A First Peek at Jiangsu Garden Expo Park – Cloud Pool Dream Valley

Travel mode: Self-driving

Travel time: October 2021

Attraction: Jiangsu Garden Expo Park

Address: Near the northeast intersection of Husheng Road and Hufa Road, Jiangning District, Nanjing

Don't miss such crisp autumn weather. At 4 p.m., on a whim, I set off for the Garden Expo Park. Today I planned to visit the Cloud Pool Dream Valley area. The entrance closest to this area is Bei'anmen, so I parked in the nearest parking lot.

Beside the parking lot is a Treasure Museum still under construction. Its exterior adopts the rust color of earth ores, giving it a grand and magnificent feel.

Across a bridge, pairs of small lions carved on the railings are lifelike.

With mountains as its backdrop, the park is truly spectacular.

Bei'anmen, surrounded by mountains on three sides, follows the natural contour as its boundary, forming a graceful 'smile curve'—like 'the Earth's smile,' bringing visitors a cheerful and sweet sensation.

The white curving building is the visitor service center at Bei'anmen. Behind it, a few concrete pillars are the cable car station, where you can take a cable car to see the park from above.

Gliding through the air, the cable car offers a different perspective over this vast park, and you'll surely discover another kind of beauty.

The lush green lawn has natural slopes and curves, and the white visitor center's curves blend perfectly into the natural lines, becoming a unified whole.

The trees on the lawn are diverse, each with a unique shape.

From here, the mountain range appears layer upon layer, circle upon circle. Each tier holds abundant attractions, tempting you to get closer and explore.

The park is huge, with plenty of transportation options. Besides the cable car station and the small train station we saw at Bei'anmen entrance,

there are also double-decker buses and minibuses. If you want to tour the entire park in a day, you can choose your favorite mode of transport and ride around.

The railway tracks gleam with a special luster under the setting sun.

This building, resembling a large eye, is an observation deck. Its distinctive shape can be seen from afar, sparking an urge to get closer right away.

The Floating Stone Underground Palace, a circular structure with a metal sculpture in the center, where a fountain cascades from the floating stone into a dark hole, giving the feeling of entering another world.

A hopeful little deer stands atop the mountain, gazing into the distance—does it also yearn for another world?

Walk through the 'Time Tunnel,' converted from an old ore transport tunnel, then take an elevator further up.

In October, the sweet-scented osmanthus trees planted on both sides of the elevator are at their best. Grasp the handrail, close your eyes, take a deep breath—the sweet fragrance of osmanthus fills your nose and spreads through your chest.

Looking back from the top of the elevator, you'll see the Time Tunnel beneath your feet, the Floating Stone Underground Palace, the park road leading to Bei'anmen, and further off, the viaduct for high-speed trains.

Now the sky is ablaze with rosy clouds.

An observation deck with a commanding view.

Standing on this platform feels as if you're floating in midair.

To the south are higher mountains. On the platform itself, there are various landscapes, with patches of reed being the best representation of autumn.

Gazing out from the platform, the scene is utterly refreshing. Below are the places we just walked through. You can see the park's careful and unified planning. The combination of different paths serves both beauty and visitor convenience, thoughtfully designed.

From this high vantage point, you can also see that the area is embraced by mountains. The valleys, lowlands, and various terrains within the mountains' embrace have all been utilized by the designers. Here, you clearly perceive the layered mountain terrain, with each tier enriched by the builders.

We paused briefly on the platform to enjoy the sunset.

Sunset changes are often instantaneous; it’s this constant change that makes it so beautiful and dreamy, making us loath to leave.

This is one of the park's four main sections—Cloud Pool Dream Valley. It was once the largest quarry pit in Nanjing, measuring 1,100 meters long and 10 to 22 meters deep, with its southern cliff reaching more than 130 meters high.

Inside the huge pit, 42 giant umbrellas of acrylic panels, each 21 meters in diameter, hold up a pool of clear water. The stainless-steel structure and acrylic canopy resemble lotus leaves, shading a vibrant world. Beneath these 'lotus leaves' lies a lively underwater botanical garden.

There are stairs and an elevator leading down to the bottom of the pit—the underwater botanical garden.

Beneath the quarry cliff, towering 'trees' made of acrylic panels and stainless steel support a pool of crystal water, fully exploiting the visual effects of these two materials.

Making use of the elevation difference, the underwater botanical garden becomes a unique three-dimensional wonder, a splendid waterside garden combining sightseeing and shopping. As the setting sun refracts through the clear water, and with the lights now illuminating the vegetation and buildings, you find yourself in a fantasy-like underwater world of plants shimmering with light and shadow.

The three circular buildings' exteriors are clad in reflective materials; combined with light, they make you feel as if strolling through a starry sky.

The ever-changing colors of light offer a different visual delight every moment.

The ridge of the quarry, the vegetation, the glass buildings, and the lighting effects—you can't help but admire the designers' work.

The garden follows the natural undulating terrain and plants many rare, regionally characteristic species. As dusk falls and lights begin to twinkle, it's too dark to admire the flowers in detail. Walking among the brilliant lights against the ink-dark sky, I felt like Alice wandering in Wonderland.

