While Beijing may be famous for its traditional Hutong (胡同) courtyard residences, Shanghai has its own distinct architectural style of residential homes called Shikumen (石库门). During a recent trip to 1933 Shanghai I spied from its roof one of the few remaining Shikumen tenements and decided to take a look around…
The words ‘art deco’, ‘abattoir’, and ‘Shanghai’ are not ones you usually find in the same sentence but on a hot summers morning in China’s second most populous city I found myself in one of the most curious architectural relics you could imagine; a 1930′s former slaughterhouse beautifully crafted from concrete in a style most unbecoming of China’s usual mausoleums to the uncouth.
One of the most enjoyable parts of travelling is experiencing a moment of serendipity, that is to say coming across something unexpected, or in other words a “happy accident”. During my most recent trip to South Korea the weather was pretty miserable but pausing for shelter on a bridge during a hard downpour yielded a particularly memorable scene…
At the end of my visit to Atlanta (USA) I managed to find a couple of spare hours to visit Georgia Aquarium, which happens to be the world’s largest with more than 8.5 million gallons of water housing more than 120,000 animals of 500 different species.
While in Atlanta last month I stayed at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center which had a balcony with wonderful views overlooking the Centennial Olympic Park. Even though I was jet lagged out of my 13-hour-difference mind I managed to stay awake long enough to grab some nice shots on two consecutive nights…
A friend of mine has an apartment in Hong Kong with an amazing rooftop terrace which looks out over the Wan Chai (灣仔) district. Having first seen it during the day I had to come back in the evening to take some pictures of the skyline.
A few weeks ago before my life turned überbusy I visited the tiny island of Peng Chau (坪洲) located off the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong for a bit of R&R. Around 6,300 people live on the island which, only being around 1 km², can easily be explored in a couple of hours.
Whilst walking down Hollywood Road yesterday I noticed that the old decommissioned Central Police Station compound was playing host to a free art exhibition providing a unique opportunity to take a look inside one of Hong Kong’s oldest colonial relics.
Every year in late April or early May, Hong Kong celebrates the birthday of Tin Hau (媽祖), also known as the Queen of Heaven and Goddess of the Sea. Legend has it that over 100 years ago Tin Hau stood on the shore guiding fishing boats home, unperturbed by typhoons and storms.
Away from the glitz of Hong Kong’s many skyscrapers the city is much like any other with a mix of people from all walks of life. Having been segregated from mainland China for much of the last century it’s developed it own unique culture and ways of dealing with the inherent lack of space.