Nan Lian Garden: A Journey through the Six Senses

Name: Nan Lian Garden: A Journey through the Six Senses
Brand: VoiceMap
SKU: 210
Price: 5.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.8 (30 reviews)
Author: Michaela and Tian

(30 reviews)

Hong Kong audio tour: Nan Lian Garden: A Journey through the Six Senses

This is a 0.4mi walking tour

It takes an average of 35 mins to complete.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong (China)

$5.99

Access all 12 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

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About the Tour

A walk at the Nan Lian Garden is more than a physical exercise or a tourist mission. It is a journey through the six senses, and you will be invited to explore it by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and thinking. In this tour, Michaela and Tian will not only show you around this Tang Dynasty style garden, but also share the stories and philosophy behind its beauty.

Tour Producer

Michaela and Tian

1 tour

Although Michaela comes from Austria and Tian is a Beijinger, the two have many things in common: they are multilingual; they are interested in different cultures and passionate about Chinese culture; they love sharing what they know with people and enjoy learning from people. They are very excited to join the global community of Voicemap, where they can tell their stories and hear stories from all over the world!

Preview Location

Location 1

Shadow Wall and Entrance Gate

You're now standing at the main entrance to the Nan Lian Garden. This Garden is a typical display of the traditional Chinese art of "how to build a garden"! Chinese Gardens are like a miniature version of the natural world. What we have outside in nature, like rivers, mountai... You're now standing at the main entrance to the Nan Lian Garden. This Garden is a typical display of the traditional Chinese art of "how to build a garden"! Chinese Gardens are like a miniature version of the natural world. What we have outside in nature, like rivers, mountains, valleys, oceans, and lakes, we can find in the garden in a mini size.

Now, please take a seat at the chairs in front of the main entrance. I would like to give you a short introduction to the garden and get you prepared for what you are going to see and experience.

My name is Michaela and I am a volunteer guide at the garden. My friend Tian and I are very honoured to be your tour guides today. It's a short walk, but we'll take about an hour to explore, so you can truly experience the garden's beauty.

So when entering a garden we go back to nature, we forget about the outside world. Look around where you're sitting now, outside the garden. It's not very attractive, only with busy highways and main roads. Once we pass the Shadow Wall here and walk through the gate, we'll be in a completely different world.

But before we step into that world, let me tell you a bit about it. Although it might look ancient, Nan Lian Garden is completely new. It opened in 2006! It was built by the Chi Lin Nunnery, located to the north of the garden, and funded by public donations. But it has been built in a typical Tang Dynasty style. There are no gardens left in China from the Tang Dynasty. All the gardens you see nowadays are from later dynasties. Each dynasty had their own style. In fact, each emperor or high official had their own garden built according to their own design. Nan Lian Garden is an attempt to recreate a scene from the Tang Dynasty.

How do you recognize if a garden is in Tang Dynasty style? Well, the answer is revealed mainly on the buildings and structures inside the garden, which are all made of timber. I'll tell you more about that as we walk along. My name is Tian and I'm very happy to be taking this walk and exploring the philosophy and stories behind the garden with you.

The wall protecting the main entrance is called the 'shadow wall', where the setting sun casts a shadow over the gate.

The wall is made of timber, birch wood to be precise. It forms the border between the outside world and the garden, reminding people that they are entering an important location. Yes, shadow walls can only be constructed in front of important buildings.

Before we go, let me explain how this will work. VoiceMap uses your location to play commentary automatically. I'll give you directions as we go, and there will be some silence from time to time. If you get lost, you can take a look at the map, but otherwise you can just put your phone away and focus on the beauty of the garden.

Let's go towards the gate, but before we enter, stand in front of the main gate.

The main entrance gate is called a 'black lintel gate'. If you look up to the top you can see the decorations. In the Tang dynasty, only high officials of the fifth rank or above were allowed to have a gate like this. The details of the gate are amazing. On top of the beams you can see the clouds, the sun and the moon. On top of the columns there are lotus flowers.

So let's get going, through the gate into the garden. I'll meet you inside! Remember, as you leave behind the unpleasant outside surroundings, you also leave behind your daily worries and stress. The garden is here for you to relax and enjoy yourself, and reconnect with nature using your six senses. Read More

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

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Major Landmarks

Chinese Timber Architecture Gallery

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Kwun Tong Bypass, Ha Yuen Leng, Hong Kong
Total distance

634m
Final location
Diamond Hill, Hong Kong
Distance back to start location

80.63m

Directions to Starting Point

Take the MTR to Diamond Hill station and take exit C2. Follow the path next to the Hollywood Plaza uphill and you'll see signposts of the Nan Lian Garden at the traffic light. Cross the road and walk straight, you'll soon see the entrance of the garden. Our tour will start right at the entrance right here. There are some chairs in front the entrance, where you can sit and listen to our introduction.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Chi Lin Vegetarian (Reservation recommend), Song Cha Xie Teahouse, Chi Lin Nunnery.

Best time of day

The garden is open from 7 am to 9 pm every day. The galleries, restaurants and shops are open for a shorter time during the day. The garden is less busy in the morning and evening, but is a place of peace and quiet in general.

Precautions

Because of the precious old trees in the garden, no eating or drinking is allowed in public area. The rubbish might attract insects, which can damage the trees. But there are places where you can go inside to enjoy refreshments.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Questions and Reviews

4.8 / 5

30 Ratings

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