- Author: Lanie Keystone
On a recent trip to Redding, we stopped at one of our favorite destinations—Turtle Bay Exploration Park. While the Sundial Bridge is amazing and a magnet for the imagination, once you cross it you can enter into the park's wonderful native garden. The trails are lovely with delightful sculptures along the way. The plantings remind us of how enchanting a native garden can be. A section of the garden that is one of the most exotic, unexpected and “off the beaten track” is the magnificent Chinese Penjing display.
Penjing, is an ancient Chinese art form literally meaning “tray scenery”. Each is made up of a potted landscape with miniature trees and rockery denoting mountains and other scenic features all displayed on a tray. Each Penjing falls into one of three categories:
1) Tree Penjing (shumu penjing) which focuses on one or more trees created in a container. The composition's main elements are shaped by the Penjing artist through meticulous trimming, pruning and wiring.
2) Landscape Penjing (shanshui penjing): This Penjing displays a landscape in miniature. Here the artist carefully selects and shapes rocks, which are usually placed in a container with water. Then, small, live plants are placed in the composition to complete the scene.
3) Water and Land Penjing (shuihan penjing): Here the Penjing combines all of the elements of the first two Penjing styles so that we see tiny trees, rocks, water and even small figures and structures to complete the stylized scene.
Other cultures do similar art forms, including the Japanese with their bonsai and the living landscapes of the Vietnamese hon non bo. However, Penging displays differ from them in several ways: Penging rules allow for a greater span of tree shapes—giving them a “wilder look”; they are planted in brightly-colored and imaginatively shaped pots; the tree trunks represented are smaller in proportion to those in a Bonsai; and the pots show greater variety, size and complexity of lines.
The 2 ½ hour trip is certainly worth it to see this intriguing Penging artform. Add in the Sundial Bridge, the extensive native garden with delightful sculptures, fun on the Sacramento River, a wonderful natural history museum, the proximity to Mt. Lassen and Shasta and a trip to Turtle Bay Exploration Park is well worth taking. It is truly a place for magical exploration.