Recently, in Suzhou City, the specialized project to replace bamboo fences at the Humble Administrator’s Garden has been completed. Across the grounds, 80% of the original bamboo fences lining pathways and flowerbeds have been substituted with imperceptible black rubber ties. The remaining 20% of the bamboo fences have been maintained as landscape features.
As the exemplification of “recreating nature within a limited space”, the Humble Administrator’s Garden was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. According to the 2024 data, there were nearly 20,000 tourists visiting the garden every day. The use of bamboo fences of various specifications was implemented as a measure to protect the landscape.

However, the excessive use of bamboo fences has devalued the ornamental viewing of the garden. “We hope to restore the ‘authenticity’ of the Humble Administrator's Garden and fully present the beauty of the garden,” said Xue Zhijian, the director of the Humble Administrator's Garden Management Office.
In 2019, the management office reduced and rationalized the over 140 pairs of trash cans within the grounds, supplementing this with quarter-hourly dynamic cleaning.?The workload of trash collected decreased by 90％ drastically. More and more visitors began to carry their own trash bags.

This management approach, which shifted from “rigid regulations” to “flexible guidance”, inspired Xue. He was determined to find a kind of material which could protect the landscape and simultaneously avoid the problems of bamboo fences.
At the end of 2023, the garden's management tried out different kinds of materials such as fishing nets. However, the nets were easy to break and affected the aesthetics afterseveral months of testing. Ultimately, black rubber ties were "shortlisted" due to their visual "invisibility," safety, and low cost.

He Yun'ao, the director of the Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage at Nanjing University, believes that the imperceptible black rubber ties display the cultural depth of Suzhou, this ancient city. What’s more, the replacement indicates the principle of "returning the view to the people while also restoring public trust", which helps foster the social trust. From the perspective of cultural heritage conservation and utilization, this shift can also enhance the legal awareness and public morality of citizens.（China Youth Daily/ Li Chao、Zhang Qianyu）