Thursday, 21 September 2023
Monday, 21 November 2022
Hong Kong
Hong Kong verticality from down below:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/picturegalleries/10048951/Hong-Kongs-vertical-horizons.html?frame=2559338
of the same photographer:
http://www.rjl-art.com/gallery.php?category=2&image=d
http://photomichaelwolf.com/#architecture-of-densitiy/16
more from australia: http://www.news.com.au/travel/world/hong-kong-forest-of-skyscrapers/story-e6frfqb9-1226577724134
Background: I’d looked at Google maps tens of times to familiarise myself with 1. how to get to our hotel and 2. what the whole place was like. I also wanted to find out about the Border, Kowloon and the island proper and the islands and parks and nature on offer in this densely populated corner of the world. Years before even deciding to visit the place I’d “walked the streets” on streetview.
We get to Shenzen from Shanghai, still kind of unclear how we were going to get to Hong Kong territory proper, whether by train bus or what and how long it'd take. I go up to a bunch of nice students, different nationalities, who were in our same flight and ask them. They knew not either, and the 7 of us we head to the info service by the baggage collection belt and ask, once landed. They claim there's not train or metro and that we must take a bus but fortunately, that bit of information I did know is a lie as there is most certainly trains and metro connecting to HK. Again, it pays to have done a bit of prior reading if you don't want to fall prey of their shenanigans. So, do do a bit of reading beforehand ...
Metro at airport to border:We walk out and immediately see the signs of trains, make a left on stepping out. the journey's dirt cheap, because it's still China, but not as much as in China proper. Shenzen - border 9 yuans, which we got from a machine after patiently queueing for what was a very long time, ages, in a very very slow moving queue. It shocked us their ability to jump the queue and laugh at your face! bribe other queuers to get them their tickets, etc. Very very hot and unpleasant there. Very very chaotic. Only 4 machines. Over one hour to get to the border proper.
Follow the signs, and off we head to immigration and customs. It kind of looks like a semi run-down shopping mall. It's pitch dark. It's all almost empty. The signs are for chinese/Hk citizens and foreigners. We sort out the paperwork and we get to the train station.
Now it's time to change money, yuans into HK dollars, so that we can purchase the Hong Kong train token.
We briefly chat to a dodgy looking Englishman who asked us whether we'd sorted our accommodation as it was a holiday, it'd be hard to find, etc. We got rid of him in a flash. We leave the guys behind when getting tickets and rush to platforms as there's a train leaving in a couple of minutes, surprisingly from the ticket machines to platforms's just a very short walk! Bought ticket from a machineto the end of the line, but not to our final stop..let’s see what happens. Quiet train. we change trains at the end of the line, to our destination aware that we hadn't purchased the ticket for that one.. we do it anyway, regardless of what may happen once there, we tried our luck. We tried our lack and have to pay the difference to get out, cool. It could have been a fine, and it’s just the difference. No going back, no fines, no reprimands. Tsim Tsha Sui. Darkish side-ish street, off Nathan road. Night time, but busy, and full of neon lights. Big canvas ad being propped down.
Walking up, or is it down?, before the busy street, and the lights of these shops glaring at full blast, and the big old neon signs as tall as a block of flats in Barcelona, bright, and colourful, with dodgy electricity and cabling here and there...it's just amazing to be here. Looks like the signs are going to fall off any time and kill the unfortunate passers-by underneath. Vertical, horizontal, big and smaller, most on, some off. Just like in the pics I'd seen. Incredible.
We walk until I see the big Rolex sign I’d seen on my streetview research. Odyssey as feared or preparation will pay off? It does! just like I'd seen it'd be. It does pay off to get informed, it certainly makes these things easier (might talk about this in some other entry).
Hotel? Worse room we’ll ever be/'ve ever been in. Ever.
I knew it'd be very small, I'd knew what to expect but still. It still comes a bit as a shock! but it's small and affordable or just too expensive. We've got a window, which is a very good deal in HK and a tiny private bath, of course! About the water tank... we’ve got to fill it with the shower thingy, not tank lid, very very small. The lady of the room asks for more money because it’s a holiday, hubbie gets pissed of because of the size of the room, ...now that I remember, I’d only booked it in case I didn’t find anything thing else better, but i fear that the moment I made the reservation, this felt like one thing off the list!
Hong Kong, like anything else we've seen in china, blows-your-mind, is mind-blowing, it’s unbelievable, astonishing. The one thing I remember is people queuing to go into the Prada shop well before opening time. People dragging wheelie cases which I am sure were going to be loaded with their expensive purchases. A lot of money being flaunted around there. Amazing, new and luxiriours-looking shopping centres, top-end shops and customers to satisfy their egos with expensive and luxury goods and cars up and down the streets and parked by pavements Lamborginis were the norm!
Morning: We have breakfast, coffee on Nathan road- across the Park, go up to the quays, we walk down Canton road, Victoria, Salisbury road (avenue of stars, take in the famous skyline), preparations for party, ... narrow streets, lunch,... afternoon: TinHau temple- really liked it, Jade market, ManLing Lane area, ..market, wet market and all sorts of colourful food, temples, fire, snails, ...old people, fireworks in Sheraton, throngs of people walking down, spanish family in Sheraton lift, ... no card, stuck in there...dinner at posh restaurant (nice food, last minute arrival. Spicy sauce that we buy after getting name – tastes like sobrasada).
Island, day 2: metro to Central. Cat street, antique shops, (toilet in a hotel just before) Man mo temple..in the island,
Geocaching under the blazing heat.
