The Beauty Of Chigang Tower Park

By Author: Steve Rendell
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The Orient - even the title brings images of mystery and far off, exotic places. In libraries all over the world, pictures - drawn and photographed - show beautiful red fabric decorated with silver and gold symbols. Dragons race through the skies, scales flashing with color and flames torching the air in front of them.

Although the designation "the Orient" includes many areas, in the world's mind it can only mean once place. The fourth largest country in the world in land mass, it's over 9.5 million kilometers square and holds 1.3 billion people. Beautiful, exotic and steeped in tradition, this is China.

China has long been known for using landscapes, buildings and natural rock formations to provide views that delight the eye and lift the soul. However, in a city bearing the designation of Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, parks have become works of art.

The capital of the Guangdong Province, Guangzhou is widely known as Canton by the Western World. No matter what it has been called, however, this bustling city with over 12 million people has set out to become a modern monument to sustainable architecture, ...
... the preservation of history and nature, and the glory of simplistic design. Late 2008, the Guangzhou Municipality turned their eyes towards the 400 year old Chigang Pagoda.

With the decision to restore the old monument (built, it's said, for good fortune), Chigang Pagoda also became the center of the Chigang Tower Park, a memorial to Guangzhou's long history of foreign trade and culture. China's tradition of delightful landscaping techniques, architectural wonders and lines that please the eye continue in this new scenic spot.

A stairwell brings you up from the underground mass transit system, just a short walk away from the Chigang Pagoda. A bright skyline outlines the Pagoda's white walls and red, terra cotta balconies separating each of the many levels populated with doorways and windows. At the base, four statues lift the tower, representing witnesses to communications between China and the Western World.

Surrounding the Pagoda, lush green grass spreads throughout the park. Thick ferns, thriving in the subtropical climate, spread their dark green leaves, and trees with bright red foliage set off the landscape. Walking on smooth, sand colored paths, you pass dark purple bushes with bright red berries, low hedges trimmed in artful designs and red, dark green or yellow ground cover.

Across from the Pagoda, you can see a modern, architectural wonder being built. The Guangzhou TV and Sightseeing Tower, set to complete in late 2009, is a tall, twisting structure built to look like latticework. Within and without the tower, visitors will find observatory decks, revolving restaurants, exhibition spaces, shops, an open-air skywalk and outdoor gardens, among others.

As you stroll through the park, you can find scenic spots with interesting names like "Inkstone Pond" and "Waterfall Landscape". The names alone might spark interest, but the actual views are breathtaking. The man-made waterfall is a living landscape, falling several feet before hitting the water below. Surrounding it is another stretch of geometric shapes made of trimmed bushes, flowers of varying colors planted for the most pleasing view and decorative walkways.

Further on, or up in Chigang Pagoda, you can look out on Pearl River. The wide, rippling body of water reflects peach colored sunsets, the lights shining of reflective buildings and the colorful boats that use it. Quiet, peaceful and beautiful, the entire scene calls for rest and relaxation.

Winding through the rest of the park are small areas of surprising serenity. The Winding Water Pavilion gives you a moment to reflect on everything you've seen, while the Ancient Seashore allows you a glimpse of what has been and what can be. Ending the visit back at the stairs leading down to the transit system, your mind will be full of all the natural and man-made wonders you've seen, leaving a lasting impression of the Park's beauty.
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