ChristchurchPhotos |
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Information |
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Known as the Garden City, Christchurch has huge parks and gardens. Hagley Park the most popular park is 161 hectares and contains the beautiful Botanic Gardens.
Christchurch is reputedly the most English
looking city outside of England, this claim is certainly justified, but it is strange when
you consider that Christchurch is also the furtherest city in the world from England.
The streets are lined with many English tree species like the Poplar and Chestnut and the main river, the Avon (named after it's English counterpart) is fringed with 
Weeping Willows.
Christchurch's architecture is also very English lookign with striking examples of Gothic Revival. Unfortunately, after suffering two major earthquakes and over ten thousand aftershocks, many of these old buildings have been destroyed. In fact around one-third of the buildings in the CBD are now destroyed. Although tragic, it also gives Christchurch a clean slate allowing the city to create a unique and modern identity with modern planning in mind. In the mean time, the CBD has been opened in parts and a container mall has been setup where each shop is made out of a shipping container. This has been done so that the CBD doesn't die, but continues to attract people while reconstruction is underway.
Before the last major earthquake, Cathedral Square, the heart of the city, hosted free attractions including a real wizard and a town Crier. The main tourist information centre was located here along with a market that started in the Square and ran down Worcester Boulevard. The inner city has a tram curcuit that takes in the best sites of the city. This part of Christchurch is likely to be restored to the way it was, while the Red Zone which desribes areas that are prone to liquifaction and intense shaking are going to be abandoned.
The beautiful Port Hills on the easten edge of the city has some upper class suburbs with spectacular views over the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps to the west. The other side of these hills afford stunning views over Banks Peninsula to the east.
NOTE: Although Christchurch was devasted in two major earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 with an additional 10,000+ aftershocks, the city is still open for business and locals hope to keep attracting visitors to get the economy back up and running.
Original versions of our photos can be purchased & web versions can be shared subject to conditions.