Buildings: old and shabby and crumbling it would appear from the outsider, well below the standards of Health and Safety in the UK at first sight. Iron bars, electricity cables, small windows blackened by dirt and pollution and time. High and low, new and glass right next to old ones. No taste, need for vertical accommodation prevails. Textile workshops on 10th floors, business inside what looks like a flat. Appearance of dodge right next door to an expensive-looking mall that connects to the underground station and it has live on its own, as big as an entire small village in England. Some are really dodgy looKing, the Lumber of high-rises is probably higher than in in NY in an area half the size of Liechestein, in a whooping only 80.5 km2 of the HK island only. Seen from a 55th floor of the IFC (International Finance Centre) is an abherration to nature. The need for verticality to acommodate the “needs” in this tiny, hilly island has led to this lack of sense of aesthetics and incongruity. The past and present. Old and new. Modernity and tradition hand in hand in narrow streets full of contrast. This leads me to the beautiful Buddhist temples sometimos tucked away in lush squares like Tin hau in Kowloon or Man Mo in Central, near Cat street. Just cool. Looking back, i really liked the place (not that I didn’t then) but it’s just very me. Peace and quiet of temples and hassle and bustle of city life. The incense and the lamps and devoted prayers to chubby budas and dusty shelves and candle lit corners. Side streets with chinese medicine shops with lots of weird roots in crystal jars, the ready bowls of tea,
The elevated roads to make double use of the space, airconditioned shopping malls which connect to metro stations and take you to another street level. It’s all a bit confusing, a tangle of lanes, streets, elevations and escalators!
The picnics of the Philippino female community were absolutely everywhere, ubiquitous across the city, always in the shadow, away from the blazing heat. For the purpose of propecting their stuff and setting limits to their groups, cartoon boxes unfolded, squared-shaped crèche-like things were set up, plastic sheets and food and their mobile phones to snap themselves on pics and a big smile on their faces. No men, only women! When I asked about their men, they said they were at sporting events, they thought. There is a big populations of Philippinoes in HK and the ladies work as housemaids and cleaning ladies there. They are all the time, all, taking pictures of themselves, whether alone or with friends I’d never seen this degree of vanity in public, and giggling and smiling, what happy people they seem to be. Waving at me if I looked at them in awe, surprise and somehow, envy. I asked them why there were so many women around and they said it’s a bank holiday and that men were had gone to sports matches or something. It was a pleasure to see them having such fun with such simple thing as a picnic with friends and a nap after tugging into food in the shadow of tree, tunnels, etc.
update 5.2.204 just listened to https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ts32 podcast with Anneck Rise Your place or mine , bbc programme
and this has triggered an google search about HongKong and has made me once again that i often go to these remote exotic places and know nothing about the sights individually. I go there because I am taken there by my travel companion, the one with the map and the route within the city or town, and ..i just follow, finger on the shutter of my camera ready ready to look and shoot but with no "interest" about it there, on the spot. this comes after, when I've transfered the pics onto my computer...
it's a pity. I'd need a lot more time...see, pictures and sit and read/chat with sb to tell me about the site..etc
and this has triggered an google search about HongKong and has made me once again that i often go to these remote exotic places and know nothing about the sights individually. I go there because I am taken there by my travel companion, the one with the map and the route within the city or town, and ..i just follow, finger on the shutter of my camera ready ready to look and shoot but with no "interest" about it there, on the spot. this comes after, when I've transfered the pics onto my computer...
it's a pity. I'd need a lot more time...see, pictures and sit and read/chat with sb to tell me about the site..etc
go beyond: can i go in? who has lived in here? is there any "past" to be seen? when did it change? are people happy with what it is now? go up and down? explore further. ask questions.
but maybe it's because most of it wsa just new, or if felt new- designers stores, and it ...lent itself to experiencing it more than knowing about it? who knows. but its colonial past (alsmost erradicated?)
no en recordo la xafogor
fotos:
hores i llevar-se d'hora depen on per no trobar molta gent, o el sol/llum adequat per la foto...differents moments del dia
Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
Shanghai
Shanghai
Some of the most astonishing views in Shanghai is the-slap-in-the face and stark contrast of the old and new. The low buildings prior 1930s, the grand ones along the Bund of 1930s with the British trading companies established there and the 21st century glass and steel high-rises, and huge blocks of flats for accommodating the increasingly dense population. All of this makes Shanghai an amazing paradise for photographers and inquisitive minds of visitors, expats and verylikely locals alike.
update: just found this video about one of the towers being built when i was there in 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDYtH1RH-U
Shanghai, before the British arrived, was a small fishing village, surrounded by swamps in the now Pudong area. It had been a trading port but of no more relevance than that. Then in 1930s with Europe's hand in Asia and the opium trade, financial deals were made and corporations were formed there and it was not till 1990s that Shanghai flourished as a financial hub, time when new developments began being made.
Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese in 1932, who invaded China and the ensuing 1930s and 1940s war, badly affected the city, and after communism, in 1990s its econominy flourished.
My days in Shanghai
Arrived by air, found the hostel easily and it wasn't hard to get our bearings and know our surroundings. Shanghai metro goes to the airport, so cheap and easy.
Hostel: Mingtown Nanjing Road. three minute walk from East Nanjing Road metro station. Recommended, I would definetely stay there again.
Amenities, food, 10 minute walk to the Bund, off Nanjing Road, cool location.
