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With love and passion, everyone can have a nice garden...Elaine Yim

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..... Author unknown.

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Saturday, October 6, 2012

The Beautiful Garden at Seen Hock Yeen Temple in Chemor, Perak

1.

I am pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem, a magnificient temple with majestic structures, intricately designed and crafted statues and a beautifully landscaped garden complete with lotus and koi ponds, artificial water-falls, rock formations, pagodas and summer pavilions. I visited this place in June 2011 but only get to write a blog post about it now.

The Seen Hock Yeen Temple is located off the Chemor-Sg Siput main road on 1.2 ha of former tin mining land in the town of Chemor, a sleepy hollow about 20 km north of Ipoh.

This temple is managed by a team of volunteers from Chemor town and nearby villages.



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At the entrance to the temple is a statue of Sun Tzu (544-496 BC), an ancient military general cum strategist and philosopher who was believed to be the author of the timeless classic, "The Art of War". 

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A gold painted statue of a fierce-looking lion.

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There is a statue of Confucious (551-479 BC) inside this building. School students come here to pray to Confucious for success and good luck in their coming examinations. Children can take a figure of 8 crawl under the sage's altar to seek for intelligence, excellent academic results and also to gain merits for their parents.

5. Yellow Ixora
There is a beautiful garden on the temple grounds.
I am impressed with the good selection of native plants.
Even the wildflowers looked good here.

6. Red Ixora
If you are unfamiliar with the place and traditions, a temple assistant can act as your guide.

7.

Besides the Jade Emperor, there are also statues and images of numerous other Taoist and Buddhist deities such as Empress of Heaven (Tin Hau) also known as Mazu (Goddess of the Sea), Goddess of Mercy, The Four Heavenly (Guardian) Kings, Yue Lao (God of Romance), Ksitigarbha (Di Zang Wang or King of Hell) and the Buddhas for visitors to worship.


8.
Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin with Golden Boy and Jade Girl.
Those plastic packets on the altar contains strips of sandalwood.

Notice the 2 pots of live bamboo plants behind.
According to legend, Guan Yin used to preach and meditate in the purple bamboo forest.

9.
These are gold painted statues of the 12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac, known in Chinese as Shēngxiào (生肖). One can pay tribute or offer prayers to his/her own animal sign or to the astrological allies and secret friends.

The statues are not arranged in the traditional order with Rat being the first animal of the zodiac. Here the Ox comes before the rat. This lineup is to promote peace and unity on earth during the current period as advised during a prayer ritual to Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy just before the setup.

The row of palm trees behind the animal statues are Lipstick Palms (Crytostachys renda).

10. Allamanda cathartica
Big yellow blooms.

11.
Visitors and their entire families can take part in a cleansing ritual whereby a temple assistant will take you across the 70m long "Destiny Bridge" (labelled in picture). This ritual is suppose to help dispel whatever bad luck you have had and attract the good luck.

During the journey, you have to look only towards the left side and never turn your head towards the right. Visitors are not allowed to cross the Destiny Bridge on their own without permission.

12.
So, with my head turned towards the left side, I could enjoy this lovely lotus pond, pods, flowers and all.

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The ponds with lotus plants and colourful carps.

14. Brunfelsia calycina
Flowers of the Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow plant.

15. Vallaris glabra
Bread flowers or Kesidang.

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The sweet scent of the kesidang blossoms fills the air.

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A place where serenity prevails.

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Yue Lao, the Chinese God of Romance for those who belief that marriages are made in heaven.
He is holding red strings to tie couples together. Single people can pray to him for a good partner.

On the left and right are 2 plates of sweets for the guys and gals to take home. It is hoped that after eating those blessed sweets, their quest for a prospective husband/wife will be just as sweet and easy.


19.

I wonder if anyone the name of this purple trumpet flowers with yellow centre?
Looks like Ipomoea tricolor?

Answer: Thunberga erecta
My grateful thanks to Stiletto for helping with the ID!

20.

Dragon images abound here at the entrance to the Jade Emperor Hall.

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A summer pavilion.

22.
Scenic views of the blue mountains, pine trees and heavenly skies.
If you are there at the right moment in time, perhaps you can witness a beautiful sunrise.

23. Otacanthus caeruleus
Pretty flowers of the Amazon Blue aka Brazilian Snapdragon.

24. 
This artificial waterfall is called "The Wishing Hill".
Here you can throw some coins and make a wish as you cross the bridge.

Weeping willows are popular in Chinese rock gardens.

25.
Bidens pilosa, a beautiful wildflower with daisy-like flowers.
It's common name is Cobbler's Pegs or Spanish Needles.

26.
A common wildflower, Tridax procumbens or Coat Buttons.

27. Pine trees add a magical touch to the temple.
According to a representative, this temple initially started on a small rented property in Chemor in the early 1970s.  Some 4-digit lottery punters went to a cave in Chemor to seek for the winning combination of numbers through a medium. The group had found a sword inside the cave. The medium when in a trance had told them that the cave belonged to Confucius and advised them to set up a temple for the local community. In 1977, the temple was moved to this present site. The expansion was later made possible through donations. 

