Classical Chinese Garden

I visited the Chinese Garden yesterday, located in the emaciated Chinatown area of downtown Portland. I have never been to it, as it has opened only in the last ten years or so, so this was a nice experience to add onto my Summer of Adventure list!

It's very interesting to visit two Asian gardens within two weeks. The differences and similarities were striking; plants often looked the same, but their purpose(s) or the way they were pruned was entirely different, based upon the appropriate Asian philosophy. The sounds were completely different, of course, as this garden was set in the middle of a busy city block and the Japanese Garden was out in the quiet hills of Washington Park. I liked both for many different reasons; the Chinese Garden made me enjoy the balance of imbalance (a theme that our tourguide repeatedly brought up in reference to Taoism), while the Japanese Garden made me reflect upon simplicity and purpose. Below are a few pictures I took yesterday.