The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens were one of our favourite places on our first visit to Hong Kong last year, so it was somewhere we decided to revisit very early on in our trip this time. It is such a surprising oasis of peace right in the city centre amongst all the skyscrapers. We did not spend much time there this visit as we had a couple of other destinations planned for the same day and had after all seen it all before albeit at a different time of the year. Although if I lived in Hong Kong I would certainly spend many happy hours there with my camera, there is so much to see. If you want to see more photographs of the Gardens taken last Spring you are welcome to peruse my Flickr Album China 2010 - Hong Kong Volume 4
The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens ( 香港動植物公園) is one of the oldest zoological and botanical centres in the world. It occupies an area of 5.6 hectares at Mid-levels, on the northern slope of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. Founded in 1871, its first stage had been opened to the public in 1864. The Zoological part of the name was in fact only added in 1975 when the Gardens were renamed to reflect the increased number of zoological exhibits.
The park was previously named Bing Tau Fa Yuen (「兵頭花園」) "Bing Tau" literally means "the head of the soldiers" or the "Commander-in-Chief". Some said it was named such way by the Chinese because it was once the private garden of the governor. Other said Bing Tau was just the phonetic transliteration of the first two syllables of the word botanical.
At the southern entrance to the gardens, at Upper Albert Road, is a memorial arch dedicated to the Chinese who died assisting the Allies during the two World Wars. The inscription on the lintel reads: "In Memory of the Chinese who died loyal to the Allied cause in the Wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945". The granite arch in the shape of a paifang was erected in 1928. Reference to the Second World War was added later.
Memorial Arch
By far the easiest way of letting you view a large selection of photos easily is by producing some collages, the photos can be viewed individually in larger format in my Flickr Album by those of you interested in more detail. Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
The photograph in the middle of this second collage is a bronze statue of King George VI which was erected in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of British colonial rule over Hong Kong (1841–1941).
More can be learnt about The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens by visiting Wikipedia and the Official Website. Also lots more information at 
The complete set of my photos can be viewed in the Flickr Album Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
I can't believe we haven't been to these gardens! I am going to have to make sure we go there next time we are in Honk Kong.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and great blog Linda!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
On your next holiday please come to Kuala Lumpur
ReplyDeleteOMG!!! The Botanical gardens look amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteI bet you went mad at the sight of those lush flowers!!!
Your collages are wonderful Lindy. I'll look forward to seeing where else you traveled.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic blog Linda , and your collages are wonderful .. well done .. will put it on my blog roll too :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Lindy! Here I am!
ReplyDeleteI love the last two collage. What a treat it must have been, to have seen so many beautiful things, all in one place!
BUONA DOMENICA!
ANNA
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Beautiful collages of some gorgeous flowers! You're right, that seems to be the simplest way to quickly show a large number of photos...
ReplyDeleteI only spent a day in Hong Kong, a "transit" day on my way to Auckland. Had I known about this place I would have gone, I LOVE Botanical Gardens and Zoological parks! It's the biologist in me... :p
Simply wonderful. This was a trip down memory lane for me as these gardens were my 'local park' when I lived in Hong Kong (as a child) during the early 1960's. I can see that I have many more Hong Kong posts to read and enjoy - I shall have to ration myself to one a day rather than give into the greedy impulse to rush through them!
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