I fell in love with the city within hours of being there so when planning how long to stay there, rather than a mere two or three-day stay, I’d say, let yourself get carried away, don’t plan a return trip if you can and see how you feel about it. Colleagues who'd been there had said a couple of days was enough but oh man how wrong I thought they were.
It’s easy enough to get away from it with no travel arrangements. I did not want to leave. I’d followed Maitane's, and others', advice about the length of stay but no no. Three days is just enough to get a rough idea of what the city is like, but stay longer and relish what it has to offer.
The food, the sights and neighbourhoods, the dancing ladies in the evening, the taichi and sword and fans ladies and elderly men flying kites against the blue, bathed-in-sunshine sky by the Huangpu river on the magestic Bund early in the morning when the sun rises behind the awe-inspiring high-rises, underestimating the height of the new Pudong skyscrapers. Just magic. The light at this time of the day is breathtaking in October. Something I like to do even though I don't always have the time to do it is visit the same place in different moments of the day, say morning and evening, the light, the crowds are totally different. This time, I did.
You won’t be hassled, people are nice and friendly despite their lack of English skills. And again, if you travel alone, opportunities to speak with locals abound. I was invited into one of the French Concessions houses, where a handlful of ladies in their late 70s were playing some go, the domino-like game. Smiles did all the job, no word spoken other than xiexie, now widely used in China.
As leonasam says, there are plenty, plenty of incredible shopping opportunities, in newly built shopping malls, and beautiful and charming little local shops in the French Conscession. The original houses have been stripped of their façades and turned into fancy shops. One can't help the change.
What stroke me the most is the size of the metro stations and the number of exits. Distances are undeniably big for someone from old Europe. And one more thing worth saying the contrasts. Streets, people, shops, affordable consumer paradise from rags and local to luxury are just one step away from each other. Shanghai is many Shanghais and locals don’t seem to mind the radical change the city has undergone these last 10 years, they seem to go with the flow although surely there must be some resenting it as whenever there's dramatic changes but we hardly met any who spoke out about this.
Shocking was also the huge amount of plastic in the streets: rubbish-pickers making their wages collecting the discarded plastic bottles, which is a sight everywhere in Asia but probably nothing compares to China.
Well, after three whole days there I’d say: I want to move to Shanghai and work for the British Council there for some time! It’s thriving, amazing, rich and poor, cheap and expensive, accommodating, exciting, cultural. It can be what you want it to be. Just amazing.
and I haven't even mentioned the temples.
shanghai metro photographer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25435392
Some of the most astonishing views in Shanghai is the-slap-in-the face and stark contrast of the old and new. The low buildings prior 1930s, the grand ones along the Bund of 1930s with the British trading companies established there and the 21st century glass and steel high-rises, and huge blocks of flats for accommodating the increasingly dense population. All of this makes Shanghai an amazing paradise for photographers and inquisitive minds of visitors, expats and verylikely locals alike.
 |
| Top of Shanghai World Financial Centre seen from the Pearl tower. Third tallest building in the world at the time, it is also known as the bottle opener. |
 |
| Old and new Shanghai from the Pearl tower, in Pudong |
 |
| New super high rise bulidings |
 |
| Shanghai, at the bottom of the Pearl tower, roundabout and elevated crossings, beautifully decorated with flower beds for the China National Day |
 |
| Shanghai, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. |
update: just found this video about one of the towers being built when i was there in 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDYtH1RH-U
Shanghai, before the British arrived, was a small fishing village, surrounded by swamps in the now Pudong area. It had been a trading port but of no more relevance than that. Then in 1930s with Europe's hand in Asia and the opium trade, financial deals were made and corporations were formed there and it was not till 1990s that Shanghai flourished as a financial hub, time when new developments began being made.
Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese in 1932, who invaded China and the ensuing 1930s and 1940s war, badly affected the city, and after communism, in 1990s its econominy flourished.
My days in Shanghai
Arrived by air, found the hostel easily and it wasn't hard to get our bearings and know our surroundings. Shanghai metro goes to the airport, so cheap and easy.
Hostel: Mingtown Nanjing Road. three minute walk from East Nanjing Road metro station. Recommended, I would definetely stay there again.
Amenities, food, 10 minute walk to the Bund, off Nanjing Road, cool location.
I fell in love with the city within hours of being there so when planning how long to stay there, rather than a mere two or three-day stay, I’d say, let yourself get carried away, don’t plan a return trip if you can and see how you feel about it. Colleagues who'd been there had said a couple of days was enough but oh man how wrong I thought they were.
It’s easy enough to get away from it with no travel arrangements. I did not want to leave. I’d followed Maitane's, and others', advice about the length of stay but no no. Three days is just enough to get a rough idea of what the city is like, but stay longer and relish what it has to offer.
The food, the sights and neighbourhoods, the dancing ladies in the evening, the taichi and sword and fans ladies and elderly men flying kites against the blue, bathed-in-sunshine sky by the Huangpu river on the magestic Bund early in the morning when the sun rises behind the awe-inspiring high-rises, underestimating the height of the new Pudong skyscrapers. Just magic. The light at this time of the day is breathtaking in October. Something I like to do even though I don't always have the time to do it is visit the same place in different moments of the day, say morning and evening, the light, the crowds are totally different. This time, I did.
You won’t be hassled, people are nice and friendly despite their lack of English skills. And again, if you travel alone, opportunities to speak with locals abound. I was invited into one of the French Concessions houses, where a handlful of ladies in their late 70s were playing some go, the domino-like game. Smiles did all the job, no word spoken other than xiexie, now widely used in China.
