All of the gardens were filled with lanterns shaped like the insects and flowers found there.
There is a beautiful lake with a pavilion in the middle and, of course, lanterns floating on the surface.
In several areas there were giant lantern displays. By custom most of the faces were covered until the official opening and lighting on January 20th.
Each path we walked was decorated and the trees were filled with even more lanterns.
As we neared the main gate we caught our first glimpse of the centerpiece of this Lunar New Year.
The main gate was a tribute to the Year of the Dragon as well as an enormous vase with dragons on the side.
But by far the centerpiece of the entire park was the Dragon.
His length was impressive and when you took into account all of the undulations and turns he took, it became nearly impossible to estimate his true length. Our best guess is well over two football fields. But what was even more impressive was his construction. Upon closer inspection, you could see that he was made entirely of plates.
And even closer inspection showed that all of the plates were held in place with common string and each was in a star pattern.
I can only imagine the work that went into its construction and how spectacular this will look once it is lit.
As we continued on we came to a quieter section of the park that was carved into the hills. In this areas groups played games and visited while the children found their own fun.
There is a rock carving of the five fairies who came to Guangzhou after many pleas from the people because of a series of natural disasters. Each fairy helped in a different aspect of life and when the village recovered the fairies disappeared.
The next day five goats appeared and the villagers believed that they embodied the spirits of the five fairies.
Our one regret was that the lanterns would not be lit during our visit. Oh how wonderful it would be to see them in all of their splendor.
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