" Once outside the courtyard gate, the Garden stretched out on every hand in uniform whiteness, uninterrupted except for the dark green of a pine tree or the lighter green of some bamboos here and there in the distance. He felt as if he was standing in the middle of a great glittering crystal bowl. "

― Cao Xueqin , The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 2: The Crab-Flower Club