Spirituality, nature and history in Asia's most beautiful gardens
In Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China and Japan amidst rose gardens overlooking the ocean, design pavilions, paths among primordial trees
"The moon above cloaks the whole garden in silver. For a moment that light feels like you can drink it in': although the trees and flowering bushes in that garden were on a rustic farm on the island of Menorca, as he recounts in his book Red Rain, Cees Nooteboom, writer and indefatigable traveller in the Asian lands, knew perfectly well the enchantment of the green paradises cultivated and pampered for centuries and centuries in the Far East of the world, where the concept of serendipity is very much ingrained in people's everyday life. Beginning in Sri Lanka, specifically in the central province of Kandy: here, at an altitude of 460 metres, the fairy-tale Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya, whose origins date back to the 14th century, stand on the banks of the Mahaweli River. Mythical is their collection of wild orchids, propitiated by the more than 200 days of annual rainfall, such as the sprawling Ficus Benjamin, whose winged arms, together with those slithering in the ground, make one imagine one is standing in front of a basket full of wooden snakes, albeit more languid and less aggressive. A suspension bridge also gives access to the spice garden, then on to the discovery of the more than 4,000 species of plants that the 19th-century gardener Alexander Moon had brought in from London's Kew Gardens, at the time of the British domination of the island.
In the microcosm of Cuc Phuong
Curious and intriguing, too, is the botanical plot in which one is willingly ensnared once one reaches the district of Nho Quan, in the Vietnamese province of Ninh Binh, inside that Cuc Phuong which constitutes the country's first national park in 1962. In this immense microcosm of tropical rainforest vegetation, one finds oneself surrounded by more than 2,200 plant species, over 330 birds and among 135 types of mammals, including Delacour's Langur, a small (endangered) primate that lives only in Vietnam and loves to hop from branch to branch. Nestled in the foothills of the mountains and dotted with villages inhabited by the Muong ethnic group, this park even offers the possibility of staying in the Guest Houses of the Bong Centre Area, thus enjoying the opportunity to immerse oneself in the silence of the forest, barely pierced by the sounds of animals and the murmurs of the lush leaves.
In Atami on the Izu Peninsula
Much more comfortable is the Japanese destination of this Asian garden tour, in the coastal town of Atami, along the Izu Peninsula, located just 36 minutes by fast Shinkansen train from Tokyo and famous for its thermal waters, appreciated since the Nara period, in the eighth century: on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the thirteen thematic gardens that make up the Acao Forest, dedicated to roses, bulbous plants and aromatic herbs, are tamed meekly. Immersed in the aesthetic contemplation of the various species, one is astonished by the sudden appearance of the Coeda House, a very light, open-air pavilion that archistar Kengo Kuma designed especially to refresh botanical trekkers, who can rest while enjoying natural herbal and flower drinks, smoothies and desserts made with seasonal fruit picked here, in front of the blue ocean. Also immersed in the forest is the Mirror Gate, a symbolic shrine-gate in the heart of the Acao forest, lined with mirrors and inviting one to cross the boundary between the sacred of nature and the profane of a life full of conditioning.
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou
They actually look like miniatures, however, the so-called Classical Gardens of Suzhou, the former capital of the ancient kingdom of Wu, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, which Unesco has listed as a World Heritage Site. Inspired by the royal hunting gardens, dating back to the period between the 11th and 19th centuries, nine of the fifty examples that still exist today (originally there were 200) reflect, through their meticulous design, the strenuous yet possible harmony between the rocky strength of the mountains and the placid calm of the pools of water, according to the philosophy of Feng Shui applied also to botany. The most lyrical of these is the Canglang Pavilion, elegant and detailed like a traditional Chinese landscape painting, so much so that it was designed by the poet, exiled in Suzhou, Su Shunqin, in the 11th century. Restorations over the centuries have fortunately not altered the ethereal beauty of the willows and the architectural gentleness of the pagodas.
In Mumbai
Finally, unbeatable in terms of exoticism are the Hanging Gardens in Mumbai, which originated as a hanging park on the sloping basalt Malabar Hill in 1880, when British colonisers installed some water tanks there. Around them, architect Ulhas Ghatkopar designed the scenic park, a favourite set for the Indian film industry since its inception, not least because its elevated position affords magnificent views of the city skyline and the Arabian Sea. The typical animal hedges, the unmistakable clock with its flower hands, the fragrant flower beds, the funny shoe-shaped tree house that children usually sneak into without giving up the plastic bags full of lassi (the typical yoghurt drink) make the Hanging Gardens an infectiously tender garden, especially when the sun goes down and the first stars light up in the endless Mumbai sky.
