Portland's Chinese Garden

I visited my daughter and her husband this weekend in Portland. My one request for this visit was to make a trip to the Chinese Garden in the Chinese district right off Burnside. It's in the heart of the city for those of you who are unfamiliar with Portland. It was a superbly beautiful day for our visit - 60-70 degrees and sunny. One of the kind of days that makes Portland such a showplace.

It wasn't particularly crowded, although there were quite a few visitors there. We were priviledged to see a Tai Chi demonstration in celebration of national Tai Chi Day. The teacher was an older woman with beautiful form - graceful and powerful at the same time. How I wish sometimes that I lived in the city to be able to take advantage of lessons with such gifted teachers.

The gardens are beyond description. Everywhere you look there is beauty and small vignettes of stone, plants, water and structures. Windows or openings in the walls provide a glimse of subtle beauty. Within the city block that the garden occupies is the feeling of such peace and solitude, even tho the city activity is right outside the walls.

Water and structure portray a sense of restfulness. And the sound of the waterfall drowns out the noises of the city. I could have stayed there all afternoon, but we had several other stops in the downtown area and had to move on.