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Unique stone garden attracts local, international visitors
 A garden made of stones some 95 km from Ho Chi Minh City is sparking the curiosity of passers-by some of whom refer to it as the “Stonehenge” of Dong Nai Province.The owner of this unusual garden, Nguyen Binh Khiem, is passionate about stones and is gaining a reputation in the Tuc Trung Commune of Dong Nai’s Dinh Quan District for his collection. Once you arrive in Dinh Quan, just ask for Khiem, or Mr. ‘Stone’ Khiem as his neighbors call him, and you will be directed to his residence. His house is easy to find as it is on Highway 20, the highway that connects HCMC to Da Lat. If you get lost, just look for the stones in different shapes and sizes that can be seen on a hill from the highway. Visitors are amazed when Khiem first shows them his garden. It has a surreal beauty and is unique in Vietnam. His 50-hectare property is divided into two sections; 12 hectares for his garden of stones and 38 hectares for growing fruit and rubber trees. The stones in his garden are too numerous to count exactly, yet it is their unusual shapes that cause the most surprise for visitors. The most beautiful stone grouping is perhaps the stone wall behind his house which Khiem calls “the medieval stone wall.” The stones are arranged in the shape of a horse shoe. Clinging to the stone wall is a climbing plant, which creates a historical feel to the scene. Khiem says that fifteen years ago he happened to see some wonderfully shaped stones being dug up from a quarry. He stopped and bought the stones, then transported them home. Passers-by praised Khiem’s new stones so much that he began to feel pride in his collection and began to love stones. Khiem started a quest to find more and more beautiful stones to buy. He went from east to west, visiting Vung Tau City and Ninh Thuan and Dong Nai provinces to look for stones to add to his collection. He even went to Ngu Hanh Mountain in Da Nang where he found a stone he liked valued at VND17 million (US$1,060). Yet he could not buy it, as it was too awkward to transport home. Khiem’s garden currently has some 500 stones, ranging in weight from several tons to 20 or 30 tons. The stones, many of which are made of quartz, weigh a total of 2,000 tons. The stones are generally not expensive to buy, but the cost of extracting the stones and transporting them becomes quite expensive. Some stones cost a few thousand dollars to transport to his house. Foreign visitors are now becoming interested in visiting his gar-den, with Saigontourist and Viettravel travel companies in HCMC recommending it as a tourist attraction for their visitors. Some foreign visitors liken his stone garden to ‘Stonehenge’, the World Heritage Site in Salisbury, England. Although he collects stones for fun rather than as a business, Khiem is well-known to many people, especially tourists, who often ask him for advice on how to decorate their own gardens and houses. Close friends The stones have become Khiem’s friends and he names each stone according to its shape. For instance, there is the Shou Xing Gong or God of Long Life stone, the Mi Le Fo or the Laughing Buddha stone and family stones like the Mother and Child stone. “For me, each stone reminds me of something unique. Some stones were deep in the ground and took months to dig up. Sometime, I was very worried because I didn’t know what shapes they would be in. Sometimes, some stones were very beautiful, but they got cracked or chipped or even broken during transportation, so I was very disappointed,” Khiem said. At first, he thought that his love for big stones was unique, but in fact many people share his passion. Thanks to his stone garden, Khiem has made many domestic and international acquaintances, from as far afield as France, America and Japan. At first, they were just passers-by who dropped in to visit his gar-den but later they became his close friends. His daughter, who studies in England, has also invited international friends home. Their initial reaction is one of surprises to find a man in Vietnam who collects stones as a hobby. Khiem displays kindness to members of the public. Hundreds of couples have come to have their photo taken with his stones and he never charges them a cent. Instead, he gives them drinks and cakes to eat. One of Khiem’s relatives in the US even wanted to invest in his garden and turn it into a tourist attraction. Yet Khiem refused. “The stone garden was set up for fun and for people to admire, and that’s it. If hobbies become a business, they are spoiled. Artistic works are without value if they are mainly intended for personal use.” http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&newsid=34262 |
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