Portland's Classical Chinese Garden, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, was built in Souzhou, China and assembled on-site in Portland. It was a very special treat to visit our Sister City in China and see a few of the gardens that inspired our own. While the form and style of these old gardens were familiar, I felt a very different spirit that only age can bring. The above photos are from "Master of the Nets" or "Fishermen's" Garden.
At our next garden, curators were documenting carved stone panels of calligraphy and brush painting. In no more than 3 minutes, the man in the left photo, with a deft staccato rhythm, covered his paper in powdered charcoal. The result is lying on the ground in the right photo.
Ending our day with a meal of fine Souzhou cuisine, we were all delighted with the light, fresh flavors and textures - so different from the heavier, meatier cuisine of Fouzhou.
