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Goldfish Diary
2003/2
Goldfish
World - The Goldfish Pagoda (Hong Kong)
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In this issue, we take you to
Ocean Park – Hong Kong Island to see the beautiful exhibits and
artifacts in the Goldfish Pagoda.
Metropolis
Hong Kong - 7 million people and well known for good food and
bargain shopping. For the goldfish fanatics, the excitement of
visiting Hong Kong is more than these - Hong Kong is goldfish
country! The auspicious goldfish or “Kum Yu” in the local
Cantonese dialect is synonymous with “excess gold”. Not
surprisingly, the goldfish is the most popular pet fish in Hong
Kong as it symbolises prosperity.
The Goldfish Pagoda is one of the many
attractions of the Ocean Park. One easy way to visit the Ocean
Park is to take the MTR (Mass Transit Rapid), Hong Kong’s
efficient rail system to the Admiralty Station. Head for the bus
terminal to buy a day ticket for Ocean Park that also includes
the return trip by bus back to the terminal. With this ticket,
you also get to enjoy all the theme parks and joy rides in the
amusement park. |
Goldfish Pagoda entrance |
Goldfish rubbish
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Ocean
Park spans more than 20 acres, the largest leisure park in
Southeast Asia and is divided into 2 areas by a hilly
terrain. Depending on where you alight, you either end up at
the main entrance or the Tai Shue Wan entrance on the other
side of the hill. Grab hold of a map at the entrance and
orientate yourself. The Goldfish Pagoda is situated near the
main entrance of Ocean Park. If you end up on the Tai Shue
Wan entrance like what I did, not to worry, enjoy yourself
with all the fun rides before taking the spectacular cable
car ride to the main entrance area.
The day
promises to have lots of fun at the Ocean Park - the
amusement park with roller coaster rides, Frying Swing, Mine
Train, and the dolphin performances at Ocean Theatre. The
Marine Land Theme Park with a huge shark aquarium, Giant
Panda Habitat, Butterfly House, Dinosaur Discovery Trail…
and before I drifted to make this article looks like a
travel promotion, be sure to dedicate at least half a day in
Ocean Park. You would not be bored with all the
entertainment and sightseeing activities catered to people
of all ages!
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Let’s
understand the brief history of the Goldfish Pagoda: It was set
up in the 80s and was the brainchild of aquarist Johnny
Chin who was also its first curator.
Chin selected the goldfish because he wanted to present a
Chinese-style exhibition to the
overseas tourist. Everything in the
pagoda were carefully planned and designed to create an oriental
favor: from the carefully selected colored stones to the Chinese
calligraphy relating about each variety beside the tanks and up
to the Chinese paintings on the ceilings.
The Goldfish
Pagoda consists of the main entrance terrace and the exit pagoda
joined by a corridor supported with bright red pillars. Along
the corridors, live goldfish exhibits are displayed in glass
tanks of different shapes and sizes mounted on the wall and
framed by specially designed wooden frames. Beautiful lanterns
with goldfish paintings lit up the corridor to create a
soothing atmosphere. Faint
Chinese background music accompanies the visitors as they admire
the exhibits.
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blue aCorridor |
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Fancy display
tanks |
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fan shaped
display tanks |
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Within the
“pictures”, nature’s masterpiece comes to live. Side-view
goldfish varieties were displayed in the wall-mounted tanks
while top-view varieties like the bubble-eye and celestial were
displayed in the tanks with glass top panels. Eight-inches Orandas of various color combinations graze a big rectangular
tank. A pair of extraordinary short tail moore in rich black and
orange hue decorates one of the side wall panels. Translucent
bubbles of the bubble eye goldfish wobble in the specially
illuminated top view panel. Lively Shubunkins from the United
Kingdom played happily in their new home. Rare varieties like
the albino fantail and blue pompon are also displayed.
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The
exit pagoda leads to a wooden bridge that snakes around
a central rock garden pond, where the common goldfish
dwelled - the ancestor of the fanciful exhibits within.
The Goldfish Pagoda, reeking oriental favor nostalgic to
a thousand years of goldfish culture, is a must-go for
all goldfish fanciers visiting Hong Kong. |
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Pair of rare blue and brown pompons |
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We welcome you to send your
comments to
GreenNgoldSG@yahoo.com
or sign on our
Guest Book. To see other
articles in our goldfish diary, let's go back to our
diary home page.
23 July 2003 |
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Short tail moor |
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Sakura wakin |
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Exit pagoda |
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