My bonsai rack and land (photos taken in early May 2011)

Among those on the rack, there were several big trees that I thought might have developed enough and could be potted for the final stage of development (development of fine branches).  However, a year has passed and these trees haven’t grown much.  I guess I probably have potted them a bit too early.  So I decided to take these bonsai trees out from the pot and train them on the ground again.  Hopefully, these trees will have their branches developed and can be potted in 2 years.

We can tell that the trees haven’t developed much in the past year with these photos (photo at the bottom is taken in early May 2011). Besides having a bit more foliage (mostly unwanted), the trees have not developed any suitable branches.

The tree surrounded with bricks in the middle is a bonus.  It has been here before I moved my trees in.

If you want to see more photos of southern style bonsai, visit Daliang Bonsai Show album in Happy Bonsai Gallery.

大良盆景協會 (literal translation: Daliang Penjing Association) invited over 500 bonsai enthusiasts all over China to attend its lingnan penjing show.
LEFT: The committee members of Institute of Lingnan Penjing Hong Kong
RIGHT: 5 renowned penjing artists has formed a group and called themselves 嶺南盆景痴友 (literal translation: Lingnan Penjing Maniac)

Entrance of the bonsai show venue

In the lingnan penjing show, one could find many penjing work by Mr. Han Xue Nian (韓學年先生) – the Chairman of Daliang Penjing Association. While Mr. Han’s specialty is pines (indeed, he is nicknamed as 松王 – the Pine King), he grows bonsai trees of different species and styles. Here is one of his creative work.

I especially admire this bonsai.  Note how the trunk of the tree has fully grown into the rock.  I wonder how many years has the bonsai artist – Mr. Zeng An Chang (曾安昌先生) – taken to get the tree to grow so seamlessly into the rock.

There’s an elephant under the tree

Unlike Japanese bonsai, one can often find figurines in Chinese penjing.
If you are interested in learn more about the different bonsai styles, you should definitely check out these posts in Bonsai Style category.

For more photos of southern style bonsai, visit Daliang Bonsai Show album in Happy Bonsai Gallery.

Check out this article in South China Morning Post which introduces penjing (bonsai in Chinese) and the resources available in Hong Kong for those who want to learn penjing in this bustling rambunctious, cramped city.

The article also introduces Teacher Wong Chau-Shing and Institute of Lingnan Penjing.

You can find more photos in the album of Chi Lin Nunnery – Bonsai Garden in Hong Kong in Happy Bonsai Gallery.

Chi Lin Nunnery is located in Kowloon.  The closet subway station is Diamond Hill.

Chi Lin Nunnery does not have the largest bonsai collection, but the trees that grow in the nunneary are so beautiful.  When I was in there, I felt like I was in a magnified landscape bonsai.

In Chi Lin Nunnery, trees that are grow on the ground are also trimmed beautifully, as those in a bonsai pot.

Besides bonsai trees, there are also a suiseki gallery.

Some beautiful bonsai in the nunnery.
RIGHT: This Fire-thorn ( Pyracantha crenulata, 火棘 in Chinese) is protected by a tent so to avoid the birds from eating the fruits on the tree.

For more photos, please visit the Rock Penjing Association Tour in Happy Bonsai Gallery.

The design and landscape of this Chinese garden express the formless, indefinable asymmetry with a curvilinear layout derived from the nature.

Many beautiful bonsai trees

Thanks in advance and Happy Bonsai!

Because of an important appointment on the same day, I couldn’t attend the whole event but only the setup stage of the competition.  I missed not only the competition winner announcement, but also the pot-luck style luncheon afterward.  That’s too bad for me

This beautiful piece is made by Teacher Wong.  Teacher Wong calls this type of penjing “瓶景”, and I call it “penjing-in-a-bottle”.

This is my penjing-in-a-bottle, titled “The Adventure of Wherever Door – The World inside the Goldfish”.

You can find more information about the blue creature in my penjing (it’s called Doraemon by the way) in this post – Modern Bonsai – Doraemon Bonsai.

For more photos of the 1st Institute of Lingnan Penjing Competition, you can visit Happy Bonsai Gallery.