Curious what lies inside these dreamlike castles?

A Huachu Village restaurant is nestled in a castle-like building.

Huachu Village occupies this freely blooming two-story space, with its main concept being 'restaurant + flower shop.' However, on top of flower shop and restaurant, it adds retail markets, a library, a theater, a family fun park, and other multidimensional experience spaces.

Huachu, Huachu—using flowers as a medium, integrating a borderless garden restaurant, a wild-flower bar, a flower-themed market...

Flowers and plants adorn the place, making it romantic and charming.

An array of lifestyle goods and creative gifts.

A jungle-green forest house, with a white carpet resembling a sandy beach, deer-shaped stools, and camping tents—this nature-inspired scene is a children's wonderland.

I didn't linger in the restaurant; just had a curious look around before leaving and returning to the botanical garden full of diverse rare plants.

The botanical garden's elevator connects to a curved observation deck.

By now, the night sky is deep blue, and the observation deck sits in a space surrounded by towering cliffs.

It feels magical, as if an alien craft is hidden in this deep pit.

In the center of the observation deck is a pool of water, surrounded by emerald-green aquatic plants; under the lights, it's extremely dreamy.

Several curved observation decks connect, tracing graceful arcs.

Looking up at the high cliff, there are also observation decks on top.

Following a broad ramp upward, where the night sky now shows a red afterglow, the natural colors of the sky mingle with the park's lights.

Leaving the underwater botanical garden and climbing higher, the view is so surreal I can't tell if it's heaven or earth.

Switching my camera to another mode, the same scene becomes this image.

Looking down from above at the botanical garden and observation decks we just visited, can you imagine this was once a deep pit in a mine? The designers made use of it, cutting the cliff into the mountain to enclose a low valley. At the bottom, dozens of 'towering trees' support transparent acrylic panels, forming a pool bed that gathers over 900 plant species. The entire pool bottom is lush, like an 'underwater forest,' with rippling light and shadow alternating in a breathtaking display.

An unexpected little flower caught my eye.

Leaving the altitude of the underwater botanical garden, I reached this layer of the mountain.

Here stands a spaceship-like venue, several stories tall.

On one side are tiers of seating.

The venue hosts many commercial outlets with a variety of offerings. Since it's evening, many shops are closed; during the day, there would likely be more to interact with.

Why so many seats? Because this is the Cliff Theater. Across from the seating is a screen built against the natural cliff. Using heaven and earth as the backdrop, the natural rock face becomes the ultimate giant screen, erupting with the most passionate moments in the magical valley deep within the park.

Between the screen and the seating is an immersive theater. Though there’s no performance today, staff are running tests, so we got to see the lighting changes in the theater.

Watching the ever-changing lights on the ground, imagine if added to the natural cliff 255 meters long and 80 meters high, transformed through multimedia art, light-and-shadow imaging, and technological landscaping into a seamless cliff stage—what a stunning, boundless spectacle that would be.

Climbing further, I reached another altitude, where there's a cliffside hotel—Nanjing Garden Expo Banyan Tree. Built on the abandoned limestone quarry beside the cliff, the hotel's roof aligns with the slope-top road, allowing guests to experience the charm of a deep-pit hotel.

Standing at the same height as the hotel, looking down at the seating below. Faced with such a huge pit, the designers cleverly leveraged the undulating cliff at the pit's mouth to create this extraordinary landscape I see before me.

Gazing into the distance, the Zidong Ge pavilion outlined by lights.

I'm not sure if my words can clearly convey the multi-layered magic of Cloud Pool Dream Valley. If you're a bit confused, come see it for yourself!

From the highest point of Cloud Pool Dream Valley, overlooking the night view near Bei'anmen to the north—a fantastic visual feast, like a brilliant pearl in the night sky.

The winding road outlined by light strips leads to Suyun Huigu.

Every path in the park has light strips of different colors, painting beautiful pictures across the mountains.

I don't know what mode I activated, but the scene turned into a dreamy meteor shower.

Returning to the observation deck where we watched the sunset, at night it's a dazzling and gorgeous world!

Take the elevator down.

Under the lights, the scene is different from the evening; at night, it's enchantingly charming.

The Time Tunnel outlined by rings of light strips.

Sculptures in color feel completely different from daytime.

Light strips guide us forward.

Even the street lamp designs are full of artistic flair.

Looking back, we see the observation deck on the mountain, the Time Tunnel, the elevator.

Light strips at our feet lead the way.

The commercial area near Bei'anmen in the night.

Bei'anmen Train Station.

At night, the train station turns into a rainbow of colors.

Visitor center, train station, cable car station.

Let's look at the structure of the concrete pillars from the side.

Squeezing under the 'herringbone' framework of the concrete pillars, under the lights, it presents a classic one-point perspective effect.

On a whim, I came for a visit. In just a few hours, I witnessed the transition from blue sky to starry night, and saw the park in both daylight and evening—each with its own splendor. A beautiful place is different by day and by night, and changes with the seasons. The Garden Expo Park is worth returning to again and again.