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Attraction>> Chinese
Lotus Garden |
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Chinese Lotus Garden,
which is located in Nandaihe, emerges into
an integral whole with other sights while
the Delightful Lotus Pavilion with three upturned
eaves separates it from others as a remarkable
symbol. As what ¡°delightful¡± means, the pavilion
delights people, who are visiting it, for
its red glazed tiles, upturned eaves and dougong,
painted beams and columns. There are two floors
, one of which is for the display of lotus
culture, mainly showing poems, calligraphy,
paintings, pictures and so on, and the second
floor is a platform for the sea view.
On arrival of the garden, tourists are deeply
impressed by the novelty here, so without
a guide, it is difficult to know what to visit
and how to visit it. Being a lotus garden,
it is natural to see lotuses here and there.
Eight hundred lotus pots and eight hundred
lotus vats surround the pavilion in two lines,
with the aroma of the flowers spreading all
over the garden. At the entrance to the pavilion,
you will pass three bridges which will bring
you luck as they are called God Bridge, Money
Bridge and Longevity Bridge.
Under the bridge grows the lotus, too. Red
carps swimming in groups bring a good name
to the pond---Gold Pond. Two ornamental columns
6.9 meters high tower on each side of the
lake, and in the middle of the square is a
sculpture¡ªLotus Fairy, who is full of legends.
It was designed by Professor Guo Baozhai from
Central College of Art, who also designed
the symbol for Macao. The Lotus Fairy is made
of white marbles. She is 6.8 meters high,
and dressed in lotus skirt, with corolla on
the head, lotus leaves on the right palm and
lotus flowers under the feet. Standing on
the surface of the water, she has elegant
manners and a graceful posture.
It is said that in ancient times, a scholar
was poor but hard working. One night he was
reading in the light when he heard a knock
on the window. Opening the window, he saw
the lonely girl he had saved . She told him
that the next day, a girl wearing a pleated
shawl, who was collecting water chestnuts,
would be his wife, and that if he could not
get close to her, he could pick the seedpod
under the largest leaf. The next day, everything
happened as she had said. The scholar finally
came home with the seedpod, which became his
wife.
Time flew and one day after 6 years, the wife
said she married him in return for his saving
her life and now it was time for her to leave
and if he missed her, he could take the shawl
and whispered ¡°Lotus Fairy¡±, and then they
could meet. With the words, she disappeared.
Since then, the day when she left was remembered
as her birthday and on this day every year,
lotus is in full bloom. The day is June 24
of Chinese lunar calendar.
Having visited the beautiful fairy, tourists
will be attracted by 4 lions 1.8 meters high.
They are not white or grey as we usually see,
but red, made of red jade from Henan Province.
How awe-inspiring.
Lotus Lake covers 260 mu, and hundreds of
thousands of graceful lotuses grow on each
side of the waterway, red, yellow, pink and
white in color. Tourists can appreciate them
by boat, and when harvest time comes, they
can also pick seedpods in the lake. Another
attraction is the carps swimming among the
seedpods. The fish have been accustomed to
people, and are often appealed by the claps
of tourist, waiting for food they will give.
On the other side of the corridor comes the
¡°Lotus Field¡±, where 160 vats are placed,
each of which grow 10 different species of
lotuses. They all have names as beautiful
as themselves.
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The
Lotus Lake is not merely such a vast area
of water as is commonly seen, as at the centre
there is an island which is quite characteristic.
On the island which covers an area of 60 mu,
tens of thousands of scholartrees are in bloom
and the air is heavy with the aroma of the
flowers. Other places on the island are also
worth visit, for example, the pavilion surrounded
by two bridges, the forest of steles where
you can read the poems written by famous people
both today and in ancient times in praise
of lotus and the Lotus Tower, standing in
the trees , which is 19 meters high, the highest
in the garden.
Shown the pictures I brought back, my friend
was surprised to see the southern scenery
in Nandaihe, an area in Northeast China. I
explained that this was called ¡°Water Country
¡±. She said if the walls, tiles and lanterns
were not so fresh, she would think of it as
a real southern district. Here in the ¡°Water
Country ¡± regional snacks, standard apartments
and various travel necessities are supplied.
The streets are connected by two bridges called
¡°Spring Lotus¡± and ¡°Summer Lotus¡±.
No wonder it is called ¡°Lotus Garden¡±. Everywhere
is lotus and its aroma and everything is connected
with lotus. It is quite difficult to find
such a characteristic place of such a scale
in North China.
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