Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池, aka Southern Lotus Garden) is located in the Diamond Hill (鑽石山) of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The 3.5 hectare (8.6 acre) Nan Lian Garden looks like an old classic Tang Dynasty style (唐朝) garden with hills, water, trees, rocks and wooden structures. It was actually completed in late 2006. The Nan Lian Garden is part of the Hammer Hill Park (斧山公園) which includes Eastern Lotus Pond Garden (東蓮園), Western Lotus Pond Garden (西蓮園) and the Nan Lian Garden. The Eastern and Western Lotus Garden was completed in 2000. It is now managed and operated by Chi Lin Nunnery (志蓮淨苑).
We took the MRT from Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) to the Diamond Head (鑽石山) with a transfer at the Mong Kok (旺角). It was a short walk across the underpass of the highway and we reached the Nan Lian Garden. Once we entered the garden, we saw a well organized Chinese garden. It has a pond with lotus flowers just like the name of the garden. The pine trees, timber bridges, timber pavilions, timber tower, rocks and waterfall are beautifully arranged throughout the garden. They really followed the technique of the Tang Dynasty to construct the garden. We stopped by the teahouse and took a rest. The Chi Lin Vegetarian (志蓮素齋) restaurant is nearby where you can have a meal. Across the overhead passage, here is the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was established in 1934 and refurbished in Tang Dynasty style in 1990. It is a large complex with a wooden structure design. Some of the temple halls contain gold, clay and wooden statues. Next to nunnery on right and left sides are the Eastern Lotus Pond Garden and Western Lotus Pond Garden. It is almost impossible to avoid the high-rises in the background when you taking photos of the garden and temples. It is because the site is in the city center.
The garden is open daily from 7am to 9pm. The garden has specific regulations that includes no food or drinks except water, one way path – no return, don’t put anything on the ground, no group photos, no tripod, etc. A specific quantity of free admission tickets for the day will be distributed outside the entrance to the garden and at the Nan Lian Garden service counter at Exit C2 of Diamond Hill MTR station starting at 8 am.
We took the MRT from Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) to the Diamond Head (鑽石山) with a transfer at the Mong Kok (旺角). It was a short walk across the underpass of the highway and we reached the Nan Lian Garden. Once we entered the garden, we saw a well organized Chinese garden. It has a pond with lotus flowers just like the name of the garden. The pine trees, timber bridges, timber pavilions, timber tower, rocks and waterfall are beautifully arranged throughout the garden. They really followed the technique of the Tang Dynasty to construct the garden. We stopped by the teahouse and took a rest. The Chi Lin Vegetarian (志蓮素齋) restaurant is nearby where you can have a meal. Across the overhead passage, here is the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was established in 1934 and refurbished in Tang Dynasty style in 1990. It is a large complex with a wooden structure design. Some of the temple halls contain gold, clay and wooden statues. Next to nunnery on right and left sides are the Eastern Lotus Pond Garden and Western Lotus Pond Garden. It is almost impossible to avoid the high-rises in the background when you taking photos of the garden and temples. It is because the site is in the city center.
The garden is open daily from 7am to 9pm. The garden has specific regulations that includes no food or drinks except water, one way path – no return, don’t put anything on the ground, no group photos, no tripod, etc. A specific quantity of free admission tickets for the day will be distributed outside the entrance to the garden and at the Nan Lian Garden service counter at Exit C2 of Diamond Hill MTR station starting at 8 am.
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