One of the largest tributes to Chinese Americans, the Forbidden Gardens museum in Katy, TX is set to close in Februrary 2011, due to the expansion of the Grand Parkway (a connector between I-10 and Highway 290). The new road is expected to go through a main portion of the Forbidden Gardens, the section of which contains 4,000 terra cotta warriors.
The Forbidden Gardens also features a 1/20th scale full replica of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing. The replica of the Palace takes over an acre of land. The Forbidden Gardens was built almost 15 years ago by Ira Poon at a cost of around $14 million U.S. dollars with authenticity and attention to detail as two of his main goals. Poon built the museum in an effort to help educate Chinese Americans about their history and culture.
The museum is losing their space as the Texas Department of Transportation’s expansion of the Garden Parkway is taking the land through eminent domain. Currently there are no plans to re-open the exhibit in any other location. It’s unfortunate, as there are few enough opportunities in the U.S. to learn about Chinese history and culture, and this museum offered a way to see one of the most impressive accomplishments of the Chinese people without having the expense of going to China. It was one of the places I was hoping to take my daughter when she was a little older, as part of her education and learning about her history and her culture. Now, we’ll have to wait until we have the resources to see the real thing.
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