Gardens

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For all of my inability to understand certain aspects of the Chinese culture, I am amazed at their design of buildings and gardens. They do both with amazing innovation and incorporation of beautiful things.

Yesterday we went to the Summer Palace where we walked over the bridge of the 17 Hallways to the Temple of Extreme Moisture and Rain. It was only fitting that at this point we were soaked from the knees down and that by the end of our visit most of us would be soaked clear through. I must admit that I enjoyed the rain a bit more than my travel companions (youth does have its advantages) but the absolute best thing about the Summer Palace in the rain were the lotus leaves.

The leaf shoots high out of the water and then unfolds to create a large lilly pad that cups slightly. In the rain, the leaf fills up drop by drop until it gets too top heavy and then it leans over, dropping the rain on a leaf beneath it or back into the lake. To watch a large group of them fill and spill at different rates makes them look as if they are playing one grand game. I wished I could join in.

Comments

caedmonstia said…
I would like a Chinese garden please, to go with the tea and truffles I ordered on Jeorge R. Smith's blog.

I might skip the Extreme Moisture part, since I don't want my truffles to get soggy. I guess I'll have that on the side.
11:43 AM
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