珠江公园

This guide to Zhujiang Park in Guangzhou opens with an odd question: why plant an ornamental ginger garden in the middle of a glittering financial district? From there it traces the park's founding in 1999 as Zhujiang New Town rose around it, and its layout by plant family, palm, magnolia, osmanthus, ginger, rather than by scenery. You'll hear how Cantonese kitchens have leaned on ginger and osmanthus for centuries, and why the planners treated the plants as more than decoration. Listen while walking from one themed grove to the next.