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2010 Eastern China Lotus Exploration
& Water Garden Tour
With Grant Mitchell and Warner Orozco-Obando
July 15-30 and Aug 3-17th 2010
Please contact if interested!
Day 1 : Arrive Guanzhou Bai Yun Airport transport to hotel
Day 2 : Day excursion to Lotus Mountain gardens. This garden is about 100 acres and includes many different parts. It overlooks the Pearl River estuary and is built around a 2,000 year old red sandstone quarry. This stone was only for use on the Emperors projects. In the old quarry there are high cliffs and ponds filled with lotus and waterlilies. On the top of the mountain is an old fort which controlled river traffic and a Buddhist complex with pagoda, huge traditional buildings and the biggest gilded bronze Guanyin in the world. There is also a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant.
Photos Courtesy of Grant Mitchell
Day 3 : Visit several gardens and parks in Guangzhou. There are several different parks and gardens to visit with water-plants, orchids and other trees and flowers. [Soft sleeper class is a wide berth with 2 upper and 2 lower bunks with a door. The cabin is air-conditioned and there is a western style toilet and washrooms at the end of the carriage. Soft sleeper class is close to the dining car]
Day 4 : Arrive in Fuyang. Afternoon visit to small lotus lake.
Day 5 : Visit an incredible private lotus garden with over 1500 varieties of lotus. Mostly medium sized lotus grown in pots. There are many unique lotus in this private collection and can only be visited on this tour. Afternoon train to Hefei.
Day 6: Visit Hefei lotus park. Check out the large lotus collection in this park setting. Afternoon bus to Pukou.
Photos Courtesy of Grant Mitchell
Day 7 : Tour of the famous Yileen Water-garden. This well known water garden of several acres is incredible. There are hundreds of varieties of lotus as well as waterlilies and other aquatic plants. Yileen is responsible for the creation of many wonderful new hybrids and is a regular prize winner at the annual China Lotus Association convention
Day 8: Bus to Hangzhou. Afternoon boat trip on the iconic West Lake. West Lake has been a famous beauty spot for hundreds of years. There is a classical Chinese saying…up above you have Heaven and below you have Suzhou and Hangzhou ! Every year the area around the lotus lined West Lake becomes more and more beautiful due to ongoing landscaping by the local government.
Day 9 : Visit the scenic sites of West Lake and Hangzhou Botanical Garden. There are many different parts of the West Lake area with many separate parks joined by a variety of bridges. There are towers, causeways and pagodas along the way. In the evenings locals gather at the lakeside and play traditional instruments and sing and dance as they have done for centuries. Evening spectacular buffet dinner and variety show.
Day 10 : Stroll around Lotus Swaying in the Breeze Park and the ancient Lin Ying Buddhist temple. Qu Yuan Feng He park was originally a brewery but has a history of several hundred years a park. There are bonsai and several small lakes with different varieties of lotus, waterlily and other waterplants with various bridges and lakeside pavilions, gardens and metasequoia forest.
Photo Courtesy Grant Mitchell
Lin Ying temple complex is set in a lush forest not far from the lake.It also has a long history and is one of the most famous temples in China. Night sleeper train to Unesco World Heritage Mountain Park
Day 11 : Rest in hotel then ride the cable car to the spectacular Heaven’s Gate mountain and Daoist temple and climb the stairs to Heaven’s Gate. This cable car ride travels several miles across the farmlands and foothills before a dramatic ascension to the mountain top. The views are incredible and the mountains are covered in a variety of trees, shrubs and other local flora. Another short trip brings you to a large Daoist temple and the walk back is on a pathway winding around the side of the mountain. On the return journey, a side trip in a bus takes you up a zig zag road to the base of Heaven’s Gate. A walk up the stairs takes you to a huge spectacular opening in the mountain.
- Photos Courtesy Grant Mitchell
Day 14 : Arrive in Guangzhou then a short bus trip to three Waters. Afternoon visit to Three Waters park with a huge brass reclining Buddha, Tibetan temple and Daoist temple complex.
Day 15: Wake up in the Ever-profit Lotus Hotel. Spend the day in the amazing, Lotus World, the biggest water garden in the universe ! Absolutely stounding! Farewell dinner in the evening.
Day 16: Depart from Guangzhou Bai Yun Airport.
TOUR INCLUDES: local transportation, entrances to the parks and locations, accommodation and all the meals. Total cost: $3,500 American dollars
(airfare it is NOT included). Maximum of 9 people. For small groups that can not make it during this time, we can customized the dates.
Contact Us for Information on Joining the exploration July 15-31 2010, or Warner Orozco-Obando Auburn Lotus Research Project Department of Horticulture Auburn University.
UPDATE Jan 17th 2010. More new Photos added.
Again,
TOUR INCLUDES: local transportation, entrances to the parks and locations, accommodation and all the meals. Total cost: $3,500 American dollars
(airfare it is NOT included). Maximum of 9 people. For small groups that can not make it during this time, we can customized the dates.
Contact Us for Information on Joining the exploration July 15-31 2010, or Warner Orozco-Obando Auburn Lotus Research Project Department of Horticulture Auburn University.
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China is a facinating culture in repect to gardens. Much attention is paid to gardening but not always the rest of the nature. There are so many neat places to visit outside the cities. You are showing some of Chinas most facinating sites.