Abstract: The motivation of the transformation of gardens from private space to public space is an important topic in the study of modern Chinese gardens. An analysis of modern gardens in the city of Wuxi helps to understand the complex social and cultural influence factors behind this transformation. This study finds that different from many other cities that constructed parks to meet the needs of the public for green space, Wuxi’s national capitalists built a large number of private gardens that were open to the public, assuming the function of the city’s public leisure space. The result shows that by turning the private leisure and recreation space into public space, open to the public, Wuxi national capitalists realized the three goals of shaping the class identity, establishing the social status and improving the society. It reveals the profound social thought and cultural motivation behind the transformation from private space to public space in the modern times, and its important impacts on the garden space, styles and functions.