Go to post – Beautiful Trees in Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition (Part 1)
Go to post – Beautiful Trees in Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition (Part 2)

On Nov 10, some bonsai friends and I together attended the open ceremony of the exhibition which took place in Guangzhou Dr. Sun Yet-Sen’s Memorial Hall – a significant landmark in Guangzhou.

In the opening ceremony, besides an award ceremony, there was also a presentation session demonstrated by several excellent bonsai artists.

With nearly 800 penjing, the 2010 Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition was the largest bonsai show in Guangzhou ever.  This bonsai show had successfully demonstrated the charm of penjing, particularly Lingnan penjing – an ancient and unique treasure that reflects the essence of Lingnan garden culture.

I will share more photos of these beautiful bonsai very soon. Please wait a little

Besides bonsai, there was also a suiseki exhibition, showing some amazingly beautiful rocks.  I surely will post more photos of this suiseki exhibition in the coming posts.

Zhongshan Memorial Hall

Besides the 3-in-1 exhibition in Guangzhou, China in October, there is another big bonsai event in Guangzhou that is highly anticipated by many bonsai enthusiasts; it is the 2010 Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition (2010年广州国际盆景邀请展).

To celebrate the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou in November 2010 and promote bonsai to the world, a bonsai and suiseki exhibition – Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition – will be held from November 10 to November 27 in Guangzhou Zhongshan Memorial Hall (广州中山纪念堂). Among the 500-800 bonsai that will be shown in the exhibition, there will not only be beautiful bonsai of Lingnan and other Chinese penjing styles, but also a large number of bonsai from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other countries around the world. Moveover, according to the press release, there will be presentations and discussion sessions with well-known bonsai masters and bonsai experts sharing their bonsai tips and techniques, as well as their thoughts on the up-coming development and changes in the world of bonsai.

I am very much looking forward to this bonsai exhibition, especially since my bonsai teacher – Lingnan penjing master Wong Chiu Shing – and a few other senior bonsai members will also showcase their masterpieces in this exhibition. Indeed, many of us in the Institute of Lingnan Penjing, Hong Kong (香港嶺南盆景藝術學會) will together take a trip to Guangzhou on November 9th to attend the open ceremony of this exhibition. And definitely I will share what I have seen and learned in the exhibition when I am back from Guangzhou in November.

Here is the official website of 2010 Guangzhou International Bonsai Invitation Exhibition.  Too bad that it’s only in Chinese…

Chencun Flower World

This event is a combination of the 2010 China (Chencun) International Art Fair (2010中國（陳村）國際藝術博覽會)and the Eighth Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Bonsai Art Fair (第八屆粵港澳臺盆景藝術博覽會)and the Retrospective Exhibition of “2006 China (Chencun) International Bonsai and Suiseki Exhibition” (“2006中國(陳村)國際盆景賞石博覽會”回顧展). The art exhibition will be held September 30 to October 4 in Chencun Flower World (陳村花卉世界).

The art festival held in Chencun will have three themes: art fair, international bonsai exhibition, and rock appreciation expo. The bonsai show will feature 250 top class bonsai, brings together bonsai school of Lingnan, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, and others. The bonsai exhibition will also show the “18 Luohan” (十八羅漢) – the Ficus bonsai which costs over a million renminbi.

Art collectors, bonsai and stone professionals of over 30 countries and regions will attend this art fair in which the fourth China (Chencun) International Art Fair will be held in the newly built 1,500 square meters Flower World Art Pavilion A (花卉世界藝術展覽A館). This particular art fair is currently one of the three most influential national art fair in China. Exhibition includes Chinese painting, calligraphy, antique furniture and a variety of stones, jade, crystals and other minerals.

This art exhibition will also show some very valuable national art treasures, including a 5000 year-old Thuja root carving, and the very famous “Along the River during the Qingming Festival” (清明上河圖) which is the work of Song Dynasty artist – Zhang Zeduan. In addition, there will be a large-scale of calligraphy and painting showing in the art exhibition, including art works by famous masters such as Qi baishi (齊白石), Zhang Daqian (張大千), and Yang Shanshen (楊善深).