Canglang Pavilion (Surging Waves Pavilion) was originally the residential house for the noble caste of China's Five Dynasties Period (about 1,100 years before present) for China tourism. It was then purchased by the poet Su Xunruan (1008 - 1048). He built a pavilion called Canglang along a small river and wrote "The Record of the Canglang Pavilion" for which the present name of the garden came from the literature.

Surging Waves Pavilion is situated next to a big pond along Suzhou Travel, and the water streaming from this pond surronds half the garden and departs from the south. Adjacent to the water are winding corridors, rockeries and old trees. This type of layout mixes views from outside and inside the garden, and borrows the water surface of 2-2.7 hectares in order to expand its space, giving a feeling of remoteness and spaciousness. Next to the water are mountains and rocks; behind these are trees, then more mountains and rocks-unending, but gradually diminishing; expressing forceful, deep, simple and unsophisticated feelings.

Unlike other gardens in Suzhou tour package, there is a strong emphasis on the contrast between constructed natural settings and the built environment. For example, the front to the garden is dominated by a wide canal linked to the main entrance by a long stone bridge. The relatively massive built forms (the bridge, the tall entrance) provide a strong counterpoint to the water. On the same note, many spaces on the interior of the garden are narrow, claustrophobic, and framed more by walls and corridors than they are by natural forms such as rockeries or vegitation.