Zhang said, "you ask me how I know fish are happy, why do you keeping me the same question?"

Although The Garden of Harmonious Interest was designed after Jichang Garden, it not only absorbed the original designs, but exceeded it.

(Outside the south entrance to Suzhou Shopping Street)

Now lets have a look at longevity Hill. On the back slope of the Hill stands a group of architectures. The centerpiece of structures there are known as the Four Continents and are dedicated to Buddhism. This group was laid out and arranged in accordance with Buddhist cosmology. Aside from a main shrine and structures embodying the Four Continents, there are eight towers representing Minor Continents. The shrine is surrounded by four Lamaist pagodas and between the major and minor continents, there two platforms representing the sun and the moon.

The Qing authority attached great importance to Buddhism. To further strengthen ties with the ethnic minorities who practiced Buddhism, the monarchs incorporated both Han and Tibetan styles of architecture into this group of temples.

Further north at the foot of the Four Major Continent lies the Suzhou Shopping Street. Built along the Back Lake of the Summer Palace, this street stretches about 300 meters and features more than 60 stores. It includes restaurants, teahouses, pawnshops banks, drugstores dye houses and publishing houses. In order to recreate the atmosphere of ancient times, visitors will have the chance to exchange their money to ancient style Chinese coins for use here. Storefronts are trimmed with traditional signboards and ornaments. The commercial culture of the mid-18th century has thus been recreated.

(Atop the stone bridge inside the Suzhou Shopping Street)

Visitors may be surprise to see that this shopping street is almost the same as that in South China. As a matter of fact, this street was designed after the shops along the canals in Suhzhou. Originally known as Emperor's Shopping Street, it was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. After making several inspection tours to South China and being duly impressed by its commercial prosperity, Emperor Qianlong ordered the construction of this street.