Shiny (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

This week's Photo Hunt theme was one of those on the 2007 Photo Hunt Themes list that I worried for a time that I couldn't think up or find a good photo for. That is, until this past Tuesday (a public holiday here in Hong Kong on account of it being Tuen Ng -- aka the Dragon Boat Festival or Dumplings day!), when I decided to take my mother -- who was here visiting for a few days -- around different parts of the territory, including over to Diamond Hill to visit the sublime Chi Lin Nunnery and adjoining Nan Lian Garden.

I had previously been to the Tang Dynasty-style Chi Lin Nunnery a few years ago. So I knew what would be in store for me there in term of aesthetic delights. However, this was my -- not just my mother's -- first visit to the similarly Tang Dynasty-style Nan Lian Garden, which only officially opened to the public less than a year ago. Consequently, I had little inkling that I'd find a park that would be as beautiful as it is there; and one that came complete with a pagoda -- and one that was so shiny! -- as part of, plus dominating, its landscape.

In the manner of Beijing's Forbidden City and Summer Palace, this Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department-administered space has some bombastic-sounding names. For instance, the shiny Pagoda happens to be at the center of the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection Lotus Pond! And although that description of the place may be...um...a tad exaggerated, I'd actually freely grant that the LCSD at least does seem to be heading in the right direction as far as its mandate of "Quality Services for Quality Life" is concerned. :)