Day 3 - LiYuan Garden

After breakfast, we visited LiYuan Garden.

Ticketing counter

At first i thought it's duck egg, but was told it's goose egg

No pictures is allowed inside the building, so only take pictures from the outside

Costumes for rent to take picture

Li Garden was built by an Overseas Chinese American, Mr Xie Wei Li, around 1926 and finished in 1936. The garden blends harmoniously the elements of Chinese traditional gardening, Southern China water-town style landscaping and Western architecture. The garden is arranged in three main areas : grand garden, mansions and small garden. Each area is carefully separated by man-made canals while connected elegantly by footbridges and pathways. The design of the garden reflected the idea of isolation and integration.

The entrance of the grand garden has a stone arched-gate which declares the residency of the Xie family in two large, handwritten characters, "Li Gardens". The grand garden incorporates a walk-in size birdcage, a small pond and a flower pavilion along with various trees and plants. Standing in the grand gardens are two steel poles called the "tiger whip" which were built to scare away evil spirits.

The mansion area consists of six estates and two Diaolau. The interior design of the estates is decorated with Western fixtures and Chinese Yupei estate which was built as a memorial to Mr Xie's beloved second wife, Tan Yu-ying, who passed away at a young age while he was away.

The small garden is a naturalistic garden built at the foot of Tiger Hill and filled with the rich foliage of trees and plants. The small garden is used for relaxation and as a family playground for children.