Hong Kong's Hidden Gem of Tranquility: Nan Lian Garden & Chi Lin Nunnery 香港都市中的净土:南莲园池和志莲净苑18/2/2023 Nan Lian Garden quickly whisks you away from the hustle and bustle of busy Kowloon in Hong Kong. A short walk from Diamond Hill MTR stop, this tiny space of beauty, harmony and seclusion boasts of the perfectly laid out Chinese garden. This garden is located among high-rise apartment blocks and skyscrapers and visitors can grasp an understanding why Hong Kong is so often referred to as the city of tradition and modernity or where East meets West. There is also another best reason to visit is the photography opportunities. Nan Lian Garden is a Tang Dynasty-style garden adorned with antique timber structures and beautifully landscaped with trees, rocks and water features that offers a rich variety of photographic topics to photo lovers. The architectures inside Nan Lian Garden are uniquely styled and full of details. In particular, Nan Lian Garden offers a rich variety of landscape to use as foreground and background elements to enrich the composition. Changing scenery can be enjoyed if you take a stroll along the paths in the garden, with meticulously planned layout that will give you an illusion that you are within a landscape painting. 在高楼林立、繁华喧闹的香港都市中,却有一方古意盎然的庭园:志莲净苑及寺院园林南莲园池。这片仿唐建筑群坐落于九龙钻石山南麓,以古式园林风设计,环境清幽怡人,因此有“港版小京都”之称。我在这里享受一个清静的下午,感受着不一样的香港,古色古香,非常写意。由钻石山港铁站出口前往,步行约五分钟即到达南莲园池及志莲净苑,非常方便。 南莲园池环境恬静,游客听不到寺外的喧哗,却多了一份禅悦,周边古筝乐曲环绕,更增添了园林的古香古色。在这里休憩,心情格外舒畅。南莲园池以唐代园林为建筑蓝本,以小品建筑、树木、山石和池水等营造的借景,将山水融入其中,古意盎然。从入口处的乌头门沿着一条单向的回游式路径漫步,一路上的树木怪石宛如闹市区中绿州一样的存有,仿如到了世外桃源一样。每个转弯都是景,一花一草、一石一瓦都是画,也像是进入了电影的场景,穿梭时空回到很久以前的中国宫廷,似乎忘了自己身在香港都市。 Just when I think I have seen all of Hong Kong, I wandered into one of the prettiest and most peaceful gardens I will ever encounter. The tranquillity of a natural garden is juxtaposed with towering high-rise apartment complexes in the background. This is a real sanctuary for my senses and one of my best-kept secrets in Hong Kong. 南莲园池最美的景点是在圆满阁的前方,红色的独木桥搭配金碧辉煌八角形设计的高塔,再看蓝蓝的天,和附近绿色的树木相互衬托,简直就是一幅活生生色彩亮丽的美景,感觉恍如到访日本京都著名景点金阁寺。 The Pavilion of Absolute Perfection is situated on an island in the middle of the Lotus Pond. The octagonal structure is surrounded by eight Buddhist pines and connected to land by vermillion-coloured Zi-Wu bridges. The Pavilion reminds me of the famous Enkoji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Most people come for the striking and quite photogenic Chinese pavillion with the surrounding pond and brightly contrasting red bridge, stunning on its own right, but do take time to admire the many other features you will find in this little breath of fresh air. From the entrance of the garden, you follow a path that circles Nan Lian in an easy to follow one-way loop passing through all the main highlights and views of the garden, lily ponds, cascades, galleries, pavilions, terraces etc. Rock clusters and intricately manicured bonsai trees are placed harmonically all along the path. Chinese landscaping is heavily influenced by Taoist and Buddhist concepts, that is, simplicity and peace and to be one with nature. Everything is placed along the path so that every step you take, presents