Anyone here into bonsai/盆栽/盆景？

[happy_hyaena]

First of all, I know that bonsai doesn't quite translate into 盆景 if you look at the Japanese term 盆栽, but in English the loan word bonsai seems to include everything. The wikipedia page had some interesting notes on this and how Chinese 盆景 differes from the Japanese and Vietnamese traditions it inspired.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penjing

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hòn_Non_Bộ

 

Anyway, I was in the beautiful 瘦西湖 park in Yangzhou some weeks ago and found their 盆景 exhibition to be quite incredible. I was surprised to find that there do not seem to be any posts here on this topic. Does anyone here have any experience to share in regards to his art form/hobby, maybe even pictures of their own collection?

[Alex_Hart]

Can't say that I have any experience, and I'm totally ignorant of the subject actually, but love my neighbor's garden. It's a husband/wife team who have a dozen "bonsais", blocked by some plexiglass from the street with a handwritten cardboard sign saying something like "不要偷我的花要不然我杀了你." Sadly taken down recently; the government has been cracking down on acts that might harm the tourist atmosphere. Complimented them once and he gave me a dirty look before breaking out into a huge smile and proceeding to chatter to me in Hangzhou hua for 20 minutes - I haven't an idea what he said, so I just stood there making agreeable sounds and smiling when he laughed, an act usually accompanied by pointing enthusiastically at one of the "bonsais" or flowers. The two of them are hard at work on a daily basis from around 6 am till around 9.

[happy_hyaena]

Due to the time required, a fully delevoped/trained bonsai tree will fetch quite the sum so I believe your neighbours are right to be so vigilant.

 

Out of curiosity, do you remember if they are just growing trees or if they are part of a bigger miniature landscape with stones?

[Alex_Hart]

There seem to be both - took some pictures as I walked by today.