Beijing Hutongs; Yan dai xie jie (烟袋斜街) and Nanluogu xiang (南锣鼓巷 ).

Now that summer camp is over I’m back to having my weekends again (well, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s) which means Em and I can do a little more together, including going to some amazing place in and around Beijing. Yesterday we decided to visit a couple of Beijing’s hutong areas;  Yan dai xie jie (烟袋斜街) and Nanluogu xiang (南锣鼓巷 ).

Hutong’s are old areas of Beijing that resemble what the city used to look like before modernizations. Sadly, a lot of these areas are being demolished due to the rapid development of Beijing, however there are moves by the people, and the Government, to preserve the areas that are left for future generations. They are indeed, a beautiful part of the city, and provide areas for artistic expression to a city that, I feel anyway, is losing it’s identity in the face of modernisation.

Naturally, I took some photos during walk, so I hope you enjoy them. Click here to see the photos: Read more »

Xiāngshān Gōngyuán (香山公园 – Fragrant Hills Park. )

It’s been a while since I last posted a travel post here. Actually, since I’ve been in Beijing, I haven’t gone on any trips outside of the city, so it was no surprise that I was quite eager to set out on my little adventure this morning. With Em away, and the whole day to myself, I decided to brave the Beijing transportation system (and my understand of it)  and head out of the city to one of the local parks, Xiāngshān Gōngyuán (香山公园), or in English, Fragrant Hills Park. I mentioned earlier in the week that I had already been to many of the attractions in Beijing during previous trips here, however the park was a little further than I had
been before, so I was excited about seeing a new part of Beijing.

Fragrant Hills Park is a public park at the foot of the Western Mountains in the Haidian District, in the northwestern part of Beijing, China. It covers 1.6 km² (395 acres) and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with traditional architecture and cultural relics. The name derives from the park’s highest peak, Xianglu Feng (Incense Burner Peak), a 557 meters (1827 ft) hill with two large stones resembling incense burners at the top.

Source: Wikipedia

I was glad to see that not many people were out and about today in the park. One of my biggest fears about travelling here in Beijing is being stuck with thousands of other people at a place that is meant for peace and quiet, but with only a handful of people scattered around the park, at times it felt like I was the only one there, a rare feat here in Beijing.

The park itself was stunning, and have been told it’s even more stunning in autumn when the leaves start changing colour to reds and browns. I’ll have to keep that as a side note and come back here in October/November to witness it (and no doubt along with half the population of Beijing).

Of course I took my camera with me and took lots of photos. I’ve attached quite a few to the post, so please feel free to have a look, although I’ve decided not to give them all commentary. Transportation information and prices can be found below the photos.

Please click here to see the photos (for China residents, please you hidefap.com to view the flickr images – copy and paste the address into the site). Read more »

Beijing: 798 District (798艺术区).

One thing I didn’t know about Beijing is that it is an artsy kind of place. I know that’s hard to believe with the amount of spitting, rudeness, shoddy labor work, and concrete you see all over the place, but there is a vibrant arts community that appears to be thriving through the city. No, I’m not talking about the dodgy wooden lions, or stone dragons you can buy near Tiananmen Square, nor the ‘country’ art galleries fobbing you off with some cheap knock off, but real art made by artists with more talent than I could ever dream about.

They seem to all congregate in Dashanzi District, to a place referred to fondly as 798 Art District (798艺术区).

798 Art Zone (Chinese: 798艺术区; pinyin: 798 Yìshùqū), or Dashanzi Art District, is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing that houses a thriving artist community, among 50-year old decommissioned military
factory buildings of unique architectural style. It is often compared with New York’s Greenwich Village or SoHo.

Source: Wikipedia

The area itself has an amazing history that began in 1954 when the area was build up with factories that were used by the East German’s to manufacturer advances computer components that the Chinese government required. The Chinese actually asked the Russians for help, but the Russian’s told the Chinese that they imported the same components from East Germany and they should make the same enquiry to them. Sure enough the East German government thought it was a good idea to support their communist allies and hence the factories were built.

During the 1990’s, as production slowed down following the collapse of state-owned industry, the area turned into a ghost town as most of the factories closed down.

By the turn of the century, the Central Academy of Fine Arts had relocated close by and thus drew in a large array of artists to the area. From their the area blossomed into the artistic Mecca it now is.

Em and I had the chance to visit the area yesterday during one of my day’s off. We caught the bus and were there in literally 15 or so minutes, it being not too far from where we live. It wasn’t hard to find, seeing as it covers a large area, and we made our way through many of the small roads and streets visiting more than a dozen little art studios, be it painting, statues, or some other form of art that, I suppose, I’ll never really be able to understand or appreciate.

Below are just a handful of photos I took of the area and of some of the art work. Naturally, you can’t photograph too many studios inside, but some of them didn’t mind.  I’ll the art commentary to a minimum below, and will instead through a few interesting facts about the area with the photos.

Click to see all the photos… Read more »

The Beijing Underground City (地下城).

Not many people are aware of this, and I’m sure a lot of you are going to be surprised to learn, that Beijing has an underground city. Actually, it’s not a city per se, but a massive underground facility stretching for kilometers intended to be a safe haven for residents in the event of a nuclear attack.

The Underground City (地下城), also known as Dixia Cheng, is a bomb shelter comprising a network of tunnels located beneath Beijing, China, which has since been transformed into a tourist attraction. It has been called the Underground Great Wall because it was built for the purpose of military defense. The complex was constructed during the 1970s in anticipation of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and was officially reopened in 2000. Visitors were allowed to tour portions of the complex, which has been described as "dark, damp, and genuinely eerie.