As leonasam says, there are plenty, plenty of incredible shopping opportunities, in newly built shopping malls, and beautiful and charming little local shops in the French Conscession. The original houses have been stripped of their façades and turned into fancy shops. One can't help the change.
What stroke me the most is the size of the metro stations and the number of exits. Distances are undeniably big for someone from old Europe. And one more thing worth saying the contrasts. Streets, people, shops, affordable consumer paradise from rags and local to luxury are just one step away from each other. Shanghai is many Shanghais and locals don’t seem to mind the radical change the city has undergone these last 10 years, they seem to go with the flow although surely there must be some resenting it as whenever there's dramatic changes but we hardly met any who spoke out about this.
Shocking was also the huge amount of plastic in the streets: rubbish-pickers making their wages collecting the discarded plastic bottles, which is a sight everywhere in Asia but probably nothing compares to China.
Well, after three whole days there I’d say: I want to move to Shanghai and work for the British Council there for some time! It’s thriving, amazing, rich and poor, cheap and expensive, accommodating, exciting, cultural. It can be what you want it to be. Just amazing.
and I haven't even mentioned the temples.
shanghai metro photographer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25435392
Monday, 2 March 2015
Beijing
BEIJING
The population as of 2013 was 21,150,000. The city proper is the 3rd largest in the world. Can you believe 21m people as one city? One reconsiders what we understand as a village, small town, big town or city. In Spain we say that Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia are cities, when next to New York and London are big towns, which in turn, are big towns next to Asian cities!
We arrive in Beijing the days before their National Day, what they call the Golden Days as there's a 10 day holiday and most Chinese go and visit family. Travel becomes chaos, or so they say, as millions of them fly and take trains. And we know well enough that queueing is not one of their strengths.
Mooncakes and unbelieveably long queues to purchase them, people with up to 20 boxes chock-a-block with these round pastry delicacies only eaten on these days.
Huge and extremely elaborate flower displays all over the capital, in Tiananmenn Square, the main street between the square and the Forbidden City. Piles of boxes of coloured petals in Red lanterns hanging from street lamps, army patrolling streets, all getting ready for the big day, on 1st October this year. Dates vary from year to year, depending on full moons, etc.
Hotels are considerably more expensive, as are flights and domestic transportation. Throngs are expected to flood the streets and the sights.
We only get to see this bit of the preparations, and the fireworks in HongKong where the whole event is to a much smaller scale.
On our night in Beijing, we stayed at the Happy Dragon Hostel, run by an English bloke. It is in an alley under the Wahaha hotel near Dongsi metro station, 5 minute walk from Wanfungie shopping street, and not far from Tiananmen etc. Conveninent and not noisy. Judit and I had stayed there two years before.
Cool market in the morning. Local, cheap and fresh breakfast next door, early morning taichi round the corner.
I want to see more of the Hutongs, go to places I didn't go on my first time, I want to show S what I liked my first time, like the night food market and the other market off wanfungie, I want to go to temples, and to ghost street (which I didn't).I want to marvel at some of the most incredibly innovative architectural shapes I've ever seen.
Architecture-wise, Asia is indeed pioneer in all sorts of shapes and the dimensions are just unbelieveable. Lost for words when you see the shape of buildings strength- and gravity-defying modern buildings. Google for GALAXY SOHO and you'll know what I am talking about! and theYanki Kempinski hotel, and the TV building and the Egg- the opera house near Tiananmen - many many others you can't help but see on the drive into town from the airport.
At the same time, just consider these architectural monsters from the ground floor height of hutongs, thankfully, still standing and existing today? What do elders think of the new Beijing? it's the Beijing of the youth, of the expats, of capitalism and money and expansion and growth, it's the Beijing making an statement, putting itself on the map for what's going to be a very long time. I would love to go back a third time and spend days exploring new modern buildings, camera in hand.
After Changchun:
A Beijing ja fosc, arribem a l'estació on jo fa dos anys vaig agafar el Transsiberià per anar a Mongolia, un dels millors viatges de la meva vida. Tot i que no me n'adono fins que sóc a l'exterior. Taxi i a l'alberg 161 Lishi Hostel. Volta per sortir de la zona de l'estació i ens val menys de 2€! tot i que ens deixa a other end of the hutong i hem de caminar força. Són llargs aquests hutongs!
Check-in i sopar pel nostre mateix carrer. Dona en una barbaque vendor using ahair dryer to keep charcoal burning and get meat cooked quickly; suquets de colors.
No sabem quants dies ens quedarem a Beijing o en aquest mateix hostel. Vull anar a Pingyao, el que comporta una o dos nits fora. Reservem gairebé dia a dia! De bones a primeres, m'agobia la idea d'estar una setmana sencera en una mateixa ciutat però al final ho vam fer i ha estat genial. Hi ha tant a fer i tant a veure que no t'acabes mai la ciutat. M'hi hauria quedat més temps de bona gana.
...
Anem al
7, Lama Temple (Yonghegong metro station)
Metro, caminem una estona, hutongs a un cantó, una cafeteria a la europea pel camí, parades i parades d'encens i ofrenes a la vorera i l'entrada.
No el vam visitar fa dos anys. Aquest any m'he informat millor sobre el que he de visitar a Beijing, a més del que no et pots perdre si només estas dos o tres dies a la ciutat. El Lama temple, potser perquè encara era festa a xina i hi havia molta afluència de devots de totes les edats m'ha agradat. Es tenedor del rècord guiness per "house" el buda més alt mai fet. 18 metres de buda que no se't permet fotografia. Els monjos estan a totes les sales vigilant. Molts molts devots a tot arreu! Molt d'encens i molta ofrena. L'encens és com el portador dels teus desitjos. Sovint no es pot cremar dins els recintes dels temples pero sí el pots oferir. El complexe d'edificis és gran, tot simètric. Hi ha fum i cendra d'encèns per l'aire.
