Our train did not depart until 2 pm, so we had the morning to spend in the city. I had saved a treat for this morning - a visit to the Lan Su Chinese Garden which was just 2 blocks from our hotel. It is a walled Chinese garden enclosing a full city block, roughly 40,000 sq. ft. in the Chinatown area. The idea for such a garden originated in 1980, but it did not achieve fruition until 2000. The garden was built by 65 artisans from Suzhou, sister city to Portland, and completed in 14 months at a cost of $12.8 million. Walking through the walls into the gardens is a breath of fresh air from the aging, dilapidated buildings in Chinatown. It is hard to imagine so many interesting structures and water features tucked into a city block.
Included are a courtyard of tranquility, a terrace, koi pond, a scholar’s study, a waterfall, a tea room, etc. The photos speak for themselves.
The rockery is designed to appear as rugged mountains in the distance, complete with waterfalls.
Painted boat in misty rain to resemble boat from Suzhou to Portland.
Doorways and windows throughout the garden form views within views, creating the illusion of infinite space within a single block.
And some overviews of the landscape.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel and had lunch again at Mother’s Bistro and headed to the train station, a rather large and iconic structure for today’s needs, but architecturally interesting.
We spent time in a comfortable business class waiting room before we boarded at 2:00 pm and settled into our little bedroom for the next 18 hours. We discovered they were still serving lunch and it was included with our ticket — so we headed to the dining car for another lunch. Because of the small space, people are always seated with another two-some. We joined a woman doctor and her partner from Portland. Lovely women and good conversation.
The rest of the day seemed to pass quickly as we looked out the window at the passing scenery, napped and read.
There were some beautiful views of the Lookout Point Reservoir and the mountains along the Blue River.
We had dinner in the dining room with another delightful couple — Walter and Sanae, who gave us some excellent travel suggestions as well as good conversation.
There was a golden sunset along the tracks in Chemult as we turned in early.
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