a different world as you walk along, and every world presented will touch your soul in different ways. This is exactly what I picture in my head when I think about a Chinese garden. To appreciate all the nuances of the garden, I had to walk around it both clockwise and counterclockwise, in each direction experiencing different vistas and set-pieces. In Chinese landscape gardens rocks are considered the skeleton and water the flesh. Rocks are linked to zen meditation and the appreciation of rocks is counted as one of the pleasures of life. A phoenix sits proudly on top of the bridge’s roof. The Mill is at the centre of a romanticised vision of Chinese farm life. 赏景之余,可以在龙门楼品尝志莲净苑素菜。继续深入地走进去,便会看到汩汩流淌的人造瀑布从龙门楼高挂而下,犹如一层薄纱,串连无数明珠,日间在阳光照耀下闪闪生辉。餐厅的玻璃外就是瀑布,环境也清幽又雅致,所以一边吃饭一边听着瀑布的声音,是非常独特的体验。瀑布泻下浣月池,旁边的水车磨坊则静立其中,宁谧安详,令人浑忘世俗。水车磨坊的建筑采用了日式小屋的设计,拥有向风古宅的外观,更使用了日式榻榻米的格子窗,犹如京都古雅的老房子。水车磨坊对中国农家非常重要,屋顶由细草铺成,朴实而细致。水车以水力为动力,帮助石磨的工作,是古时磨碎食粮的工具。现在,这个水车磨坊只是一个小茶山,让游人感受到田园风光。 The Blue Pond is a man-made waterfall called "The Mill and Silver Strand Waterfall". This is yet another relaxing area in the Garden. You can enjoy listening to the waterfall while enjoying the green view near. Just above the waterfall, there's a beautiful pavilion with flowers around it. I asked a local if I can go there, but she said its one of those structures that are not open for visitors. That's all I need to do is enjoy the beauty of it from afar. But it's really beautiful I wish I can see it from outside. The other water features in the Garden are the "Spring Hill", "Lotus Pond" and "Pine Brook". The Spring Hill is located just beside the "Golden Pavilion" and not accessible for visitors. The Pine Brook and the Lotus Pond are also located around the Golden Pavilion. And of course, Nan Lian Garden is an ideal pairing with a visit to Chi Lin Nunnery very close by. This is a large Buddhist temple complex with elegant wooden structures and priceless Buddhist relics. The lotus pond is a particular favourite aspect of the visual landscape. Open for almost 100 years, the local people still come here to pray and pay their respects on a daily basis; should you wish to take photos, remember to be respectful of the sacredness of the temple and nunnery. 与南莲园池一桥之隔的志莲净苑,是一座佛寺,也是香港唯一的女众十方叶林,为远道而来的佛教女高僧们提供了修道之地。志莲净苑和其它的寺庙不同,不许参观者和香客、信徒在寺內烧香、大声喧哗。志莲净苑左右两侧为钟鼓楼,正中为天王殿。进入殿内可发现里头其他震撼的唐代细腻的建筑设计,整体的感觉十分雄伟,具有特殊的魅力。其实天王殿寺院与京都的金阁寺是采用同样的设计蓝本,隐约感受到日风的建筑。只可惜里头禁止摄影,不方便拍照,所以只好放下相机,沿着通道在殿内绕了一圈,放眼欣赏四周的环境。天王殿外的莲花池是其特色之一,空旷的荷花池上布满荷叶。旁边亦展示了许多外型奇特的树木,有些更有数百年的历史,尽显造物的奇蹟。 I was fortunate to visit the Nan Lian Gardens on a pleasant day. The weather was perfect that day. Nan Lian Garden is a place to take a step back from the noise and tension of Hong Kong and retreat to a more peaceful and even spiritual corner of the city. I just love discovering this beautiful oasis of tranquility in bustling Hong Kong. You may wish to include this place to visit in your future itinerary to Hong Kong and I am quite sure you will love the ambiance here too!
走过这两座园林,欣赏丰富的山水林木美景,唐代色彩浓厚,就像踏上了一趟难忘的“寻唐记”。香港旅游资料中其实很少有介绍到这所美丽的佛寺,可能不想有太多游客前来打扰其清静。这里虽然位处繁华喧闹的市中心,但别具宁静平和的气息,是都市中的净土!
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