When Old Men Plant Trees .....

Reflections Lok Kwan Street Park.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

Old Greek Proverb

I always find lots to do in Hong Kong, but it has been harder recently. We have had storm after storm. A force ten typhoon one week, followed by a black rain storm that raged for hours and wreaked havoc the next. There were floods, landslides and countless trees were blown down. Now while the clean up is going on, many beaches have closed and many hikes are out of bounds. Hopefully, things will be restored to normal soon, but there's a lot to clear away and much to repair.

In between all the terrible weather, we managed one or two swims. We also had the occasional meal out: such as in The Chippy, a relatively new British restaurant in Discovery Bay. Peter was extremely pleased to find they sold chicken balti pie, which he often used to have at half time at Walsall matches. We also ate in our usual Bounty Bar where, to our horror, they told us they no longer sell Estrella, but to our delight, they now sell Sapporo and Singha. Disloyal people that we are, I think we just like beer in general rather than a particular kind.

Peter with his balti pie.

Fish and chips.

Peter with his Sapporo.

I was desperate for a bit of greenery though and thought rather than trying to find a trail that was open, it might be easier to find some new parks. I came across a video for Lok Kwan Street Park and when I found it was right next to Nam Cheong Park, I decided to visit both.

To get to Nam Cheong Park, I took the MTR to Nam Cheong Station and exited via exit D1. I have been meaning to visit this park for a long time and had the idea in my head that to visit it I would have to cross major roads. This proved to be wrong. I exited the station, walked up the slope, turned right and crossed one busy road at the lights and was at the entrance to Nam Cheong Park within a couple of minutes.

Sign for Nam Cheong Park.

Map of Nam Cheong Park.

This park is not as ornate as many others here, but it's certainly pleasant enough. Apparently in spring it is a great place to view golden trumpet trees. These line the stoney path in the middle of the park. I must try to remember to come back here in spring. Nam Cheong Park covers around 3.83 hectares of reclaimed land in the district of Sham Shui Po and was first opened to the public in 1998.

Near the entrance of the park there is an ornate stone pillar. There were shady benches and tables here and a group of elderly Chinese men were busy either playing or watching a game of chess.

Stone pillar.

I had a choice of paths and decided to head right which took me to a children's play area. As I continued walking, I noticed a set of stairs heading upwards. I climbed up to see where they went and discovered they led to a foot bridge across a major motorway.

I came back down into the park and wandered around the outside of its spacious green lawns. There were some lovely flowers here.

Chinese ixora.

Chinese ixora.

Chinese ixora.

Hibiscus.

Foliage.

Unfortunately, there were quite a few trees that had fallen down in the storms. These were cordoned off with warning tape.

Fallen trees.

Fallen trees.

Fallen trees.

At the far end of the park there was a community garden which I could look at but not enter. I assume this is like the community garden in Discovery Bay where you pay to rent a plot then grow your own vegetables in it.

Community garden.

Trellis.

Despite the fact that there are soaring residential buildings and busy roads all around it, Nam Cheong Park is incredibly peaceful.

Tall buildings and lush lawns.

Looking down on the jogging track.

I love parks in Hong Kong and Mainland China, because they are full of life. This one had a large group of ladies singing together in one corner. There were lots of people jogging and some people on bicycles.

I decided to walk all the way around the park. At one point I stopped on a bench and tried to photograph a bird across from me. Instead of flying away, it flew over to the tree next to me and posed for me. I took some pictures and when I left it came with me. It was quite funny, either it thought I had food for it or it was just very keen to be in my blog.

My fine feathered friend. I think he is a black collared starling.

My fine feathered friend.

When I had finished with Nam Cheong Park, I crossed Sham Mong Road at the lights and headed towards Lok Kwan Street Park. On the way I passed a little sitting out area called Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Sign for Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

I almost missed Lok Kwan Street Park. It was down a side street and not that noticeable from the road I was on, but from a distance I saw what looked like a park sign and went to investigate.

Lok Kwan Street Park Sign.

Map of Lok Kwan Street Park.

Lok Kwan Street Park is very small but it makes up for lack of size in simply being really, really beautiful. It's a Chinese style park with a large central pond surrounded by flower lined paths and poetically named Chinese style buildings. These include: The Hall of Companionship, The Pavilion of Benevolence, The Pavilion of Wisdom and The Pavilion Facing the Winds. Ironically The Pavilion Facing the Winds was the only part that was roped off due to typhoon damage. I guess it's a pretty accurate name.

The Pavilion Facing The Winds.

I quickly realized that I had come in by a side entrance and that the park had an impressive gateway guarded by lions on one side.

Entry gate.

Entry gate.

Lion guard.

I guess The Hall of Companionship is called this because there are lots of places to sit here and you can also sing or dance or do Tai Chi and that you might do these things in the company of others.

Seats inside the Hall of Companionship.

The Hall of Companionship viewed across the pond.

The Hall of Companionship viewed across the pond.

The Hall of Companionship viewed from a bridge.

The Pavilion of Benevolence is the services building of the park. I don't think it is open to the public. For a place of benevolence it had rather a lot of 'Dont' signs, such as: 'Don't Spit', 'Don't Gamble', 'Don't Litter', 'Don't post any fliers here'.

Stone lantern and path leading to The Pavilion of Benevolence.

The Pavilion of Benevolence.

The Pavilion of Benevolence viewed across the pond.

I'm guessing The Pavilion of Wisdom may be called this as it's a peaceful and quiet place to sit and read.

The Pavilion of Wisdom.

The Pavilion of Wisdom.

Pavilion of Wisdom.

I walked around the outside and also crossed some of the bridges in the centre. There were lots of people sitting on shady seats using the park's free wifi or exercising in some of the park's open areas.

Bridge over the stream.

Wandering around the pond.

Plants by the stream.

Stream.

There were lots of colourful flowers.

Flower.

Flowers and pond.

The pond was teeming with fish and turtles.

Turtle.

Turtles.

It's hard to believe there's a city all around you here, but there is. It's possible to glimpse it as you stroll along the walkways and look through the different shaped windows.

Walking round the park's walkways.

Reflection in a pond.

Through the window.

Through the window.

When I had finished looking at the park I noticed there was a Wellcome Supermarket across the street in Metro Harbour View Plaza. I went in on my never ending hunt for honey hoops for Peter. We were in luck they had six boxes. I bought three of them then headed home via Marks and Spencer's in Tsing Yi for even more shopping.

The shopping centre had a maritime theme going on.

The shopping centre had a maritime theme going on.