Red Leaves〡12.7 The Orange-Red Beauty of Guyi Garden

Strolling through Guyi Garden today, the most abundant color I collected was orange-red. I entered through the North Gate, and just a few steps in is the Xi'e Pond, where the red leaves are very concentrated. According to the guide, the red leaves around the viewing platform, Fujun Pavilion, and Baihe Pavilion are all great for photos, though weekends tend to be crowded, so patience is needed to capture the beautiful scenes. Around the Quejiao Pavilion near Xi'e Pond, the red maples, Japanese maples, ginkgo, and Chinese tallow trees change colors alternately. The gray-tiled pavilion is wrapped in three layers of leaf colors—red, yellow, and brown—like wearing a colorful sweater. According to the guide, there is a place called Youhuang Yanyue in the southeast corner of the garden, but I couldn’t find it, which was a bit disappointing. I could only stroll around Qingqing Garden in the southeast corner. The red leaves there are not very concentrated, but near Shouying Suiyue Pavilion, a few small red maples stand out. Against the white walls and window railings, they have a very Chinese aesthetic. Finally, walking back to the North Gate along Yuanyang Lake, I saw a tree with orange-red leaves like a fireball next to Mingxuan on the opposite shore. It was round and cute. Circling around the Nine-Bend Bridge and getting closer to admire it, the red tree, white wall, and light and shadow created a warm, fiery scene. After searching for red leaves all along, although bright red maples are the stars of the red leaf season, I am increasingly fond of the season’s rich layers of orange-red, especially when the sunlight shines through, making them translucent and bright—so beautiful. Xi'e Pond is the "heart" of Guyi Garden and the easiest spot to capture the "water and land combined" shots during the red leaf season. In short: first shoot the panoramic "goose shape," then settle in for shots of "red maple + white goose + reflection," and finally go to Fujun Pavilion to wait for the sunset. Terrain Overview The pond resembles a large white goose spreading its wings, head facing south and tail north, covering about 2 mu (≈0.33 acres), with a maximum depth of 1.8 meters. It is surrounded by Zhuzhishan, Baihe Pavilion, Fujun Pavilion, and Buxizhou, making it the only open water surface in the garden with "scenery borrowed from all four sides." Three Major Red Leaf Photo Spots ① Viewing Platform (Goose Tail) — low angle close to the water, capturing red maples, white geese, and reflections on the opposite shore all in one frame, with front light from 2 to 4 pm; ② Fujun Pavilion (Goose Back) — resting corridor as foreground, using telephoto lens to compress koi, maple leaves, and pavilion corners into "three layers of depth." The bamboo couplet inside the pavilion, "The moon fills the ground with water, clouds rise over the mountains," adds a literary filter; ③ Baihe Pavilion (Goose Head) — pentagonal pointed roof 7.9 meters high, wing corners like a peacock’s tail. Shooting upward can silhouette "pavilion tip + red maple + blue sky," with the best backlight shots at dusk. Dynamic Highlights The pond is home year-round to over 20 white geese and more than 100 koi fish. When red leaves fall on the water, the geese paddle the leaves and the koi nibble on them. Capturing the "moving leaves + water ripples" moments is more lively than static scenes. Route & Timing It takes 3 minutes from the South Gate to reach the pond. It is recommended to make Xi'e Pond the first stop on your "red leaf route." Before 9:00 am, there are fewer people and more geese, so you can shoot empty scenes first. Return between 3:30 and 4:30 pm to capture backlit silhouettes. The two lighting periods do not interfere with each other. Station