The Rockery of Distant Views
The Rockery, constructed out of authentic Taihu stones excavated from China’s Lake Tai, is designed to give the visitor an elevated view of the mighty Mississippi River, which runs around, past, and beyond the walls of the garden. Along its front edge the rockery gives way to a dark cave, known as The Cave of the Shrouded Phoenix. The cave derives its name from the water of the adjacent pond, which flows through the cave unifying itself with the rocks. This unification is symbolic of a Phoenix (Feng Huang), which the Chinese understand to be a union of yin and yang.