1 Chinese Garden Road
Singapore 619795
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| Ru Yun T'a |
I was so excited the morning I arrived in Changi International Airport. My flight was almost 8 hours from Riyadh yet my anticipation to see the beauty of Singapore overtakes my jet lag (ahahaha!). I felt bliss even my body says “please take it slow” (ahahaha!). Right after I took my baggage in the carousel, I was in a rush to go to the immigration area for entry. Unfortunately, there was a frightful incident that caught me “in trouble”. I knew from the start that taking pictures in any immigration embankment is prohibited but unconsciously, I did grab my cam and shot the wall decor a hundred meters away from the immigration line [It happen so fast and caught me in the middle (arggghhhhh!!)]. An officer saw what I did and demanded to hand over my camera for checking. Without hesitation, I surrender the device and thanks GOD all of the saved photos were `clean’ (ahahaha!). I don’t want to be in jail just because of ignorance, noh! (haissssstttt ~ sometimes raw stupidity exist ahahaha!). I learned my lesson but it was one `frightening experience' that `makes me nervous' bigtime (ahahaha!)
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| Chinese Garden Map |
Anyway, enough of the airport tale, let’s begin our journey in Singapore Chinese Garden, the first tourist spot we visited in SG. We arrived around 10 AM and the weather is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!!
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| The pathway from Chinese MRT station. |
Going there is not a problem as this serene oasis in the midst of the bustling city is just behind Chinese Garden MRT Station (EW25). Much easier for us since our hotel is located near Kallang MRT Station (EW10) in Geylang and it directed us straight to the garden that only passes 14 stations [I admit even going there is a piece of cake yet I always checked the map we brought, just in case we missed the place (ahahaha!)].
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| One of the two sculpted lions guarding the beauty of the park. |
We arrived in the `East Entrance’ of the garden as this is the only accessible gate nearest in conjunction to MRT Station (5 minutes walk). Upon entering, two skillfully sculptured marble stone lions greeted us and there is a bridge in red color that leads you in. It is a Chinese belief that lions represent authority and felicity and often placed at the entrance of building and temples as guardians.
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| the rock garden |
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| rules and regulations |
Entrance is totally free except if you visit Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum and Garden of Abundance that charge you SGD 5 and SGD 2 respectively. To maintain the beauty of its surroundings, you need to follow the rules and regulation strictly or else get fine or worse in jail (hehehe!). It amazes me since it’s near the city center yet it's very serene in there. Interesting!!!
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| Ixora Garden |
The grand architectural splendor of 7 storey pagoda of ‘Ru Yun T’a' that follows the structural design of Ling Ku Temple at Nanjing, China awaits right after you enter. It is situated above a small hill surrounded by beautiful landscape of shrubs, rocks, pines, flowers, bushes and footpaths so to create a poetical scene. One great thing: visitors are allowed to get in the pagoda and climb the stairs to the top and you get a good panoramic view of the garden (whew ~ AWESOME!!!!).
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| Hua Mulan |
Right next to the pagoda is the Ixora Garden where the 8 eight Legendary Heroes in Chinese history is situated. Please have time to read their stories that represent various moral values such as filial piety, loyalty, love, benevolence, courtesy, righteousness, honesty and modesty. Have you seen the animated movie `Mulan’ (`Hua Mulan’)? Then you can find her replica in here along with Confucius, Qu Yuan, Guan Yu, Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, Zheng He, and Lin Zexu.
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| 12 Chinese Zodiac signs scattered within the vicinity |
The sculpture of 12 Chinese zodiac animals is scattered alongside delicate century-year-old pomegranate trees which was imported from Shantung, China. One thing i like about Chinese artistry is their creativity and their concept of planting. They always put meaning to it in accordance with Chinese tradition and folk culture.
The majestic bridge that connects the Chinese Garden to the Japanese Garden is my favorite spot in the garden. They called it the `Double Beauty'. From there, you will see fishes and turtles swimming freely along the river bank. Singapore may be a business-oriented country yet they live in harmony with nature. EXCELLENT!!!!
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| Pai Hung Ch'iao or The White Rainbow Bridge |
To wrap it up, you should spend half day there to fully enjoy the scenic place which is ideal for picnicking and photography. This 13-hectare environs of beautiful landscape is an outlet if you prefer to be alone for a change. The garden dedicates most of its area to “northern style” landscape architecture, the style of Imperial gardens, integrating brightly colored buildings with the surroundings. So if you would like to visit the place, bring your books with you and have a chit chat with nature. :)
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| our way to the Japanese Garden |
There you go, hope you'll get an idea how beautiful Singapore Chinese Garden is. The grandeur of Japanese Garden which is just adjacent to the park will be posted soon.
Have a great day/night everyone…
Cheeriiioooossss!!
Enan signing off……..
:)
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