Source: Wikipedia

The tunnels were built between 1969 and 1979 , including some work done by school children, and extend some 30 kilometers in size, from central Beijing, to the hills west of the city. It contained all the comforts of a modern city including hospitals, theatres, schools, and other facilities required for living for an expended period of time.

The huge bunker, for use of a better word, can accommodate up to 300,000 people, and is 30 kilometers long, which meant most of Beijing’s local citizens would have to flee out of the city in the case of a nuclear strike (or more likely be fried to a crisp) but the lucky few could enter the underground city through a series of doorways located throughout the different streets it stretched across. Some of the doors were so secret that most residents didn’t even know they had one in their house (a great argument for ‘d’oh!’ should there be a nuclear strike in Beijing and you didn’t know you had a door to the bunker in your rumpus room).

I’m always amazed by such huge projects that have taken place like this, and even more amazed that most Beijing citizens today don’t even know the place exists.

With that in mind, I just had to check it out for myself.

There are three entrances into the underground city that still remain, the closest to us being the one in Qianmen. As we walked towards the area where it was (after taking the subway) none of the people we asked for directions had even heard of the place, including a SWAT policeman (yes, Em will ask anyone for directions here in Beijing) who was out training with his squad.

In the end a tour bus operator told us where we could find it, although he didn’t know much about it either.

The result, as you will see, can be viewed in the photos below. Please click here to see the action… Read more »

Australia ‘10 Series: Walpole.

Mum and Dad thought it would be a wonderful idea for both them, Em and I, to spend 4 days down in the south-west of Western Australia at Walpole. Walpole is a place I’ve been to a few times before, be it with family or friends, and somewhere I really enjoy relaxing and appreciating rural Australia. It would obviously be an amazing place for Em to experience, seeing as she’s never really gone outside of the Perth metropolitan area before. It would be interesting to see what her reactions would be to the area.

While some people may shudder at the prospect of spending 4 days with their parents, I have to admit that I, and Em, were both looking forward to spending some quality time together with them seeing as we don’t get much chance of doing so during the rest of the year. I should also be noted that Mum and Dad were more than likely happy to spend that time with us, too. I’m sure we’re not the easiest company all the time.

We left early on Friday morning, my Dad driving us down there. It was more or less a direct drive on the more western route, rather than inland (through Williams, etc). Within about 4 or 5 hours, we’re at our chalets in Walpole.

I took a handful of photos, so please take the time to look through them if you’re interested.

Click here to see photos… Read more »

Australia ‘10 Series: Yanchep National Park.

With so much free time here in Perth, it was only right that we spent some of our time exploring Perth and the areas around it. Last time both Em and I were in Perth, her only time, we didn’t have a great amount of time to see the area so I was eager to give a better display of Perth this time round.

Australia is famous for it’s flora and fauna, so I decided that visiting a national park would be a great way to show Em some of Australia’s best wildlife. About 40 minutes from here is Yanchep National Park (map).

We packed a lunchbox each, and headed up there. Click here to see the photos… Read more »

Going to Jeju-do for New Years.

Em and I finally decided what to do with our New Years, 3 day, vacation; go to Jeju Island (제주도) For all you not familiar with Jeju island, it’s Korea answer to Hawaii, without the nice weather;

Jeju Island is a volcanic island, dominated by Halla-san (Halla Mountain): a volcano 1,950 metres high and the highest mountain in South Korea.

It has a humid subtropical climate, warmer than that of the rest of Korea, with four distinct seasons (someone’s idea of a joke?).

Source: wikipedia

Despite having lived in Korea for 5 years, I’ve never made the trip over to Jeju-do, for more or less the same reason I’d never give up a 3 or 4 days weekend visiting a Korean tourist spot, for the most part they’re all the same. One would have preferred going to Jeju-do during the nice hot summer months, but I have no doubt Em and I will enjoy doing a little hiking and sightseeing this winter.

I’m also pondering whether or not we should hire a scooter and take that around the island? I know it’s going to be cold, and being on a scooter in the cold weather is hardly any fun, so I think I’ll leave that decision to when I get there.

More or less, we’re just going to take it easy. January is going to be extremely hectic for us, preparing to go to China and all, so it’ll be our last little resting time.

I know many foreigners go to Jeju do every year, so if you have been, can you suggest any place or activities we can do there?

SKorea: Daegu. Suseong Lake.

What a really nice weekend we had. On Saturday Em and I headed over to Lotte department stores for a bit of a look around. Em managed to buy something quite nice there, but I won’t tell you what it is until Wednesday, because it’s a surprise! In fact, even I don’t know about it, so there you go.

We headed out to a place, in Daegu, that  we haven’t been to in a long time, at least 18 months; Suseong Lake. We went there once with friends at night, and have never made the hike again, mainly because it’s on the other side of town to us. Seeing as we didn’t have much else planned this weekend, we thought it would be a nice way to spend a Saturday/

Suseong Lake (수성못) is a man-made lake in southern Daegu, Korea. Duck-shaped boats can be rented for visitors to float around the lake. The Suseong Lake Resort area is also home to a small amusement park. The surrounding area, particularly on the east and south-east side of the lake, features a lot of upscale restaurants.

Source: Galbijim.

Without boring you with all the chat before the photos, why don’t we just kick into them. Remember, clicking on the photo’s will open a new window with a larger image.

Click here to see the photos… Read more »