Wish to enjoy stress-relieving moments while escaping the boisterous atmosphere of the Tet holidays? Why not go to the Japanese Garden, an art work on display at the HCMC Spring Flower Festival?

A view of Japanese Garden.

It is a collection of numerous small natural objects arranged neatly and in order in a 1,200 square meter garden. Among them are large rocks, weighing up to 30 tons, which look like small mountains and earth mounds in the shape of rolling hills. There are also bonsai trees that look like small, centuries old trees with large knotted trunks.

Ngo Chanh, owner of the garden, a Vietnamese living in Japan, said, “Most of the rocks have been collected from nature. Each of them has its own special appearance shaped by the results of years upon years of erosion caused by wind and water.”

The point, added Mr Chanh, is that the artist should know to how display the rock in its right position so that admirers can perceive the “soul” inside it.

There are also aesthetic art works made by some craftsmen that demonstrate the ingenuity of the makers. They are stone carved frogs and turtles, as well as objects that look like big round jars containing water where beautiful lotuses and water lilies rise.

Visitors, who get tired of walking along the way, can take a seat at one of 25 sets of coffee tables and chairs made from Japanese jade arranged around the garden to enjoy a cup of hot Japanese tea.

Hai Thanh, an artist who has taken part in the Spring Flower Festival every year since 1981, said, “ A Japanese garden often contains such features as water, rocks, plants, flowers and grass. To make a successful arrangement, the artist must follow strict rules for the ratio of each element. Failing to follow the ratio for only one feature will lead to the failure of the whole garden.”

Tran Le Dinh Thao, who is directly responsible for arranging and decorating the garden, said, “The arrangement and decoration require a great source of inspiration from the artist. There were days I could do a lot of things while the others I just sat thinking and thinking.”

The owner of the garden said, “I have settled down in the country for 16 years. Before that, I lived in Japan for 22 years. In Japan, I lived in Ehime, a region that has a lot of lava rocks. Since I had chance to contemplate the beauty of the rocks every day, I gradually became crazy about them.”

Five years ago, Mr Chanh began to collect rocks from Japan as a hobby. Whenever he went back from a visit to Japan, he always brought with him rocks that had odd shapes.

In this year’s Spring Flower Festival, Mr Chanh intends to introduce viewers to his most beautiful rocks, which have been shipped from Japan. The Japanese Garden will be a sanctuary for visitors who wish to find inner peace and tranquility during the Tet holidays.

The 29th HCMC Spring Flower Festival will be held at Tao Dan Park, 55 C Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1 from today until January 31.

(Source: SGGP)