On the last day of my stay in Hong Kong, Michelle’s aunt took us to visit a remarkable garden in the middle of the Kowloon city, called Nan Lian Garden or “Southern Lotus”. We took MTR, got off at Diamond Hill station and then took Exit C2. The admission to the garden is free and it is open from 7am to 9pm. It is said that the garden is packed with tourists on weekends, so it is better to visit it on weekdays to avoid queuing with others to take pictures. Fortunately, when I went there, there were not many people so I could stroll around the garden without having too much disruption. As I entered the garden, I was amazed at the beautiful Chinese architectural style. And here is where the adventure began!
A Chinese poet once said that one can enjoy himself if he is in peace with his mind and nature. “Man in harmony with nature” is an important concept in ancient Chinese philosophy that has deeply influenced the concepts of traditional Chinese landscape gardening. Therefore, Chinese people always try to achieve self-cultivation by admiring beautiful sceneries or visiting gardens to find serenity to reduce working pressures and refresh their mind and body. In this way, they could achieve self-harmony and have a healthy life. These principles seem to be a strong reason to build a serene garden amidst a hustling city like Hong Kong. As you know, Hong Kong citizens are very busy with their work every day and they only have little time to relax and enjoy themselves. Thus, the presence of a calm garden will provide a perfect retreat for the city citizens who want to withdraw from the city’s busy life to a serene place to refresh their mind and body.
Realizing the importance of public parks as the greenbelts of the urban development, the Hong Kong government initiated the construction of the Nan Lian Garden. The Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LSCD) and Chi Lin Nunnery agreed to work together to establish the garden. In 2003, Chi Lin was entrusted by the government with exclusive responsibility to plan, design and construct the whole garden. The government funded the infrastructure while other costs were donated by Chi Lin. It was opened in November 2006 to complement the adjacent Buddhist Nunnery.
Nan Lian Garden is a quaint little public park in the middle of the New Territories. The garden is often referred to a beautiful oasis of calm at the heart of the highly densely populated city. It is a perfect retreat for the city people to withdraw from their tiring routines and the bustling of a city’s life. Noise barriers with a total of 260 pieces of sound proof panels are erected along the garden to prevent noise of traffic, crowds, and bustling activities from outside the garden. Mounds are appropriately placed around the garden with extensive planting of trees to filter dust from the surrounding areas. In this way, visitors can enjoy the beautiful natural scenery in a calm place without having any disturbance from the outside world. The garden is designed in such a way to give the Hong Kong citizens a better understanding of a traditional garden and furthermore to encourage them to respect and admire the beauty of a garden. It is also a proof to the visitors from all over the world of the contributions of Hong Kong government in promoting Chinese art and architecture after the city’s reunification with its mother land.
In Chinese architecture, the shape and size of a gate is very significant. The entrance gate of the Nan Lian Garden is in the form of a Black Lintel Gate that is decorated with fine carvings of cloud and grass prevalent in the Tang Dynasty and supported by two high solid pillars both topped with a lotus motif capital.
Built in the classical style of the Tang Dynasty’s Jiangshouju Garden (絳守居園池), a garden of the governor of the ancient Jiang County (618 AD to 907 AD)that is situated in now Shanxi Province in an area of 3.5 hectares, Nan Lian Garden indeed represents Chinese traditional architecture with its typical timber structures. Both Jiangshouju and Nan Lian Garden use water as their main feature. Rocks resemble the skeleton of the garden while the water functions as its skin and flesh.
The rocks inside the garden are very precious
This cluster of rocks is called the Nam Lian Rocks. I believe they are extremely heavy… 
Just by looking at the picture, you could guess how much the rocks would cost now… They cost million dollars… Therefore, visitors are not allowed to cross the border to protect the rocks from damage that may be caused.
Following the classical architecture of garden in Tang Dynasty, Nan Lian Garden consists of four major elements: artificial hillocks and ornamental rocks, water features, timber structures and old trees. The hills include the East Hill, the South Hill, the Dragon Hill, the Spring Hill. There is also the Turtleback, which is named after the shape of the mound. Other hills are named after the trees that grow on them: Pine Hill, Myrtle Hill, Fragrance Hill, Lohan Pine Hill, Elm Hill and so on. The rocks are mostly from Sanjiang County, the north of the Guangdong Province and the Red River of Xijiang (西江) in Guangxi Province, totaling about 8,000 tons. There is also a large pond trimmed with many koi fish that resemble wealth and prosperity. Everything inside the garden including hills, waters and plantations complement each other that radiate the essence of nature, creating a perfect combination of natural and artificial beauty.
