Sunday, May 19, 2024

Revisit Vancouver-a Vibrant Harbor City

 The phenomenon of sunset is for us to truly understand nature with its ebbs and flows; cool and warm; static and dynamic views…

I visited Vancouver quite a while ago in the winter season and enjoyed the snow-covered mountaintop view. So when I revisited the city this spring, I decided to walk around the city center and enjoyed the harbor charm.

Waterfront harbor: I walked towards the waterfront in the city center, passing some skyscrapers buildings Quite a few people stood at the architectural building platform to watch the calm ocean with the ship running back and forth. Although summer is around the corner, it’s a bit cooler here; the remote mountains were still covered by snow; the rain was drizzling in the late afternoon, and people enjoyed hanging around at the ocean harbor and the vibrant metropolitan surroundings.

Zhongshan Garden: On the morning of the second day, I walked across the Vancouver downtown area, passing through “Qianxi Gate,” (Millennials Gate) strolling over the Chinatown area, passing through restaurants and shops, and discovered an elegant Asian-style park “Zhongshan” garden. It was a well-designed garden with flowers blossoms, cherry, palm, cider trees, and plants; there was a lucid small lake and an elegant pavilion where you could sit to capture the charming view of the garden. Everything was designed to create a harmonious scene.

Public city library: After that, I hung around at the different hustling streets and arrived at the Vancouver public library which was located in the city center and neighbored by many skyscrapers, It was a Nine-Floor building with sufficient capacity to let people learn and grow in a quiet environment. The library offered different services to locals and visitors. Different floors have different media focus, with plenty of seats you could sit to study.

I like the top two floors with stylish space, colorful desks and chairs. I saw many youngsters coming to study; there were no noises or casual conversations and the entire environment was quiet. Although the roof garden wasn’t open; it’s still a cool place you can learn and grow and demonstrate the city charm of Vancouver.

Granville Island and Public Market: On the third day, I decided to explore the oceanfront deeper. I walked around the seashore near the northern part of the metropolitan area, watching the birds' family playing around on the meadow near the waterfront. Then, following the trail, I arrived at the Fishermen’s Whalf Oceanfront. A lot of locals and tourists came to visit boutique galleries and had meals in local restaurants. A few musicians performed on the streets and audiences had their snacks while listening to music. The weather started warming up, creating another great scenery for this vibrant harbor city.

Then I went to the local public market at which you could buy either raw food supplies or cooked meals. There were dozens of stalls to sell meats, vegetables, or fresh fruits. There were different flavors of food stalls people could pick from. Then you could take a seat to watch the ocean closely. I had my fresh salad bowl and fruit; looking out of the window, many people like sea lions, sat at the wooden beaches, enjoying the sunshine and beautiful ocean view; some had their lunches; lots of voice and noise; it was a great place for people to hang around at their spare time.

Botanic Gardens: In the afternoon I went to Vancouver Botanical Garden. In the springtime, the flowers of all sorts of colors and pink-read maple trees created fantastic spring scenery. Fountains. statues and well-designed landscapes delight our eyes and make this spring day more charming than ever. I also went to the other botanical park at the other day: Biodel Conservatory on the Hill. It was a good exercise to go up and down the hill, smelling beautiful flowers; and watching gooses and ducks swimming at the pond in a harmonious environment.

Approachable oceanside: on the next morning, I went to the large park near the sea in the city center, people jog or walk across the shore, You can sit on the wooden benches, and watch waves up and down. In Vancouver, it’s so effortless to walk across the waterfront from different part of cities. So if people like myself enjoy the ocean view, you would feel inspired to appreciate such nature beautiful scenes. In the late afternoon, I went to Sunset Park near the bridge that connects the south and north areas of Vancouver, with a great ocean view. The flow of people from different directions makes the park full of energy. People come here to exercise and relax, many of them lie down at the shore; put their feet into the water, and enjoy sunbathing. Interestingly, you could still see the remote mountains covered by snow.

A lot of people sat on the tree trunks or the wooden benches near the oceanfront. A variety of birds flew around; there was an abstract rock-made human figure standing on the seashore, you can imagine it’s Guanyin or anybody you like. What a harmonious seaside view. It was already passing six pm but the sun was still shining; it perhaps took another couple of hours for sunset. It seems we had a much longer day here. The phenomenon of sunset is for us to truly understand nature with its ebbs and flows; cool and warm; static and dynamic views…Isn’t nature amazing?

It’s almost time to say goodbye to Vancouver, a charming harbor city. If I have to criticize it constructively. There are some dirty streets in the downtown area and perhaps there are lots of great places that public transportation cannot reach. I hope I have the opportunity to revisit it soon to enjoy the sunshine ocean views and more.

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