Tigers, Rabbits, Monkeys and Birds.

Chinese New Year Flowers.

Saturday 21st of January will be the Eve of Chinese New Year and by Sunday the 22nd we will have left The Year of the Tiger to enter The Year of the Rabbit. Naturally, I had to have a look at some of the displays and decorations that have been put up to welcome in the new year.

I began in Discovery Bay where I took some night time shots of a few new year displays, before revisiting them by day. These are not too far from my house. One of the figures depicted in this display is Caishen, god of fortune. People pray to him in the hope that their new year will be a prosperous one. He is usually surrounded by boat shaped bars of gold. Near him there were several waving cats. These are Japanese rather than Chinese, but are also believed to be lucky. There were also branches laden with spring blossom as Chinese New Year marks the beginning of spring.

Display to welcome in The Year of the Rabbit.

Caishen by day.

Waving cats by night.

Waving cats.

Reds and golds are lucky colours.

Next day, I decided to head to Hong Kong Island. I had some shopping to do, so I combined my trip with a look at more Chinese New Year displays and a trip to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

I began by looking at the displays in the IFC building. Their displays depicted The Garden of Auspicious Delights. This had lots of beautiful flowers and butterflies.

Tree weighed down with blossom and wishes for good fortune.

Trees with blossom.

Trees with blossom.

The Garden of Auspicious Delights.

Flowers in The Garden of Auspicious Delights.

Butterflies in The Garden of Auspicious Delights.

Kumquat tree.

I then walked to Central Market where I knew there would be a Chinese New Year Flower Market. This sells orchids, bamboo, kumquat trees and much more. There were also lots of hanging lanterns around.

Central Market.

Central Market.

The Secret Garden Flower Market.

Orchids. These symbolize fertility.

Orchids.

Kumquats. They look like the sun and symbolize positive energy.

Kumquat Stalls.

Kumquats and telephone boxes.

Lucky bamboo symbolizes strength..

I always thought this plant was just a heap of lemons placed on top of each other, but apparently it is a real plant known in English as Nipple Fruit or Cow's Udder or Apple of Sodom. Apparently it symbolizes the togetherness and good health of different generations. Don't eat this one; it is poisonous.

Lanterns in Central Market.

I then wandered up Pottinger Street, also known as Stone Slab Street. This was decorated with lanterns and lined with stalls selling Chinese New Year goods.

Chinese New Year lanterns on Pottinger Street, Central, Hong Kong.

Chinese New Year outfits.

Market stall selling goods for the Year of the Rabbit.

Market stall selling goods for the Year of the Rabbit.

I had decided to visit The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. I have been here several times, but a lot of it was closed during COVID. Now most of it is open, but there's a lot of repair work going on. It had certainly got into the spirit of Chinese New Year, as parts of it were beautifully decorated.

Sign for the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens was the first park ever created in Hong Kong. It was opened to the public in 1871. It started out as a Botanical Gardens, but since 1876 it has been building up a collection of animals, too. These consist of mammals, reptiles and birds.

The gardens occupy 5.6 hectares and consist of two parts, separated by a road. The eastern part, also known as The Old Garden, has aviaries and a fountain terrace. The western part, or the New Garden, is mainly home to mammals and reptiles.

There are also several historical structures here including: old stone pillars, a fountain, an old flight of steps, the Pavilion dating from 1866, which was once a band stand, the Chinese War Memorial, an inscribed archway dating from 1928 and a bronze statue of King George VI.

I began my explorations at the meerkats enclosure. I could only see two meerkats inside, though there are probably more. One was right up the top of its enclosure, standing on its hind legs and the other was running around in front of the enclosure window.

Meerkats' Home Sign.

Meerkats' models.

Meerkat art.

Pensive looking meerkat.

This one largely stayed still.

This one, on the other hand, was very active.

I then had a look at the mammals and reptiles. They are not easy to see as they are in wire mesh cages, surrounded by re-enforced glass and behind plastic barriers. It's very difficult to photograph them. My only decent photos make them look like they are in a tiny cage right up against the wire, but that isn't the case, they actually have quite a lot of space to move around in, though I'm sure they would still rather be free.

Just like at the meerkats there was some Monkey Art, too.

The most memorable animals here were the extremely active gibbons, the orangutans and the white faced sakis. Perhaps the easiest to photograph were the tortoises as they don't tend to run out of your shot

This gibbon was very acrobatic and fast.

There were two orangutans. Someone came and fed them while I was there.

This is a White-faced Saki.

This is a Common Squirrel Monkey.

Various types of tortoises are the only reptiles in this zoo.

There were quite a few more monkeys, lemurs and sloths, but they were too difficult to photograph, or in their homes asleep. Honestly, in terms of photography a visit here is hard work.

Strangely enough, when I came here, at least twice, with my class as a teacher, I remember the monkeys being incredibly noisy and this time amazingly it all seemed very quiet, until I went to the herb garden higher up the hill than the monkey enclosure and a huge cacophony of noise started up, not sure what sparked it off, but it went on for a long time. The herb garden had information about what each herb could be used for and a pond filled with colourful fish.

