Lan Su Chinese Garden

It's a funny thing - my professional conference always gives you a two to three hour lunch break. You are supposed to go to the Exhibit Hall, where all the vendors try to sell you the latest and greatest medical and surgical devices. So I cruised through and then still had 2 hours. I decided to walk across the Willamette once again and go to the Lan Su Chinese Garden.

Portland's sister city is Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu province which is famous for it's beautiful gardens. Lan Su means "Garden of Awakening Orchids". Sixty five Chinese artisans built this garden, completed in 2000.

This is the Moon Locking Pavilion. On a clear night, the pavilion is constructed so that the reflection of the moon is a shimmering spotlight in the center of the lake.

This is the Rock Mountain and Waterfall. The poetic inscription in red characters reads "Ten Thousand Ravines Engulfed in Deep Clouds." The rock is a Lake Tai Rock, which is formed underwater. The holes allow the wind to whistle through and provide comforting sounds.

This building is called The Tower of Cosmic Reflections. This is where the family would receive visitors, and the women would prepare tea and food for them. It is also called Reflections in Clear Ripples, and people would gather to play games and tell stories, while gazing at the ponds.

Here is a gorgeous weeping tree and some of the many koi - they swim up to you and beg for food.

On top of the building at the entrance, the Courtyard of Tranquility, there are two dragonfish. They swallow all evil influences and protect the building from fire.

Doorways and windows throughout the garden form views within views, creating the illusion of infinite space within a single city block. The motif of the mosaic floor is called "plum blossoms on cracked ice."

Here is a look at the lovely water lilies and lily pads that the koi scamper through.

This is a Chinese Lion. I had always heard them called Foo Dogs. But that was an insult created by the Koreans. This is a female Chinese Lion with her foot on her cub. She uses her eyes, teeth and claws to protect the garden.

This is the Hall of Brocade Clouds, another building designed to entertain guests, who look through the lattice windows to see the family's wealth and good taste all around them. This is an altar to their ancestors, complete with their photos and an offering of tea and fresh pears.

Another gate leads to the Scholar's Courtyard. It was a quiet place designed for reflection and inspiration. Notice the lotus blossom mosaic floor. It is flanked by plum trees, that symbolize resilience and revival.

This is the room where men studied for grueling examinations that would lead to a government job, as a highly prized scholar. They learned poetry, calligraphy, and all forms of art and painting.

This is the Scholar's Study - in the middle is a table where the game of Go was played between two friends while four others could watch. The two pillars comprise another game called the couplet game, where one person starts a two line poem and the other matches it - verb for verb, noun for noun, adjective for adjective, etc. The first pillar reads " Braving the snow, myriad flowers come into blossom." The other pillar says " Leading the world, a single tree heralds the spring."

This is a view of the Scholar's room from the Scholar's Study.

This is the Painted Boat in Misty Rain. This boat shaped pavilion represents the friendship and exchange between the sister cities that served to create Lan Su Gardens.

Next are the panels. The Flowers Bathing in Spring Rain are six hand carved gingko panels that depict actual gardens in Suzhou.

This panel is the exact replica of the Lan Su Garden.

And one more last fleeting look at this beautiful paradise, right in the middle of downtown Portland, Oregon.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans !!!