D'aquí anem direcció a... per una zona de hutongs, a l'altre cantó del carrer d'entrada al Lama temple, després d'ahver fet un cafè - molt cuco amb fotos emmarcades d'ampolles d'Absolut vodka a les parets, molt occidental -i haver consultat geocachings per la zona.
Entrem al confucius Temple. Visita ràpida. Una de les sales té una exposició d'instruments musicals i campanes funeràries.Monjo taoista fora a qui li faig fotos gràcies a que uns altres guiris li demanen, crec. Un iaio molt curios, i de ben segur molt savi.
Llits de flors, arbres centenàris de formes capritxoses, amb textures interessants.
Al sortir un monjo taoista, de roba blava i monyo y barret negre, es deixa fotografiar pacientment i amb un somriure.
Girem a la dreta , per un hutong i ens trobem una formatgeria, botiga delicatessen en un hutong! Pa, embotit, xocolata belga i una baguet, això serà el nostre dinar! Que xulo! Hutongs, nets, habitats i amb vida. Xulo passejar per aquí. Anem de camí al metro per anar a les Bell and Drum Towers, de les quals només visitem la de la campana. Un cop més estan en mig de zona de hutongs. M'encanta! Llocs amb encant en hutongs mig restaurats. Els hutongs no tenen banys privats i ni clavegueres ni calefacció pero tenen un encant especial per la forma i concepte. Escales empinades per la torre, campana enorme, vistes a hutong i la ciutat.
D'aquí cap a la zona Olimpica.
La cançoneta one world, one dream, playing ceaselessly on the very intrusive loudspeakers all along the walk and me stretching out my arms everytime they said "one world one dream" as if wanting to hold the world in my arms, laughing.
Llarg, no s'acaba mai, no és ni mig dia i ja tinc mal de peus. Beijing té aixó... cansa, les distancies són enormes.
Més geocaching, el s flipant dels edificis olimpics. A mi "el niu", l'estadi olímpic, em decepciona, el veure els materials perd encant tot i que realment és impressionant.
Cometes a la tarda. Busquem entrada de metro, caminem mooooolt, volta a la mansana i no la trobem. Increíble lo gran que és tot. Edifici de la ibm, parc temàtic de tot xina quan veiem edificis tibetans allà al mig de carrer. Molt sorpresos deduim que deu ser un "poble espanyol" de Xina.
Metro i al centre després de caminar mooolt buscant l'entrada al temple de la pagoda que es veu alta, prop del niu... i res, deduim que aquesta pagoda és una reproducció del parc temàtic! Una santa volta per trobar la pagoda i l'entrada de metro...quan la teniem al costat d'on vam començar a caminar, pel cantó contrari! grrr Edicifi de IBM
Sopem mcdonalds??
8, summer palace
Després de gairebé una hora de metro, dos canvis i tota una línia, arribem a la zona del summer palace. Perduts a la sortida. Cap indicació a la vista, només un mur que et podia fer pensar que era la delimitació del palau. Prèvia experiencia amb un mur de similars característiques que la J i jo ja ens vam topar a Beijing's Temple of Heaven fa un parell d'anys.
Entrada al recinte, nowhere to be seen. Ens indiquen recta i a la dreta, girem i més mur que no s'acaba mai. Entrada! Diversos tipus d'entrada segons què vulguis visitar. Esmorzem entrepà sandwich (europeu) i cafè i cap a dins! De postal, llàstima que el dia estigués entrenyinat. Una lleugera i homogènia boirina cobria la zona. No ho enlletgia, ans al contrari, li donava un aire misteriós com de dia de pluja, però no és el que vols trobar-te quan vas de vacances. La pregunta és: és boirina, contaminació o smog? El lloc es un turó verd, dins Beijing però lluny del centre.
El summer palace de la dinastia Qing, i capritx arquitectonic de la Sissí, emperadriu, per fugir de la humitat de Beijing a l'estiu.No m'estranya, a l'octubre hi fa xafogor però amics que hi han estat a l'agost, es veu que és mortal!
Tot molt bonic, molt xinès, els colors imperials de verd i vermell hi són omnipresents, obvi pero cal mencionar-ho. Tal belleas la culmina tot un racó preciós, ple de salzes i passadissos coberts i construccions típiques xineses ple d'estudiants d'art fent la seva interpretació del lloc amb pintura i paper. Preciós. Un lloc ensisador, típic de postal, dels que sembla que siguin extrets de contes de fades o sets de pel·licula, com si realment no existissin hahahaha. Equiparable al Yu gardens de Shanghai.No us perdeu cap dels dos llocs.
Comprem dinar al super i mengem a l'alberg de cansats que ja comencem a estar, porsche groc al carrer. Sortim de nou...a...?
