Chinese New Year in Sydney - defiant urban trees

So in an attempt to cheer myself up I went down to Sydney for the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations (the flights had been booked almost a lifetime ago, or so it seems now).
2012 is the year of the Water Dragon...

 Now frustratingly I missed the Dragon boat races but as you can see I did meet a kitchen dragon!

 

I really love visiting places like China town in Sydney, I like almost everything about it, the sounds smells and even the hustle and bustle....and of course there were some plucky trees to enjoy.

 

This tree is a piece of public art called Golden Water Mouth is a sculpture and fountain located at the entrance of Chinatown, in the inner city suburb of Haymarket. The artwork was created by Lin Li in 1999. The Australian and Chinese cultures are signified by the combination of materials creating a Yin-Yang harmony.

 

The five natural elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth have been incorporated in the design, to encourage positive energy and good fortune.

 

The artist found this dead two centuries old Yellow Box Eucalyptus in Condoblin, New South Wales, near the Lachlan River. This is where many Chinese went during the Gold Rush and later settled alongside the river and grew vegetables for trade.

 
I really love things like this and the intrest and engagement they provoke in passers by, this chap was playing a chinese version of  'O sole mio'...he was great too just jamming away with the door ajar not asking anything of anyone just making lovely music for the night air.

 



Ok so where are the urban trees (that one before was dead after all!!!!)....If there is one urban tree that I admire (probably) above all others it is London Plane, for no other reason than it is almost indestructable and brings so much beauty to the streets it lives in....Here are some in Belmore Park, followed by others showing the scars of their hard life next to Sydney traffic...

 

Here's another narrow street from Surrey Hills (I think) where the Melaleucas form a very wonderful living roof..I suspect that the residents possibly have mixed feelings about the trees but no signs of deliberate damage, so maybe I'm too cynical.

 

I had a really relaxing time in Sydney on that last day of the celebrations for the year of the Water Dragon....Kung hei fat choi to you all.

Some of my favourite city centre fig trees in the next post.....