Suzhou is located in the south of the Yangtze River Delta and borders Taihu Lake to the west and Shanghai to the east. It is an oriental water city as well as a famous historical and cultural center with a history going back 2,500 years. It is also a source of the unique Taihu rocks and over a long period many officials built gardens here. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were some 200 gardens and the city was renowned both in China and abroad for its small but elegant private gardens.