Author Description

Suzhou is China's fabled garden city, home to the greatest collection of classical Chinese gardens in the world. Old Suzhou is threatened by redevelopment and the rush to modernization. In 1996, an team of landscape architects and planners was asked by Suzhou's mayor to confront this dilemma, and help prevent the loss of a cherished cultural resource. They introduced the workshop format to China, an innovation that produced an integrated economic and design plan in an astonishingly short time. This is the lively account of a landmark cross-cultural exchange -- the process, the plan, and the personalities. Includes an Afterword by I.M. Pei, who was born in Suzhou. Detailed color plans and photos.