Library Roof

I went to an art auction in the library. I might have bought something if the auction had been in Mandarin, but it was in fact in Cantonese, which I guess is not unduly surprising although does indicate that in the Cantonese art-dealing community they are not that concerned about dealing with the rest of the country. Well, on the other hand, to be reasonably fair about it, you probably only need to know about 12 words - one through 9 and 100, 1000 and 10000. After one auction I know about seven of them, and I'm sure after the next I will know them all.

The art wasn't awe inspiring - it was, almost of course, technically accomplished. Traditional style landscapes & pictures of birds did well. Pictures of naked women did not. Lucky for Rubens he was not born in China.

It's a very nice library and very busy. I haven't seen this many people in a library since ... before. A lot of people like to read; I was in a bookshop in the old part of town last week where you were at risk of tripping over people reading as you tried to navigate around. Bookshop proprietors/staff are extraordinarily tolerant of people plonking themselves down to read the merchandise.
Anyway, apropos of not much I climbed a staircase and found the roof - there aren't enough accessible rooftops in Australia. We need more. It's why we have no film culture worth speaking of, among other things. This roof has a cram school on it for children with dedicated parents. Don't be misled by the air conditioning units - they are for the library patrons. Anyone lucky enough to be studying (or teaching) physics on Sunday afternoon is doing so in 35+ degree heat. The top picture is taken across the light well in the centre of the library towards the decorative roof in the corner. The classrooms are under the green canvas covered roof.

Above is a reasonable close up of the surrounding apartment blocks - these are the oldest remnant housing that you generally see in Guangzhou, three or four stories high. They look a bit grim on the outside but that's largely the result of pollution and a general regional disdain for the idea of cleaning the outsides of things. These apartments are all small - 45 square metres would be considered luxury for 2 people by the generations who grew up with these. Now, 100 square metres is "essential" for the up and coming middle class. Despite the difficulties, gardening is a massively popular activity. Obviously, being gardeners, these must all be very nice people. I like the air conditioning unit propped a little haphazardly on the roof.


Taking a step back, there are definitely 4, and probably 5 generations of buildings visible. I think I can defend pre-war, 50's, 80's, 90's and 00's. Mind you, it would be sensible to ask someone who knows what they are talking about. I'm just guessing. (The pre-war stands confirmed, as does the 00's). I had a builder mate from Sydney planning to drop in this weekend, but he's been delayed. So I was planning a professional opinion - he's originally a local and studied architecture in Sydney.

All in all, a highly worthwhile roof.


Coming home through the sports centre, this is the view north from the north gate. On the left is the CITIC building, the thing that towers over all the other skyline shots I've taken. Next to it (there is actually a 4 lane highway between them, is the Westin Hotel. My local staff spend hours plotting how they can get into the swimming pool there, apparently it's the current luxury touchstone. Reflected in the Westin is the pink apartment building, and sandwiched between them is Concordia Building A, which is where I live. We're not quite as shiny as everyone around us. That's an 8 lane highway between me and the 4 lane highway. On a rainy day, this leaves me with quite a few rivers to cross before I get home.