The temple is now a tourist attraction for the state of Perak.

28.
A clump of Sugar Cane.
The sugar cane plant is regarded as an auspicious symbol of a sweet and happy life
and when it grows tall and high, it signifies an upward climb to the top.

29.
Cream yellow Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, double flower variety.

30.
Yellow Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, single flower variety.

31.
Purple colour Hibiscus rosa-sinensis double flower variety

32.
In Chinese culture, the bamboo tree is a symbol of longevity and resilience.


“A Visit to Seen Hock Yean Temple in Chemor, Perak”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on October 6th, 2012.


33.

Seen Hock Yeen Temple is known in English as the "Temple of Virtues and Education". The words in this signage are written as 善学院玉皇宫殿 (shan xue yuan yu huang gong dian). When translated, it literally means the following:
 "shan" = virtue
"xue yuan" = institution of higher learning
 "yu huang gong dian" = the palace of Jade Emperor.

 The temple address is 1 1/2, Railway Station Road, Kampung Cik Zainal Tambahan 1, 31200 Chemor, Perak. To reach the temple, first go to Chemor town, then take the left turn after passing the railway bridge and drive for about 2 more km.


A dense clump of coral vine (Antigonon leptopus or Chain of Love flowers) suffocating two young papaya plants.

I took this photograph on the dirt road leading to the temple grounds.

This is my entry for:
Fertilizer Friday, hosted by Glenda at Tootsie Time.
Today's Flowers #215  hosted by Denize, Sandy, Pupo and Luiz.
Our World Tuesday, Week 59 hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and ilmo Klaus

29 comments:

  1. What a gem! Deservedly a tourist attraction. You have already drawn many would-be tourists to this spot with your pictures:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fantastic place to visit and the photos are fabulous.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  3. Dla mnie to jest niesowite i nieznane miejsce. Cudowna świątynia i przepiękne kwiaty. Dziękuję za zobaczenie tego. Pozdrawiam.
    For me it is niesowite and unknown place. Wonderful temple and beautiful flowers. Thank you for seeing that. Yours.

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  4. How wonderful! I have never seen anything quite like that. Love the lotus pond!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jason, thanks for the good words! Do let me know your link if you have a blog so that I can visit you in return.

      Delete
  5. Wonderful photographs, unusual places. I am greeting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ZielonaMila, thank you very much for the visit. I visited your blog but comment there eventhough I signed in using my wordpress account. I wanted to tell you how beautiful the park in Nieborów is.

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  6. Thanks for this very colorful look at this temple and gardens! So many beautiful, lush, exotic flowers. What a treat it must have been to actually be there in person.

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  7. Quite an exotic place. I've been once to Tokyo for a week, but nowhere else in Asia, so it's exotic to me. I love that yellow hibiscus.

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  8. The purple trumpet flower is Thunbergia erecta. I have two bushes ghich I'm trying to train as standards.

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  9. I have just found your blog and its wonderful...I have been to Asia so this temple complex interests me..beautiful pictues thank you

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    Replies
    1. Ummuaidan, I'm so sorry I accidentally deleted your comment!

      Here's the missing text:
      The place look likes Pagoda in Penang.... i like the lotus so much...

      Please accept my sincere apologies ^-^

      Delete
    2. accepted tp kena belanja i free bunga..heheh

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    3. Free bunga akan layu bila sampai ke Fiji. Free bunga seed saya ada juga ;-)

      Delete
  11. Welcome back to posting my friend. I bet there's a lot of subjects for photography there, in that temple areas. But of all the plants i love that purple hibiscus, which i very seldom see!

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  12. What a great looking place Autumn Belle!

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  13. What a beautiful and serene place! The flowers in the garden are so lovely.

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  14. So many beautiful photos!! And such a serene place!!!

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  15. Thank you for sharing this magnificent place with us at Today's Flowers. It is stunning with many beautiful things to enjoy. your photos are fantastic and your flowers are gorgeous.

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  16. I never knew Temples can be so beautiful.
    Amazing to notice most of the statues are gold painted.
    Love the flowering plants too.
    Thanks for sharing

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  17. It looks like an incredibly beautiful place, and I'm sure I would especially enjoy the gardens. ;-) I'm always amazed by Bamboo--what a wonderful, renewable plant! And the Hibiscus and Water Lilies must be a pleasant sight to see, too!

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  18. Such a beautiful temple! So lush and green!
    You must hae enjoyed your visit!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I like plants more than man made things. What is is difference between a lotus and a water lily?

    Ann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann, lotus is from Nelumbo family while water lilies are classified under the Nymphaeceae family. The leaves and flowers of lotus rises above the water while those of water lilies floats on the surface.

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  20. Autumn Belle,
    You have outdone yourself! What a strikingly beautiful post! I love the colors of the architecture. Fabulously flowers as well.
    Thanks for sharing and thanks for commenting on my blog.You are so sweet!

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  21. Any online sales of the CHAIN OF LOVE FLOWERS?

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    Replies
    1. Dew, I am growing the Chain of Love, hence I can collect some seeds to send to you. Email me your postal address.

      Delete

Words are like the voice of the heart... Confucius

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