It was exciting for me to be able to ride the bus with the kids for their field trip in Chinatown. Pretty apt as it was Chinese New Year and this garden is a perfect place to know more about the Eastern culture.
Unlike before, where we just go and look around on our own. The kids are going on a tour to get to know about some interesting facts about the garden and it's features.
* Sun Yat Sen in stone
There is two Foo Dog guarding the entrance and it always comes in pair. I've always thought that these were lions or dragons but now I know better hehe!
* Tour guide Wendy explaining that there is a male and female
* Female Foo Dog…
The female apparently differs from the male in one aspect. The female one is doing something quite maternal and you can see that one paw is holding a baby while the male foo dog's paw is holding a globe.
The tour started outside the garden and into the streets of Chinatown...
* Busy streets of Chinatown
* A pair of dragons perched on the street signs
Next on the tour was going to the store where different medicinal plants and herbs were sold as an alternative medicine for different ailments. A strong smell greets you as soon as you open the door. It brings back memories when I used to go to these stores with my dad while I was a kid.
* A tray of sweets in a tray near the entrance
We also passed by lanterns adorning the stores. Red and golds… these are colours you can see everywhere during Chinese New Year.
* Lanterns
* A large abacus. Calculator of the past
* Gateway to another world
A break between tour was the lunch time which took place at Tinseltown Food area of the mall...
* Photo opportunity for the whole 1st graders…
Inside the garden, it was like being transformed to Old China. The garden was in the middle of the house and other areas were placed around the garden.
* Entrance to the Garden
A bit of story on how the zodiac animal got it's placement...
* Tour guide and Mrs Taylor act out the story with puppets
* Chinese Calligraphy
* * * * *
DR SUN YAT SEN
CHINESE CLASSICAL GARDEN
Vancouver, B.C.
No comments:
Post a Comment