Dia 9
Dia 10
Matí al llit, refredada. El s va la Ciutat Prohibida i jo em quedo al llit. A la tarda anem al parc Jingshan amb vistes a la ciutat prohibida i tot beijing. Que bonic, l'altre vegada no ho havia vist. Lotus, grans gerros amb aigua i nenúfars. Gent de minories ètniques amb vestimenta tradicional visitant la ciutat, guiris al seu propi país. Un dia preciós, i amb sol i sense massa boira ni smog. Des d'allà tens una perpectiva de tota la ciutat, la immensitat i el contrast en els seus edificis, la superficie de la Ciutat Prohibida en un oasi de tranquil·litat.
dia 11
muralla xina, jo encara refredada. Contractem excursió a través del hostel.
recollim altra gent de diferents hotels, ...
emoció al divisar-la desde la furgo. Ara sí que em fa certa il·lusió veure-ho. Fins ara, venia més pel S que per què jo la volgués veure, de fet el primer cop a Beijing, tant Jud com jo no ens interessava especialment.
Entrades, quedem amb el conductor per l'hora i lloc de tornada i ens enfilem.Vam tenir la gran sort de poder-hi anar entre setmana i amb prou feines hi havia gent. Als caps de setmana s'omple de gom a gom sempre.
telefèric, ... trams, el sergio flipa. Molta pendent. Quin tram? Mutiyanyu crec que era el tram que fem entre els tres més propers a la capital, però no el que més. Està dividida en trams, més o menys allunyats de la capital, en més o menys bon estat.
Quina bestiesa fer una construcción d'aquestes característiques. Res que no hàgim sentit tots abans però ser allà convida a la reflexió i verbalitzar-ho, expressar-ho. La llargada, l'amplada, les dimensions de les torres i el grau d'inclinació tot perfilant els cims de les muntanyes. A qui se li acut fer una desfensa així?!
El S queda flipat i enamorat. El millor del viatge per ell, tot i que Shanghai ens ha agradat moltíssim a tots dos. Flipa d'estar allà. Ell no volia marxar de Xina sense veure aquest monument.
No hi fa calor, s'està bé, jo porto una mocador de coll que llavors m'he de treure a mesura que va entrant el dia, i amb els passos sobre el terreny tant poc homogèni i escalons tant alts per accedir a les torres i anar fent cims!
El S puja un tram que es veia massa enfilat pel meu estat físic. Jo l'espero en un punt i em dedico a admirar vistes i fer fotos dels teulats i d'ell a mida que va ascendint. Segur que li agradarà! :-9
Baixem pel tobogan, jo no les tenia totes perquè em sento una mica patosa però la veritat és que és xulo tot i que el S em diu que anava molt a poc a poc i vaig provocar una mica de cua, cosa que no crec que sigui certa perquè van permeten el pas segons el nombre de gent descendent. En fi, ... que va estar xulo. Aquesta opció per baixar resulta més econòmica que el telefèric i sense dubte és més divertida. Puges en telefèric i per baixar tens la opció d'a peu, tobogan o telefèric.
Tinc coneguts que critiquen al fet d'anar a llocs turistics perquè han estat reconstruits. pel turisme però hi ha llocs que val la pena aquesta reconstrucció per entendre què representava aquest ara-monument en el seu moment: ja per les dimension, ubicació, simbolisme, etc i aquest n'és un.
tornem en furgoneta
Quan es fa fosc és típic que la gent, de totes les edats però especialment gent de 40 per amunt es reuneixi per ballar coreografies senzilles però que requeriexen coordinació en llocs públics, pel carrer, en una plaça, al costat de parades de metro amb lloc suficient per un grapat (un bon grapat?), desenes, gairebé un centenar de gent. És super divertit veure-ho, tothom hi té cabuda. Tots passen de tots. No es miren. Fan la seva, ballen, segueixen o no. Quan s'acaba, marxen. Perquè pagar gimnassos per no anar-hi quan pots quedar al carrer i gratuitament mantenir la forma i fer una mica d'exercici a l'aire lliure - per contaminat que estigui? Jo sincerament ho trobo fantàstic. M'hi passaria hores veient-los moure's, alguns amb més gràcia que altres, molts coordinats i menys, però sense dubte, és digne de veure.
The population as of 2013 was 21,150,000. The city proper is the 3rd largest in the world. Can you believe 21m people as one city? One reconsiders what we understand as a village, small town, big town or city. In Spain we say that Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia are cities, when next to New York and London are big towns, which in turn, are big towns next to Asian cities!
We arrive in Beijing the days before their National Day, what they call the Golden Days as there's a 10 day holiday and most Chinese go and visit family. Travel becomes chaos, or so they say, as millions of them fly and take trains. And we know well enough that queueing is not one of their strengths.
Mooncakes and unbelieveably long queues to purchase them, people with up to 20 boxes chock-a-block with these round pastry delicacies only eaten on these days.
Huge and extremely elaborate flower displays all over the capital, in Tiananmenn Square, the main street between the square and the Forbidden City. Piles of boxes of coloured petals in Red lanterns hanging from street lamps, army patrolling streets, all getting ready for the big day, on 1st October this year. Dates vary from year to year, depending on full moons, etc.
Hotels are considerably more expensive, as are flights and domestic transportation. Throngs are expected to flood the streets and the sights.
We only get to see this bit of the preparations, and the fireworks in HongKong where the whole event is to a much smaller scale.
On our night in Beijing, we stayed at the Happy Dragon Hostel, run by an English bloke. It is in an alley under the Wahaha hotel near Dongsi metro station, 5 minute walk from Wanfungie shopping street, and not far from Tiananmen etc. Conveninent and not noisy. Judit and I had stayed there two years before.
Cool market in the morning. Local, cheap and fresh breakfast next door, early morning taichi round the corner.
I want to see more of the Hutongs, go to places I didn't go on my first time, I want to show S what I liked my first time, like the night food market and the other market off wanfungie, I want to go to temples, and to ghost street (which I didn't).I want to marvel at some of the most incredibly innovative architectural shapes I've ever seen.
