Photo Essay - The Day Trip Part 2 - The Garden Park

Photo Essay - The Day Trip Part 2 - The Garden Park

As stated in the previous photo essay, this was originally posted on the Creative Arts group more that two years ago, but I have now re-edited the photos, and many members had not seen the original article.

Now we are entering the gardens. I took so many photos that this will be Part 2 but I am going to continue with a Part 3. The gardens of this park were magnificent, and I noted that visitors had come from scores of nations to wander through them, as indicated in an exhibit of photos identifying them – many government officials including presidents and prime ministers.

Although we walked for hours we did not cover 5% of the whole parkland. There was a helicopter service that flew over the whole area, and it was really busy. The only problem with that was the noise they made - a person should be able to enjoy such beauty in a more quiet environment.

1.  The welcoming sign just inside the park entrance.

2.  This is the part on the bottom left of the sign above. I really enjoy some of the things the Chinese say in English on their signs. In particular, number 8 reads "Advocate healthy entertainment. Please resist feudal or superstitious activities, and refuse pornography, gambling and drugs."

3.   I don't know if the trees grow like a stack of pancakes, or if they are sculptured.

4.  The tea house.

5.  The pond was teaming with goldfish, and these guys are about 18 - 20 inches long.

6.  The park was somehow connected with Taoism. These crane statues are symbolic of the religion, although I didn't see any yin-yang signs.

7.  There were many statues of officials from the time the park was created, all lined up along both sides of a pathway. I took photos of only 2 of them.

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9.   Some of the trees make me think of the movie Avatar.

10.  Leading to the temple - there's always a temple.

11.  This was my favourite photo of the day.

12.  They didn't care about wheelchairs back in those days.

13.  This is probably a very valuable and ancient statue of a high-ranking official or perhaps even the Emperor, putting it behind glass for protection.

14.  This view of the park, with all the rivers, gives you an idea of its magnitude.

15.  This ancient giant urn is described by the plaque - next photo.

16.  It was cast in the year A.D. 1331

17.   The river that almost swallowed my camera.

18.  There are mountains in the distance.

19.  The man behind the pool is reaching for his wallet to throw money in the water - you can see it at the bottom of the pool.  Looking carefully you can see a lot of paper money on the bottom.  I guess "Three Coins in the Fountain" must indicate a fairly universal waste of money.

20.  A souvenir shop unusually located deeper in the park - many interesting artifacts.  Normally such shops are located near the main exit of a park.

21.   Kind of a strange looking beast at the top of that column.

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23.   I've seen walls with relief sculptured images in many places.

24.  This is at the entrance of the tea house pictured above.

This will be continued in Part 3. The best garden photos are yet to come.