Posts from the “Photography” Category

Exploring Xiamen

Posted on June 1st, 2009

Last week China celebrated the annual Dragon Boat Festival with most people getting a few days off work for the national holiday. I took the opportunity to travel to the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian province, a 1 hour flight from Shenzhen (vs 8 hours by bus). Leaving last Thursday moring and coming back Saturday afternoon I had a little more than two days to explore the area. Xiamen has a rich history as a seaport which has seen revolution, Japanese invasion, European collonialism, high-profile corruption and was one of the first Special Economic Zones setup in 1980. It’s comprised of Xiamen Island, Gulangyu Island (the main attraction), and a larger region on the mainland. Being opposite to Taiwan also makes it an area of strategic military…

Hard Boiled Feng Shui

Posted on May 20th, 2009

In my last post from Beijing (for now) we take a trip to a remarkable new landmark floating behind the Great Hall of the People, colloquially known as The Egg, which houses the National Centre for the Performing Arts. At a cost of 3.2 billion CNY this was no cheap egg to lay and indeed caused much controversy given its location next to some of China’s most holy of holy sites (Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are also next door). Seen here beautifully lit up at night I stumbled across it almost by accident when its shimmering titanium and glass surface caught my eye at the end of the street near where I was staying. As if a UFO had just landed in…

Beijing 2009: Then and Now

Posted on May 14th, 2009

Two years have passed since I spent three months in Beijing in 2007 and it only seems like yesterday that I was writing a series of posts about how Beijing was changing in its mad dash to get ready for the 2008 Olympics. Of course the games are long over but the city has been forever changed by its passing and on my first return two weeks ago I was surprised at the extent of the transformation. Using photos I snapped on previous visits (and a few more I found online) I’ve put together a few comparative impressions from my fleeting visit… Pollution & Traffic Upon landing at Beijing Capital International Airport we were greeted with the all-too-familiar blanket of smog suffocating the suns light…

Olympic Birds Nest

Posted on May 12th, 2009

For the first time since its completion I finally had a chance to see Beijing’s centrepiece National Stadium dubbed the “Birds Nest”. On both of my previous visits to Beijing in 07 & 08 I had wandered around the perimeter of the building site to get a glimpse of this striking steel lattice structure but had never been inside before. Getting there is pretty easy using the subway line 8 spur. After purchasing a ticket (50 RMB) though a gap in the iron railings which surround the stadium you’re basically left to wander around the stadium freely, which has been left pretty much as is was, complete with thousands of red and white seats sitting expectantly in neat rows. It’s an awe inspiring structure which is…

Exotic Street Food

Posted on May 8th, 2009

One of the great things about China is the staggering variety of snack food available on most street corners for a couple of yuan and differing from region to region. Whilst hygiene standards may be questionable (most of them are illegal) I’ve never had any problems and quite often enjoy getting some spicy dry noodles or a meat stuffed pancake on the way to work. Wangfujing night market (王府井小吃街 in Beijing) has an exotic selection of insects, sea creatures and even scorpions which can be deep fried to order. I have a feeling that most of this is just for the sake of tourists who screech when they see the scorpions twitching on the sticks they have been harpooned on. I didn’t take my parents (who…

Conghua Shimen Forest Park

Posted on March 22nd, 2009

Yesterday, much against my better nature for a Saturday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn and joined my company’s photography group on a trip to Conghua Shimen National Forest Park, located about 1.5 hours north-east of Guangzhou and approx 3 hours from Shenzhen. Conghua is known as the “oasis” of the Tropic of Cancer with 68% forest cover and over 300 lakes and 180,000 acres of green mountains. As we left behind the metropolis, driving in convoy, the winding roads took us though small farming villages where life is a much simpler affair and people exist in a style which has not changed significantly over the past half century. We had come to see the blooming of the oilseed rape flower…

Yuyuan Gardens

Posted on March 2nd, 2009

Located in the centre of Shanghai’s “Old Town” is Yuyuan Gardens, one of the regions most famous classical gardens dating back to the 16th Century (Ming Dynasty). During my weekend in the city I had the opportunity to have an explore – Although only covering 5 acres the layout has been intricately designed to make it feel much bigger with “dragon walls” separating a total of 6 sections containing numerous ponds, doorways, bridges and rockeries lined with ornamental trees (one is claimed to be over 400 years old). If you’re looking for a stereotypical image of ancient China then this is the palce to come. Unfortunately the experience is somewhat marred by the hordes of Japanese and Korean tour groups who pour through the…

Shanghai Jinmao Tower

Posted on February 26th, 2009

Shanghai is well known for its dizzying array of skyscrapers with their unique facades and styles but rarely do most people look beyond the exterior shell which can sometimes be just as intriguing on the inside as they are on the outside. Such is the case with the imposing Jinmao Tower which at 421 m high makes it the fifth tallest in the world currently (as well as looking like something out of a batman movie!). Inside the monstrous building the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel occupies floors 53 to 87 and therein contains the hidden gem I was here to find… The hotel is obviously only open to paying guests which, being a man of modest means, I was not. Much against the protestations of my Chinese friend (who…

Shanghai by Night

Posted on February 25th, 2009

Aside from the cold and wet weather my trip to Shanghai was pretty good. The city stands out as being surprisingly un-Chinese with its mixture of stark modern skyscrapers, European colonial remnants and the odd communist monstrosity (see Oriental Pearl Tower above). Having travelled from the warmer climes of Shenzhen my first port of call upon arriving was to buy a coat which I had stupidly neglected to bring. After warmth was taken care of it was time for sustenance which came by way of an interesting soup concoction of sweet rice wine with glutinous rice balls and even more rice served warm. Just by the smell you could tell the alcohol content was pretty high but it wasn’t unpleasant, especially on a cold…

Cheung Chau Island

Posted on February 1st, 2009

It’s a little known fact that Hong Kong is comprised of 236 unique islands, the largest being Lantau Island and the second largest being Hong Kong Island which is the political and commercial centre of Hong Kong (where all the skyscrapers lie). During my short trip to Hong Kong last week I decided to head out to Cheung Chau island which is comparatively small at around 2.45 km² with around 30,000 inhabitants mostly clustered in the developed central area. Traditionally it was a fishing village but today the economy is mostly related to tourism. To get there you can take a ferry from pier 5 of the Central Piers on Hong Kong Island which takes about 40 minutes (there’s also a more expensive faster ferry) providing a pleasant trip…

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