is January, February, March, June, November and December. June is off-season and July is peak, so the split is not a simple summer block.
Temporary discounts do happen. For example, the 14 bureau-run gardens were half price from 28 January to 4 February 2025 for Spring Festival. That has ended and is not a rule, but it is a reason to look at the price page just before you buy.
Do I need to book Suzhou garden tickets in advance?
For three gardens, yes. The bureau's notice of 7 January 2025 says all 14 bureau gardens could be bought 7 days ahead, and that Humble Administrator's, Lingering Garden and Lion Grove need real-name tickets.
- Humble Administrator's Garden: a June 2026 article says it uses real-name, timed-slot tickets. Everyone books 1 to 7 days ahead online and enters by swiping the ID used for the booking.
- Lingering Garden: its visitor notice (dated 1 July 2022, so it is old) says entry is in ten time slots. You book any day within the next 7 days on the 苏州园林旅游 WeChat official account or on szylly.com (苏州园林旅游网).
- Lion Grove: named for real-name tickets in the bureau's January 2025 notice, which gives no slot details for it, so try the same two channels.
- Tiger Hill: the bureau's January 2025 notice names only the three gardens above. Tiger Hill was on a 2024 tourism bureau list of seven attractions that kept real-name booking. Confirm Tiger Hill's rule on the booking page before you go.
The bureau's January 2025 notice, the June 2026 article and the Lingering Garden notice don't say what time slots are released each day, or how quickly any slot sells out. They also don't say whether a cancelled ticket goes back on sale.
How to buy Suzhou garden tickets with a foreign passport
The most detailed page on foreign visitors is a Gusu Evening News report of 24 July 2024. It is two years old, so read each point as "as reported in July 2024".
- Outside Humble Administrator's, Lingering Garden and Lion Grove, the bureau gardens had dropped real-name booking. Foreign visitors can scan a code and buy a ticket to enter.
- The gardens that still needed real-name booking supported passports only. The bureau said it would add permanent residence permits and Hong Kong and Macau permits in the second half of 2024. The July 2024 report describes this as a plan, so don't assume those extra document options are available.
- Main gardens rated 4A and above had POS machines for foreign bank cards. There were also offline service windows where staff can sell tickets if the self-service machines or other channels fail.
- Tickets were also sold through the garden channel on Trip.com's overseas app, and through an Alipay overseas-payment channel.
- Groups: the guide registers the group and scans one group QR code to enter.
- The July 2024 report describes an English interface for szylly.com as still to be developed, so be prepared for Chinese on the website and in the WeChat account.
In practice:
- Pick your day. Book Humble Administrator's 1 to 7 days before; Lingering Garden's notice allows any day within the next 7 days, starting today. Use the passport you will carry.
- Book on szylly.com or in the 苏州园林旅游 WeChat account, or use a channel from the list above if the Chinese flow is a problem.
- At the gate, bring the same passport. The 2026 article says entry is by swiping the ID used for the booking.
- If a machine fails, go to the service window.
Can you just show up? Humble Administrator's must be booked online 1 to 7 days ahead, and Lingering Garden's notice allows timed-slot bookings within a seven-day window starting today. The July 2024 report says service-window staff can sell tickets on the spot if self-service machines or other channels fail, without naming particular gardens, but don't count on a same-day slot at the three real-name gardens. If a booking goes wrong, the garden hotline is 0512-962015.
Suzhou garden opening hours and last entry
The bureau's opening-hours page is dated 9 January 2025. Don't treat 17:30 as the closing time all year: in winter it is 17:00.
| Garden | Hours | Last entry |
|---|---|---|
| Humble Administrator's, Huanxiu Mountain Villa, Couple's Retreat; Lingering, Master of the Nets, Canglang Pavilion, Ke Garden, Yipu; Lion Grove, Yi Garden | March to October 07:30-17:30; November to February 07:30-17:00 | 17:00 in March to October; 16:30 in November to February |
| Tiger Hill | May to October 07:30-18:00; November to April 07:30-17:30 | 17:30 in May to October; 17:00 in November to April |
During Qingming, May Day, Mid-Autumn and National Day, Humble Administrator's, Lingering Garden and Lion Grove close half an hour later, at 18:00. The page notes no holiday change for the other gardens in their groups. Tiger Hill closes at 18:00 during Qingming.
2026 changes that show hours move (all dated)
- Humble Administrator's opened at 06:45 from 19 June to 7 October 2026, the first change to its opening time since 1952. The article doesn't say whether it will return next summer.
- From 1 July to 31 August 2026, Tiger Hill, Couple's Retreat, Canglang Pavilion, Ke Garden and Yi Garden had an extra 17:30-21:00 session, with ticket checking stopping at 20:30. That has ended.
- On 12 July 2026, all gardens closed for Typhoon “Bavi”. They reopened at 12:00 on 13 July. The notice told ticket holders to change the date or refund on the booking platform. That has ended too.
Master of the Nets Garden night tour: ticket and hours
The price table lists the night garden (网师园夜花园) at ¥120, one price all year. The hours page gives 18:55-22:20, with ticket checking stopping at 21:35. It is generally open at Spring Festival and from March to November, and the page says the exact dates are on the 苏州园林旅游 WeChat account.
The price table and the hours page don't say how to buy the night ticket, whether it needs a time slot, or whether a daytime ticket is involved. They also don't say what is performed. Start at szylly.com or the WeChat account.
The opening-hours page lists the Humble Administrator's night programme, Zhuozheng Wenya (拙政问雅), at Tuesday to Sunday 18:30-22:00, with ticket checking stopping at 21:00; exact opening times follow the 苏州园林旅游 WeChat notices. It is not in the price table, so its price is not stated on that page. Both night programmes were named in the 13 July 2026 notice as reopening after the typhoon.
Discounts, free entry and combo tickets
The bureau's discount page (dated 23 September 2024) lists nationwide rules:
- Free: children aged 6 and under, or 1.4 m and under; people aged 70 and over.
- Half price: children over 6 through 18, with ID or a student card; full-time students up to undergraduate level, with a student card; people aged 60 to 69 from outside Jiangsu, with valid ID, at World Heritage sites and scenic areas.
The page lists which documents are checked, mostly Chinese ID cards, student cards and military or disability certificates. It does not say whether a foreign passport qualifies for the age or student discounts. Don't plan around one.
The price table lists no multi-garden combo ticket for the classical gardens, so each garden is bought separately. The only combined ticket on it is for the zoo and Shangfang Mountain forest park.
Which Suzhou garden first if you only have one or two days?
The official pages give no ranking, so this is our suggestion. Book the real-name gardens first, because they are the ones that need a slot in advance.
- One day: start with Humble Administrator's Garden, then add Lingering Garden if you can fit it. Add a garden without real-name booking, such as Master of the Nets or Canglang Pavilion, only if time is left. Mind the last-entry times in the table above.
- Two days: Humble Administrator's and Lingering on the first day, then Lion Grove and one or two others on the second. Add the Master of the Nets night garden for an evening.
If you also plan to visit the Suzhou Museum, see Suzhou Museum tickets. For the wider trip, see the Suzhou travel guide. We can help you plan the route and tell you how to buy, but we don't book garden tickets.
