Hong Kong Accelerate
Posted on February 7th, 2012
A stunning time-lapse video by Spot On Idea (a production company in Hong Kong). Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I actually live here.
A stunning time-lapse video by Spot On Idea (a production company in Hong Kong). Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I actually live here.
When film director Mamoru Oshii was looking for a model of the city of the future for his seminal 1995 animated film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell (based on the manga by Masamune Shirow), he turned to the cityscape of Hong Kong for his inspiration.
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…
Despite having lived in the south of China for the best part of the last three years there is was one striking place I had never visited; Macau (澳門). As a former Portuguese colony Macau is classed as a special administrative region along with Hong Kong, and retains a large degree of autonomy.
Shenzhen is one of the most modern cities in China, having rapidly developed over the past 30 years since its inception as a special economic zone. Walking around its streets there is little to see in the way of history or culture but scratch beneath the surface and there are a few intriguing glimpses of the past to be found.
I spent the second half of my recent trip to Japan in Kyoto (京都); formerly the imperial capital of the country which carries the reputation as its most beautiful city. Having taken an early morning Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo I arrived a little over two hours later at what must be one of the most magnificent stations I’ve ever seen…
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…
China is currently in a headlong rush to reinvent itself for the 2008 Olympics and more importantly as 21st century super power. Nowhere is this more is this evident than in the capital Beijing which is undergoing a transformation like no other city has ever seen before. In this series of posts I’ll be examining the growth from my own perspective as an outsider and from native Beijingers who are forging a new China out of a situation which can only be described as extremely complex. Photo by bmgallery The first thing which greets any foreign visitor to Beijing is it’s impressive modern airport (recently expanded) which far outdoes anything which London has to offer and judging by recent events anything the UK is…
Last weekend I took a trip to York, a historic city in the north of England. Being nearly 2000 years old there is plenty of interest to see and do if you enjoy a bit of culture (and don’t mind walking!). Last weekend the weather was particularly mild and almost spring like for this time of year in the UK (around 10 deg C) which made it even nicer and not bad conditions for taking a few photos! Whilst you could probably spend a good week exploring, if you only have a day or two here are some places of note: York Minster – the second-largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, incredibly beautiful both inside and out Castle Museum – a surprisingly good museum…
On Sunday night a devastating fire destroyed the 610 year-old Namdaemun “Great South Gate” in Seoul, South Korea [video]. Luckily no one was hurt but it’s sad to hear that the blaze may be have been started on purpose. The loss is even more painful as gate was the countries no. 1 national treasure and one of the few to survive foreign invasions. The Cultural Heritage Administration has said that it will take at least three years to restore at an estimated cost of $21 million. I feel somewhat lucky to have visited Namdaemun last September when I was in South Korea and took a number of photos of the magnificent structure with its colourful paintings on the underside. What struck me was its…