Architecture-wise, Asia is indeed pioneer in all sorts of shapes and the dimensions are just unbelieveable. Lost for words when you see the shape of buildings strength- and gravity-defying modern buildings. Google for GALAXY SOHO and you'll know what I am talking about! and theYanki Kempinski hotel, and the TV building and the Egg- the opera house near Tiananmen - many many others you can't help but see on the drive into town from the airport.
At the same time, just consider these architectural monsters from the ground floor height of hutongs, thankfully, still standing and existing today? What do elders think of the new Beijing? it's the Beijing of the youth, of the expats, of capitalism and money and expansion and growth, it's the Beijing making an statement, putting itself on the map for what's going to be a very long time. I would love to go back a third time and spend days exploring new modern buildings, camera in hand.
After Changchun:
A Beijing ja fosc, arribem a l'estació on jo fa dos anys vaig agafar el Transsiberià per anar a Mongolia, un dels millors viatges de la meva vida. Tot i que no me n'adono fins que sóc a l'exterior. Taxi i a l'alberg 161 Lishi Hostel. Volta per sortir de la zona de l'estació i ens val menys de 2€! tot i que ens deixa a other end of the hutong i hem de caminar força. Són llargs aquests hutongs!
Check-in i sopar pel nostre mateix carrer. Dona en una barbaque vendor using ahair dryer to keep charcoal burning and get meat cooked quickly; suquets de colors.
No sabem quants dies ens quedarem a Beijing o en aquest mateix hostel. Vull anar a Pingyao, el que comporta una o dos nits fora. Reservem gairebé dia a dia! De bones a primeres, m'agobia la idea d'estar una setmana sencera en una mateixa ciutat però al final ho vam fer i ha estat genial. Hi ha tant a fer i tant a veure que no t'acabes mai la ciutat. M'hi hauria quedat més temps de bona gana.
...
Anem al
7, Lama Temple (Yonghegong metro station)
Metro, caminem una estona, hutongs a un cantó, una cafeteria a la europea pel camí, parades i parades d'encens i ofrenes a la vorera i l'entrada.
No el vam visitar fa dos anys. Aquest any m'he informat millor sobre el que he de visitar a Beijing, a més del que no et pots perdre si només estas dos o tres dies a la ciutat. El Lama temple, potser perquè encara era festa a xina i hi havia molta afluència de devots de totes les edats m'ha agradat. Es tenedor del rècord guiness per "house" el buda més alt mai fet. 18 metres de buda que no se't permet fotografia. Els monjos estan a totes les sales vigilant. Molts molts devots a tot arreu! Molt d'encens i molta ofrena. L'encens és com el portador dels teus desitjos. Sovint no es pot cremar dins els recintes dels temples pero sí el pots oferir. El complexe d'edificis és gran, tot simètric. Hi ha fum i cendra d'encèns per l'aire.
D'aquí anem direcció a... per una zona de hutongs, a l'altre cantó del carrer d'entrada al Lama temple, després d'ahver fet un cafè - molt cuco amb fotos emmarcades d'ampolles d'Absolut vodka a les parets, molt occidental -i haver consultat geocachings per la zona.
Entrem al confucius Temple. Visita ràpida. Una de les sales té una exposició d'instruments musicals i campanes funeràries.Monjo taoista fora a qui li faig fotos gràcies a que uns altres guiris li demanen, crec. Un iaio molt curios, i de ben segur molt savi.
Llits de flors, arbres centenàris de formes capritxoses, amb textures interessants.
Al sortir un monjo taoista, de roba blava i monyo y barret negre, es deixa fotografiar pacientment i amb un somriure.
Girem a la dreta , per un hutong i ens trobem una formatgeria, botiga delicatessen en un hutong! Pa, embotit, xocolata belga i una baguet, això serà el nostre dinar! Que xulo! Hutongs, nets, habitats i amb vida. Xulo passejar per aquí. Anem de camí al metro per anar a les Bell and Drum Towers, de les quals només visitem la de la campana. Un cop més estan en mig de zona de hutongs. M'encanta! Llocs amb encant en hutongs mig restaurats. Els hutongs no tenen banys privats i ni clavegueres ni calefacció pero tenen un encant especial per la forma i concepte. Escales empinades per la torre, campana enorme, vistes a hutong i la ciutat.
D'aquí cap a la zona Olimpica.
La cançoneta one world, one dream, playing ceaselessly on the very intrusive loudspeakers all along the walk and me stretching out my arms everytime they said "one world one dream" as if wanting to hold the world in my arms, laughing.
Llarg, no s'acaba mai, no és ni mig dia i ja tinc mal de peus. Beijing té aixó... cansa, les distancies són enormes.
Més geocaching, el s flipant dels edificis olimpics. A mi "el niu", l'estadi olímpic, em decepciona, el veure els materials perd encant tot i que realment és impressionant.
Cometes a la tarda. Busquem entrada de metro, caminem mooooolt, volta a la mansana i no la trobem. Increíble lo gran que és tot. Edifici de la ibm, parc temàtic de tot xina quan veiem edificis tibetans allà al mig de carrer. Molt sorpresos deduim que deu ser un "poble espanyol" de Xina.
Metro i al centre després de caminar mooolt buscant l'entrada al temple de la pagoda que es veu alta, prop del niu... i res, deduim que aquesta pagoda és una reproducció del parc temàtic! Una santa volta per trobar la pagoda i l'entrada de metro...quan la teniem al costat d'on vam començar a caminar, pel cantó contrari! grrr Edicifi de IBM
Sopem mcdonalds??
