The early winter weather adds a dash of color to Taicang. Now is a good time to enjoy an outing before winter tightens its grip on the province.

A group of kindergarten students enjoy playing in a ginkgo forest in downtown Taicang on Nov 23. [Photo from Taicang Daily]

A visitor walks past an 800-year-old ginkgo tree in Sanshi village, Fuqiao town, on Nov 23. [Photo from Taicang Daily]

A group of tourists from Shanghai and Zhejiang admire the remaining lotus plants at Yuanhuayuan Villa (园花园山庄) in Taoyuan village, Liuhe town, on Nov 22. [Photo from Taicang Daily]

Yuanhuayuan Villa was built by private entrepreneur Gu Jianzhong from Taicang and features a variety of horticultural attractions for visitors to enjoy.

Taicang also boasts Nanyuan Garden and Yanshan Garden, offering leisurely sightseeing all year round, even in winter.

Nanyuan Garden (南园) was built by top government official Wang Wensu in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Among the ancient architecture are plum trees and chrysanthemum flowers.

The restored Yanshan Garden (弇山园) features traditional garden designs and cultural relics from ancient times. The original garden, which was the former home of Wang Shizhen, a top government official and scholar in the Ming Dynasty, was destroyed in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Starting from 2003, the Taicang government initiated a string of restoration and expansion projects to revive the ancient garden according to historical records.