This week, Roy wanted to visit somewhere beautiful in the great outdoors. Roy loves the beautiful bush surrounds of his home and of course which are to be found elsewhere, but he also loves the more manicured beauty of carefully tended gardens. The question was, where to go. I reminded Roy that he had been meaning to visit the Chang Lai Yuan Chinese Gardens in Doonside for some time, and we decided this was the perfect opportunity to do so.
If you would like to visit the Chang Lai Yuan Chinese Gardens, they are located in the Nurragingy Reserve on Knot Road in Doonside, not far from Blacktown itself. The garden is located near the Currawong, Magpie and Ibis picnic areas in the park, and are a beautiful oasis with a stunning water feature and plenty of room to enjoy a picnic, a stroll or just relax and enjoy the view.
The Chang Lai Yuan Chinese Gardens are a beautiful place to spend time relaxing and soaking in the culture and history of Chinese garden style. The gardens were cooperatively designed, forging links between Blacktown City Council and the Liaocheng Municipal Government in China. Liaocheng, which is in the Shandong Province of China, is Blacktown’s sister city and the garden is a visible sign of their friendship and support. The name of the garden itself is very significant, being a combination of the old name for Liaocheng and the Chinese name for Blacktown. Before Liaocheng became known by its current name it was known as Dongchang while Blacktown, when translated into Chinese, is called Bu Lai Ke Cheng. The word Yuan means garden.
The garden features many of the traditional elements of Ming and Qing Dynasty gardens, and the architecture within the garden also reflects this era of design. The garden includes a stunning gateway, a beautiful seven arch bridge over the lake, a Light Mountain pavilion and a waterfall gazebo. Each of these features is essential to the overall design of the garden, and the significance of the various elements is clearly explained in Bilingual signs which are dotted around the garden.