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Those of you familiar with Chinese gardens will know that the entrance is guarded by two lion-like beasts, one playing with a cub, the other with a ball. Here's Gale with one of them. The companion to this one is rather interesting in that it has a round ball in its mouth. The ball was carved out of the stone inside the mouth area of the statue--it is too large to be removed without breaking the teeth.

This isn't such a good shot, but it does show some of the inhabitants of the Chinese Gardens water system.

A short distance from the entrance is a large lacquered carving of two dragons vying over an ancient mystical dragon pearl.

No tranquil Chinese Garden would be complete without a large calm reflective pond over which are growing sleepy old willows. There are also a number of guardian stones scattered throughout the Chinese Gardens. These were chosen for their resemblance to certain animals. In this shot you can see the serpent and the turtle.

This decorative pillar contains (among other things) carvings of all the "year" animals (horse, boar, rat, monkey, dragon, rooster, etc... 12 in all).

A few shots of some of the lovely blooms in the Chinese Gardens!

This is a bit more than halfway thru the Chinese Gardens, but I think it's worth the bandwidth. The second half includes a few shots of us taking advantage of the small Chinese costume shop inside the Chinese Gardens... 

Australia Main || Sydney | RBG | Taronga 2 3 4 | CG 2 | Blue Mntns | Aquarium | Tour || Cairns