Further west lies the main hall of the West Section, named the Mandarin Ducks Hall. Its northern part is known as the Thirty-six Mandarin Ducks Hall, and its southern part is called the Eighteen Camellias Hall. These structures, one behind the other, are separated by a screen with carved gingko frames. The northern hall faces a lotus pond in which mandarin ducks swim, and the south hall is named after the eighteen kinds of camellias grown in its southern courtyard.
    In the southern hall the owner of the garden received his friends while in the northern part his wife met her friends. In old China, men and women were strictly separated from each other.
    Four side rooms, also known as ear rooms, adjoin the four corners of the hall. They were originally used by servants, or as make up rooms for actors and actresses when the garden’s owner held performances. So the ceilings and rafters were made in curves, thus creating a building with excellent acoustics.
    All the windows are inlaid with blue and white glass, through which sun beams look quite graceful. Either in hot summer or in snowy winter one can observe the striking contrast.