Chinese Garden of Friendship
Darling Harbour
Open daily at 9:30am
Phone: 9286 0111
Due to the many stairs in the garden, most of it is not wheelchair accessible

Cost: Adults $4.50, Children $2
Sitablility Rating: Excellent
Souvenir Shop: Many large, expensive sculptures in marble, wood, and jade. Some other odds and ends like keychains, paper fans, books, and small animal carvings are available, but you can get them cheaper in nearby Chinatown. You can help yourself to free books, videos, and cassettes all about Buddah and religion and stuff. Postcards are available at the admissions desk.

At first glance, the Garden doesn’t look like much. You enter into one of the more barren areas, and my first thought was that the place hasn’t been kept up very well. Once I went in deeper though, I got it. The lake and rocks and plants and structures all come together beautifully, balancing the yin and yang (as the many informative plaques explain), and even the smallest details stand out as part of a well-planned whole.

In some ways the garden is like a big funhouse maze. You climb up one rocky path, wind down the back of a hill, and find yourself in a small pagoda overlooking the lake. Or follow the zig zag bridge, through the boat house and into the rock forest where huge boulders balance at awkward angles on other rocks half their size.

There are plenty of little nooks and pavilions and pathways that can give you a little privacy for reading or general pondering. The weekdays are obviously quieter and offer more peace and quiet than going on the weekend, but the garden is big enough to hold quite a few tourists without feeling like an overrun amusement park. Try going around sunset to see the garden in full glow.

If you really want to become part of the scenery, you can rent a full costume to become royalty. Try one on for free first, then pay $10 (or $5 for kids) if you want to have pictures taken in it.

When you’ve finished your walk, head up to the Tea Garden. There’s a nice view and you can have toast, pastries, sandwiches, desserts, and hot or cold drinks for less than $10.