Les Jardins du Loriot - Une Odyssée orientale en Vendée

With XXL statues sculpted in China, the garden of these Vendéens will delight manga fans

By Elisabeth PETIT.

Les Jardins du Loriot, a vast Anglo-Chinese park in the Vendée, will welcome five monumental statues in May, inspired by the legend of Sun Wukong. Designed in China, the transport of these sculptures was eventful to say the least: they sailed for two and a half months before arriving in France, in Le Havre.

In 2008, Monique and Jacques Chaplain, retired in Venansault, a commune of over 4,500 inhabitants in the Vendée region, set about creating what was to become a vast Anglo-Chinese park. Attended by 7,000 visitors last year, it remains the only one of its kind in the département.

Since then, this ex-banking executive and this former German teacher have devoted their time and savings to this 5-hectare site, called Jardins du Loriot and populated by oriental temples and statuettes, taking care to add a touch of novelty every year.
Monique and Jacques Chaplain, creators of Jardins du Loriot, Venansault. ( Photo : Ouest-France)

Inspired by Dragon Ball

“Last year, the site made its first profit. We wanted to invest and create a surprise,” explains the couple. In the next few days, six characters from the book Peregrination to the West, written at the end of the 16th century by Wu Chen'en, will take over the site.
The monk Tripitaka on his invincible steed, a white dragon horse named Longwan Sanjun (Photo: DR)

“Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama was inspired by Wu Cheng'en's novel in its Japanese version. Under the wand of the fairy Guanyin, a dragon-horse is transformed into the invincible steed Longwan Sanjun. He is ridden by the monk Tripitaka. With his team, he will brave every danger on the road to India, to bring back sacred Buddhist texts, so that they can be translated into Chinese", summarizes the duo.

Among the five statues, fans of the world-famous comic strip will also recognize the immortal monkey Sun Wukong, the human-shaped pig Su Badje, armed with a nine-pronged rake, and Shaseng, force of nature and luggage carrier. The fairy Guanyin will take her place by the pond, a few metres from the stage, to watch over the pilgrims.

See also: PICTURES. In Vendée, an oriental fragrance at the Jardins du Loriot

At the foot of the Chinese Wall
Su Bajie, a pig in human form, armed with a nine-toothed rake, a magical weapon for “raking” enemies ( Photo : DR)

A six-tonne whole, sculpted at the foot of the Chinese Wall, whose eventful journey is no different from that of pilgrims. “Transport from the port of Tianjin, near Beijing, to the port of Le Havre took over two and a half months”, explains Jacques Chaplain.
The explanation? “The war in Israel and the relentless Houthi attacks in the Red Sea”, which dissuaded the carrier, like many others, from using the Suez Canal in Egypt.

As a result, the sculptures were loaded onto the vessel Rotterdam and shipped in six crates via ten Chinese port facilities, before being transferred to a major South Korean port aboard the Al Zabura, a huge German container ship.

Read also: Venansault. A horse-dragon at the Jardins du Loriot

A journey around Africa
Luggage carrier Shaseng leads the way. He has the gift of moving through quicksand and fighting through turbulent waters. He is also the immortal who will carry the holy scriptures to China (Photo: DR).

After several stopovers in China, the ship finally made its way to Singapore, before heading for the Cape of Good Hope to bypass Africa, as in the past.

“It then passed through Southampton, England, before docking at Le Havre on April 22. The crates were confined for seven days, for sanitary reasons, and should soon arrive in Venansault,” explains Jacques Chaplain.
The Guayin fairy ensures that nothing compromises the team's journey to the West (Photo: DR).

Foundations have been poured in the garden's clay soil, which is currently waterlogged, to accommodate the assembly, whose parts will be hoisted by pulleys onto the riprap, raised this winter by the team of volunteers.

“It will take almost 48 hours to install everything. But it all depends on the weather,” observes the couple. The result will be visible in a few days' time.

Jardins du Loriot: open Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5, from 2.30 p.m. to 7 p.m., for Neurodon, a campaign to support research into the brain and neurological diseases, organized by the French Brain Research Federation (FRC). In May and June: open on Sundays and public holidays, and on other days by appointment.

 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)