The scenery in the garden is extremely picturesque, so now wonder visitors come here with their professional cameras. Its landscape is adorned with expensive plantations including Buddhist Pines, bonsai trees, shrubs, flowering species and bamboo, bizarre rocks and boulders of various shapes and origins. The stones inside the park are extremely of great value for they take hundreds of years to grow and shape. Thus, visitors are not allowed to touch them. The park has rock clusters, waterfall, over 3000 trees of 59 distinct types of ancient trees including Pagoda Tree, Chinese Elm, Sago Palm and Common Crape Myrtle, and ornamental wooden structures. Inside the garden are also a souvenir shop, vegetarian food restaurant, Chinese tea house and multi-purpose function room.
The garden houses precious timber structures including square and hexagonal pavilions, podiums, multi-layered buildings, and pavilions with thatched roofs. The park is made up of three main exhibition halls and two tea houses, a big fish pond, a waterfall and a few small buildings. The first exhibition showcases a scaled miniature of past buildings that still exist today which have different building styles. The hall exhibits some buildings that were built in the past without using any nails. Unfortunately, I could not take any pictures of the exhibited stuff for photography was prohibited in the exhibition hall.
Chinese Timber Architecture is one of the largest structures located at the Southern quadrant of the garden. This building showcases impressive models of famous Chinese timber structures built without nails. Make sure you linger here for a few minutes. 
Xiang Hai Xuan means a house embracing a sea of fragrance. It gets its name from its surrounding fragrant trees on the Fragrance Hill. The inner room is a multi-purpose room occupying an area of 176m2 with 180 seats.
The corridor of Xiang Hai Xuan. The amazing thing about the building is it is built without nails. 
The Blue Pond is trimmed with a great school of giant koi. However, you are not allowed to feed them…
Song Cha Xie is a timber quadrangle built by the side of the Blue Pond in the Eastern quadrant. It is decorated with a refreshing flair. From here, visitors can sip their tea while enjoying the beautiful natural scenery of the getaway. Types of teas served here include Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, Bai Ji Guan, Shui Jin Gui, etc. It also serves various kinds of dim sum.
At the center of the garden lies a gold-leaf covered tower called the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection. The pavilion is the main and central feature of the garden that symbolizes absolute perfection and fulfillment in all aspects of life and blessings to all visitors. The building is so impressive revealing the glory of Tang Dynasty. In the middle of the pavilion is the twin bridges, Zi Bridge and Wu Bridge that connect the Pavilion to the north and south shores. The bridges are built in full timber in bright rainbow red which is the reminiscent of the ancient Tang style. The tower is also surrounded with the Lotus Pond and trees with the hill and Hong Kong’s skyscrapers as its background, indeed creating a perfect harmony of nature and city life. The Lotus Pond that surrounds the pavilion gives the name of the garden because lotus in Chinese culture is much appreciated for it signifies serenity and tranquility. Aunt and I taking picture together in front of the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection.
Visitors can relax and enjoy the beauty of the garden in this pavilion
This cascading water is called the Silver Strand behind which is the only vegetarian restaurant in the garden, Long Men Lou, that serves food from the adjacent nunnery. 
The mill next to the vegetarian restaurant, making the view even more beautiful and attractive. 
Long Men Lou at the northeastern corner of the garden is a three-storey building with plants on its balconies and roof that houses the only vegetarian restaurant in the garden. There is a little vegetarian restaurant to stop by if you feel hungry because it is located adjacent to and ministered by the Buddhist nunnery. The restaurant offers visitors opportunities to enjoy delicious Chinese food in an elegant environment. The food is served with religious music. However, we did not enter the restaurant to eat for we knew the price would be very expensive.
A timber structure across the Long Men Lou but I did not enter it so I do not know what is inside
The cluster of bonsai inside the garden
Since most features inside the garden such as the timber structures, the rocks and the trees are of very special materials, special and long-term care of experts who master Chinese culture and methods of preservation and maintenance is highly needed. And the task to maintain and preserve the precious things in the garden is handed to the Chi Lin. Unlike general parks, the garden requires careful protection and care from general visitors.
Visitors who visit this garden must be appropriately dressed because inappropriate dresses are not in harmony with the garden scenery. Group photo is not allowed inside the garden because it can cause noise that disrupts other visitors from enjoying the garden with peaceful mind. Visitors are not allowed to eat wherever they wish in the garden because eating can spoil the garden’s image and affect the garden’s maintenance. Foods and drinks that fall on the cracks of the tiles will result in the breeding of insects that will cause damage to the building. Therefore, eating areas are designated in the garden. Visitors are also forbidden to feed the koi fish in the pond. No clapping hands or shouting at the fish is allowed for such activities will cause noise pollution and nuisance to the environment.
If you need refreshment from the hard routines, a visit to Nan Lian Garden will surely refresh your mind and body. Remember, one of the most important things in this life is your priceless health. So, make sure you are not controlled by your work, but instead you must the one who controls it. When you stop by at Hong Kong, just give yourself some time to immerse yourself with the nature in the tranquility of the garden to achieve a self-harmony that will lead a healthy and balanced life just like what the Chinese believe.
Sources:
Personal experience and additional information from other online articles
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