10,000 Rock Botanic Garden

We finally made it to the Botanic Gardens in Xiamen, and it was well worth it. The garden is huge and I don’t think we saw half of it, though we walked and walked and walked. Of course we had to climb the bridge and go down those %^&* stairs! Here are the girls in the bamboo garden right across the bridge.

And here’s a close-up of the bamboo so you can see that the strange markings are from Chinese grafitti -- I guess there is no place in the world immune from grafitti.

As befits a botanic garden, the flowers were gorgeous and plentiful. Look to the left of the cluster of flowers below and you can see a black bumble bee caught in mid-air!

The lotus in the botanic gardens were even more beautiful than those at Nanputuo.

I’m glad my camera caught the sparkling dew drops on this hibiscus. Or maybe it wasn’t dew – it was so hot, it’s possible that even the flowers were sweating!

Malinda says this flower makes her think of a Georgia O’Keefe painting – and we all know what those are paintings of!

Even the trash cans got into the spirit of the gardens and were made of fake trees and bamboo. The girls got a real kick out of those.

It was so hot that we had to stop many times and replenish our water intake (we found out after we got home that the heat index this morning was 102 degrees!). I seldom perspire, but this morning was so hot and humid, Malinda and I were simply dripping. The girls were not bothered by the steaming temperature. They had more energy than their mother and grandmother. They were so happy to find the ubiquitous outdoor exercise equipment. . .

. . . though Maya had her own unique interpretation of "exercise!"

By late morning we had seen enough beautiful plants, trees and flowers and it was time to go home. Though we took a taxi to the gardens, not being quite sure where it was, we decided to take the bus home when we realized how close the gardens were to Zhongshan Park. As we walked to the bus stop near the park, we passed several stores with dancing costumes and shoes. We stopped at one, filled with costumes for children and adults, and found ballet shoes for Zoe and Maya and me for only 15 yuan a pair – less than $2 for ballet slippers!

During the short walk from the garden to the bus stop, we passed this cute statue of children climbing on an ox. . .

. . . and then this interesting statue of combat boots.

Xiamen certainly has an abundance of outdoor art.

We timed our trip just right, and arrived near home just in time for a cooling rain, but before the downpour. It was an enjoyable morning of scenic beauty.