8, summer palace
Després de gairebé una hora de metro, dos canvis i tota una línia, arribem a la zona del summer palace. Perduts a la sortida. Cap indicació a la vista, només un mur que et podia fer pensar que era la delimitació del palau. Prèvia experiencia amb un mur de similars característiques que la J i jo ja ens vam topar a Beijing's Temple of Heaven fa un parell d'anys.
Entrada al recinte, nowhere to be seen. Ens indiquen recta i a la dreta, girem i més mur que no s'acaba mai. Entrada! Diversos tipus d'entrada segons què vulguis visitar. Esmorzem entrepà sandwich (europeu) i cafè i cap a dins! De postal, llàstima que el dia estigués entrenyinat. Una lleugera i homogènia boirina cobria la zona. No ho enlletgia, ans al contrari, li donava un aire misteriós com de dia de pluja, però no és el que vols trobar-te quan vas de vacances. La pregunta és: és boirina, contaminació o smog? El lloc es un turó verd, dins Beijing però lluny del centre.
El summer palace de la dinastia Qing, i capritx arquitectonic de la Sissí, emperadriu, per fugir de la humitat de Beijing a l'estiu.No m'estranya, a l'octubre hi fa xafogor però amics que hi han estat a l'agost, es veu que és mortal!
Tot molt bonic, molt xinès, els colors imperials de verd i vermell hi són omnipresents, obvi pero cal mencionar-ho. Tal belleas la culmina tot un racó preciós, ple de salzes i passadissos coberts i construccions típiques xineses ple d'estudiants d'art fent la seva interpretació del lloc amb pintura i paper. Preciós. Un lloc ensisador, típic de postal, dels que sembla que siguin extrets de contes de fades o sets de pel·licula, com si realment no existissin hahahaha. Equiparable al Yu gardens de Shanghai.No us perdeu cap dels dos llocs.
Comprem dinar al super i mengem a l'alberg de cansats que ja comencem a estar, porsche groc al carrer. Sortim de nou...a...?
Dia 9
Dia 10
Matí al llit, refredada. El s va la Ciutat Prohibida i jo em quedo al llit. A la tarda anem al parc Jingshan amb vistes a la ciutat prohibida i tot beijing. Que bonic, l'altre vegada no ho havia vist. Lotus, grans gerros amb aigua i nenúfars. Gent de minories ètniques amb vestimenta tradicional visitant la ciutat, guiris al seu propi país. Un dia preciós, i amb sol i sense massa boira ni smog. Des d'allà tens una perpectiva de tota la ciutat, la immensitat i el contrast en els seus edificis, la superficie de la Ciutat Prohibida en un oasi de tranquil·litat.
dia 11
muralla xina, jo encara refredada. Contractem excursió a través del hostel.
recollim altra gent de diferents hotels, ...
emoció al divisar-la desde la furgo. Ara sí que em fa certa il·lusió veure-ho. Fins ara, venia més pel S que per què jo la volgués veure, de fet el primer cop a Beijing, tant Jud com jo no ens interessava especialment.
Entrades, quedem amb el conductor per l'hora i lloc de tornada i ens enfilem.Vam tenir la gran sort de poder-hi anar entre setmana i amb prou feines hi havia gent. Als caps de setmana s'omple de gom a gom sempre.
telefèric, ... trams, el sergio flipa. Molta pendent. Quin tram? Mutiyanyu crec que era el tram que fem entre els tres més propers a la capital, però no el que més. Està dividida en trams, més o menys allunyats de la capital, en més o menys bon estat.
Quina bestiesa fer una construcción d'aquestes característiques. Res que no hàgim sentit tots abans però ser allà convida a la reflexió i verbalitzar-ho, expressar-ho. La llargada, l'amplada, les dimensions de les torres i el grau d'inclinació tot perfilant els cims de les muntanyes. A qui se li acut fer una desfensa així?!
El S queda flipat i enamorat. El millor del viatge per ell, tot i que Shanghai ens ha agradat moltíssim a tots dos. Flipa d'estar allà. Ell no volia marxar de Xina sense veure aquest monument.
No hi fa calor, s'està bé, jo porto una mocador de coll que llavors m'he de treure a mesura que va entrant el dia, i amb els passos sobre el terreny tant poc homogèni i escalons tant alts per accedir a les torres i anar fent cims!
El S puja un tram que es veia massa enfilat pel meu estat físic. Jo l'espero en un punt i em dedico a admirar vistes i fer fotos dels teulats i d'ell a mida que va ascendint. Segur que li agradarà! :-9
Baixem pel tobogan, jo no les tenia totes perquè em sento una mica patosa però la veritat és que és xulo tot i que el S em diu que anava molt a poc a poc i vaig provocar una mica de cua, cosa que no crec que sigui certa perquè van permeten el pas segons el nombre de gent descendent. En fi, ... que va estar xulo. Aquesta opció per baixar resulta més econòmica que el telefèric i sense dubte és més divertida. Puges en telefèric i per baixar tens la opció d'a peu, tobogan o telefèric.
Tinc coneguts que critiquen al fet d'anar a llocs turistics perquè han estat reconstruits. pel turisme però hi ha llocs que val la pena aquesta reconstrucció per entendre què representava aquest ara-monument en el seu moment: ja per les dimension, ubicació, simbolisme, etc i aquest n'és un.
tornem en furgoneta
Beijing i la gent ballant
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