Nan Lian Garden

Awesome picture spot in Hong Kong. Just make sure to bring a hat and water as you will be walking a lot under the Hong Kong sun/​humidity. Worth the try. Second time here for pictures.

As it pertains to «green, outdoor areas, that you can hear the birds, be around beautifully manicured grounds and silence out the city life,» this place is an absolute 5. Kind of larger than I would have thought and also built only a handful of years ago being constructed in the 21^st century, this garden is really quite lovely and a definate to do sometime.
It’s 35,000 sq meters and there are beautiful pagodas, pavilions, bridges, waterfalls and galleries throughout. There are over 60 varitials of plants and trees alone all chosen for their sustainablity. There is a vegetarian sit down restaurant for a meal and also a quicker more casual small café to grab a drink and a quick snack.
There is no fee to visit the garden, but we did pay an extra $ 20HKD to see a special exhibition of Murano glass in their exhibition hall.
The weather was perfect today and we had visited the nunnery across the street before coming to the park. It is a lovely, open, airy space to «just be.» It is beautifully manicured and they are taking exceptional care of the grounds and all it holds.

This is such a beautiful place to relax and take a nice walk. It is free for admission and you can take a stroll through the park, which can easily take 2 – 3 hours.
There’s a great variety of beautiful items to see throughout the park. There are beautiful plants and trees that I have never seen before in USA.
There are plenty of beautiful photo opportunities including the bonsai trees, a beautiful pagoda with Hong Kong’s famous sky scrapers in the background, a koi pond, a waterfall with a watermill, and of course the beautiful temples.
I would have enjoyed this 10x more if it wasn’t so HOT and HUMID, but hey, what can you expect mid-​day in September? They also have gift shops, which were nice to browse around and to… take advantage of the nice A/​C.
It was such a nice and relaxing walk through the park. I would definitely go back! One thing I didn’t like was that I was not able to use my selfie stick! :(Boo hoo.

My wife and I were visiting in the area and we decided to grab lunch here.
First of all, there’s a massive line of people waiting to get in and reserving, so make sure you either get there early or call ahead.
As for the food, it is vegetarian. They offer a deal where you can sample 4 – 5 different dishes or you can order off the menu a la carte.
Because of the amount of customers they get, I can understand that they were very busy but unfortunately they forgot one of my dishes and didn’t get it to me until 45 minutes into our meal.
As for the food, it is ok but not worth price or the wait. I would suggest getting vegetarian food elsewhere.

Finally some natural greenery in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong does not have many public parks or even trees planted on the streets. I’m glad this garden exists, because everyone needs to see some greenery!
If you need a place to relax away from the steel concrete buildings of Hong Kong, this garden will give you a sense of peace and tranquility. This garden is great to walk around in as it give you time to just think to yourself and to set your mind away.
There are temples that serve vegan food. One of the best vegan food I’ve had. Some are made to look like meat, but it’s mainly made of soy and veggie based flour. It may get busy when tourist come visit, but the garden still takes your mind of them and a must visit when you are in Hong Kong.

If you ever get the feeling that Hong Kong’s a little too claustrophobic for your liking, welcome to the club. Now that you’re in the club, let me fill you in on a bit of knowledge. A short walk from Diamond Hill MTR is a secret sanctuary of mine: Nan Lian Garden. Quick inconspicuous summary: it’s a free-​of-​charge public park. But it’s that, and so much more… Nan Lian Garden is THE location for quiet contemplation, meditation, a vacation from this city of agitation and aggravation.
Perhaps some elaboration:
Renovated in the style of the Tang dynastic buildings, the architecture is a welcome change from those cut-​throat urban skyscrapers. Paths are laced with rocks, gentle streams, and best of all — the biggest Bonsai trees I’ve ever seen! And they’re absolutely everywhere! They’re tended to with immaculate care by the park staff, and the whole landscaping project is specifically treated according the Feng Shui philosophy, which just adds to this feeling of otherworldliness and scenic perfection.
Did I mention that there’s also the gentle, lulling sound of a stringed instrument that follows you through the 3.5 hectares of garden?
I always feel a bit peckish after my walking tour so I hit up Long Men Lou, a restaurant that is located right under a running waterfall. They serve vegetarian set meals following the Buddhist tradition.
There are a few exhibitions — some free, some not. If you want to get all tourist up in this thing, the exhibitions clue you in on some of the Chinese artefacts, Chinese architectural history, and Japanese occupation history. If you’re just looking for a couple hours out of the shoebox, sidle on by to the Pavilion of Absolute Perfection and get your Buddha smile on.