The herb garden.

The herb garden.

Colourful fish.

I then crossed the road to the older part of the gardens. I believe you can also cross through an underpass if you want to avoid traffic, though the road was not particularly busy. Near a little cafe there were lots of animal models all done up for celebrating Chinese New Year. These were a hell of a lot easier to photograph than the real animals.

Orangutan model.

They should have read the no climbing label. Haha!.

Gorilla model.

All ready to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Flamingo model.

Chinese Hardy Banana Plants..

There is a wonderful fountain in this area which was surrounded by flowers and animal models. Some of the trees here were quite autumnal.

Fountain.

Fountain.

Model by the fountain celebrating twenty-five years since the handover.

There were lots of beautiful flowers in this area.

Arum Lilies.

Bougainvillea.

Foxgloves.

Rose.

I wandered up towards the aviaries past some colourful paintings celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong. There was an arched walkway covered in orchids.

Artwork for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the handover.

Artwork for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the handover.

I wonder if this is a leopard cat. They are native to Hong Kong.

Orchid.

Orchids.

Orchids.

Orchid Archway.

Orchid Archway.

I took a look at the old pavilion which used to be a bandstand. It had several historical photos. Nearby there was a beautiful camelia garden. I noticed that this park had many stone benches with animal statues at each end. Some of them were quite cute.

The Pavilion.

Cat bench.

Animal bench with rabbits.

Bench with bears at each end.

Camelia.

Camelias.

At the top of the stairs in this part of the garden there was a statue of King George VI. This statue was created by Gilbert Ledward, a British sculptor and was erected in 1958.

Statue of King George VI.

I managed to get reasonably good photos of some of the birds, though again their enclosures did not make them easy to see. In some of the enclosures I managed to align my camera so that the wire mesh around the cages disappeared.

Blue-Fronted Amazon Parrot.

Red-billed Hornbill.

Black crowned crane.

Black crowned crane.

Speckled pigeon.

Yellow-casqued Hornbill.

Feeding the Yellow-casqued Hornbill.

Red crowned crane.

Red-crowned Crane.

After looking at the birds, I found a little otter which I was determined to get a good photo of. I stood there for ages the first time, and returned later and took picture after picture, but he was either running around, swimming, hiding or there was so much reflection from the glass, or someone else pushed in. It was pretty much impossible. I'm putting up my better pictures anyway, as I spent so long trying to get them. I know he is blurry. I have sharpened him and colour adjusted him. I spent so long on him, he's staying.

The otter who couldn't stay still.

The otter.

The otter.

One of the best bits of the old garden enclosures is the flamingo pool, because you can actually go inside and be next to the birds. There are also ducks, geese and blacksmith plovers inside here, too. I noticed later when I was outside that there's a lovely waterfall in here.

Flamingos.

Flamingos.

Flamingos.

Flamingo waterfalls.

Blacksmith plover.

Hawaiian Goose.

Hawaiian Goose.

From the flamingo enclosure, I could see into an enclosure that contained what looked like small kangaroos, due to renovations there did not seem to be a way to get close to these.

Wallabies.

Wallabies.

Looking all around the garden was beautiful with lovely scenery and pleasant views.

Scenery around the park.

Scenery in the gardens.

There are lots of beautiful little gardens scattered all around. I had a look in the Native Species Garden.

Native species garden.

Native species garden.

Then I descended the old staircase and had a look in the Bamboo Garden.

The top of the historic stairway.

Entrance to the bamboo garden.

Bamboo garden.

Bamboo garden.

From the Bamboo Garden, I headed down the hill towards the exit. On the way I came to the lovely Chinese War Memorial. This was erected in 1928 and commemorates the Chinese who fought and died in World War I.

The Chinese War Memorial.

The Chinese War Memorial.

Next to the war memorial there is a seating area with a view over Government House where the Chief Executive lives.

Overlooking Government House.

From here I walked down to Marks and Spencer's where I had come to shop. I passed Saint Joseph's Church, the Helena May Building and Saint John's Cathedral. The Helena May Building is a private members’ social club. It opened in 1916.

Saint Joseph's Church.

Saint Joseph's Church.

The Helena May Building.

Saint John's Cathedral dates from 1849, making it the oldest Anglican church in the Far East. During World Wat II, it was occupied by the Japanese, who used it as a social club. I was very pleased to see the Cathedral open, as it hasn't been on my last few visits. I was able to go in to the peaceful church surroundings and offer up a prayer before going home.

Saint John's Cathedral.

Inside Saint John's Cathedral.

Stained Glass Window in Saint John's Cathedral.

Floor inside Saint John's Cathedral.

Banner Inside Saint John's Cathedral

Chairs inside Saint John's Cathedral.

Flowers inside Saint John's Cathedral.

Near the Cathedral there is a memorial cross for the soldiers who died in World War I This was unveiled by Governor Sir Reginald Stubbs in 1921

Cross outside Saint John's Cathedral.

After visiting the Cathedral, I got my shopping done then headed home.