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CHINA
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The gateway to the China pavilion is The Gate of the Golden Sun and is based on the beautifully styled main gate at the summer palace of Beijing. The most visually prominent feature of the pavilion is the half-size Temple of Heaven, which symbolizes the Chinese universe. Inside Epcot's Temple of Heaven is a Circle-Vision 360 theater that features the film, "Reflections of China," which gives guests a guided glimpse into Chinese history and culture.
A serene landscape depicts a garden typical to China. The plants are designed to look naturally placed rather than neatly organized. Also included: water -- the one essential in every Chinese garden. Water is usually still and frequently has water plants such as lilies or lotuses growing in it. To show how the Chinese respect age in their gardens, Disney landscape architects selected trees with "corkscrew" trunks or with "weeping" branches. Trees that are native to China that can be found in the pavilion include a weeping mulberry; a runner bamboo and tallow tree, a plant with waxy fruit traditionally used to make candles.
The Chinese respect age and want their gardens to appear old. Disney landscape architects have selected trees with “corkscrew” trunks or with “weeping” branches to help give the gardens a mature look. Here, a weeping mulberry -- one of the most impressive trees in Epcot -- can be found near the Nine Dragons Restaurant entrance. Other interesting trees native to China are the tallow tree, a plant with waxy fruit traditionally used to make candles and one of the few that changes colors in Florida’s fall, and the runner bamboo. Also at the China pavilion are large rocks on the water side of the promenade. The Chinese like to create “surprising views” throughout their landscapes as experienced by looking through the holes in the rocks toward the water.
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