Sunday 17 February
The year of the Snake
We went to China Town expecting to see "something"
But the parade was in the evening.
So we went to visit the Chinese garden.
It is a very long time since we went to see it.
Initiated by the local Chinese community
to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary
The Chinese garden is the result of a close
friendship and cooperation between the
sister cities of Sydney and Guangzhou in
Guangdong Province, China
you could have your Chinese star sign painted.
I was born in the year of the dog
Claude was born in the year of the monkey
Lenient jade pavilion
decorated pebbles path
Lenient jade pavilion
The dragon wall
A gift from Guangdong.
It features two coloured dragons:
The gold brown represents Guangdong and the blue
represents NSW.
The pearl of prosperity, carried by a wave between the dragons,
symbolises the bond between the two states.
me
We went to the Tea house for lunch
We had quiche and salad with
a glass of wine, and coffee.
I told Claude next time I want
something Chinese!
Claude relaxing with his coffee before
continuing with our exploring
of the garden.
It is made entirely of jade, incredibly beautiful
In a display cabinet we saw a display
similar to something we bought in Hong Kong
over 40 years ago.
We did not know what it was for. It is to drink wine
This is ours. We bought it because we liked it
as a decoration.
That was BC (before children)
over 40 years ago when I was working for
Qantas and we used to go over to Hong Kong
just for the week end.
We used to leave after work on Friday with
empty suitcases and come back straight to
work on Monday morning with full suitcases.
Imperial costume were for hire.
I was surprised how many people were dressing up
and had their photos taken
that was not dress up it was a real wedding
sleeping boy Buddha
I loved all their unique archways and windows
Main entrance
Guarding the entrance to the garden are two
Foo-dog (Chinese lions), which have been
carved from rare Chinese granite. Always in
pairs, the female with her cub guards to the left,
while the male, with a ball of chi ( energy),
guards the right. A hybrid of dog, lion and
dragon, they represent loyalty, strength,
and prosperity
