Forbidden Gardens.....Sad.

I wanted to share the Forbidden Gardens with everyone.  The sad part is that they are closing down for good.  The reason...To make way for a highway.   It was so peaceful.   It looked like at one time it was very pretty.  I guess knowing that a highway was coming thru, they just stopped taking care of it....

When you first walk into the Forbidden Gardens



When we first walk up you see the same statue you see in the real Forbidden City in China.  Mr. Ira Poon a business man from Hong Kong wanted to share the cultural with people in the United States.  So, he built the Forbidden Gardens.

This is the bridge leading in to the front of the Museum.  When you look on each side there are these miniature houses on the banks of the lake.  

Each on of the miniature houses were 1:12 scale.  They were so detailed and some of them sat on marble bases.  They were scattered all over the banks of the lake. 

Calming of the heart.

This was the first thing you see before you enter the Imperial City.  It was so pretty.  You could see inside the buildings and see tiny people going about their daily chores. There was running water over the small rocks.  It was calming of the heart it's name sake.

I'm not sure what each building was made of.  You could walk up to each building and look at it up close.  I was told that Ira Poon wanted Chinese craftsmen to come over to the United States and build each one of the buildings.  But the Chinese Government said no. So, he had them built there and shipped to the United States.  Not sure if that is true or not. 

One of the many very amazing palaces.  Hundreds of solders stood around each palace.  The whole Forbidden City sat under at very large open air rodeo barn.  To protect most of it from the harsh heat of the Texas sun. 

Many of the solders that stood around each palace had either been broken or stolen or knocked down.  Still it was amazing to see hundreds of them everywhere.  They looked like they were ceramic.  Each one had a face and long robes. Some were holding weapons or flags. 

This was behind the Forbidden Gardens.  It was like a grave yard of houses.  Covered with grass clippings and weather had taken a toll on each of them.  This is just a few that had been discarded and left to rot. 

This was the best part.  The sun had come out and you could see the Terra Cotta Army of the First Emperor.  There are 8,000 Warriors that sat in two pits. The picture above is the larger of the two pits.

Until next time.
Love
MMM