Now (America)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Shamian
This is a very pleasing tourist map.
I travelled down to the imaginatively named "Golden Sands" subway station and with a bit of luck navigated my way through a few highways to the place I set out to find. Not lost, for a change. Until I saw the map. You may have to take my word for it, but each of the five entrances to Shamian on this map is labelled "You are here". And not just in English. No, locals are equally catered for. I can only imagine how much joy this gives to the man in the security kiosk on the other side of the pavement. Fortunately (see blog 2 or thereabouts) the compass attached to my keyring provided the needed clues. If you are ever standing in front of this map, you are actually in the top left hand corner. The best way to go is to your right (but actually left is not a disaster in any way).
Liz and I noticed when we were in China in 1999 that whoever wrote the Lonely Planet entry for China really didn't like the place. At all. It was full of trenchant criticisms of the creme of mushroom soup in Hangzhou, and similar penetrating stuff. Not to be diverted, but we actually ate several fantastic meals in and around Hangzhou, including drinking the best coffee ever - in the world!, not just in China - despite speaking extremely primitive Chinese and having substantially less idea of how to read a menu than we do now. However, one place that that guy and I shared similarly dyspeptic views about was Guangzhou, although increasingly I'm thinking I may have been unfair. (That's another story) This afternoon I wandered along to the one bit of Guangzhou that he liked. I should note that he liked it because of its Western buildings and quiet charm. Should Lonely Planet be more accurately known as the post-colonial guide to nostalgia tripping? Hmmph. So what am I doing here?
No question, Shamian has Western buildings, all gazetted by the City Government, largely built between 1860 and 1910. They are indeed charming. It also has lots of trees, as do many of the bits of Guangzhou near the river. It is also quiet, and cool, and pleasant, and extremely full of tourist tourists. Not like me, you understand, who actually lives here, but seriously passing-through-complain-about-the-heat-and-the-humidity tourists. Today was NOT hot, nor was it particularly humid. About Sydney average for summer I would think. As well as tourists, it had lots of places for them to spend their money in. Art galleries. Craft shops. Very expensive bars.
But, lest I sound a little cynical, there is other testimony to consider.
What could be better evidence of picturequeness than a bride being photographed? This one is being man-handled by the photographer to make sure her head is at the precise angle required. The groom is obscured by the dress. I haven't included the photgraphs of all the other brides I spotted, but in an hour or so I saw at least 6. It may have been more, but I think some of them were repeats.
Where there are brides (and photographers) there is beauty. It's indisputable. And I have to say that whatever the Chinese feel about the colonial past, it isn't nostalgia. So something else is going on here as well as colonial nostalgia.
And in addition to brides, we have tourists! Not ones likely to complain about the heat or the humitidy either, 'cos they are locals (you can't hear them, but I could). The umbrellas are to keep the sun off. Pale skin is still a feature of Chinese beauty. They are photographing a group of rocks. I couldn't particularly fathom why, but coming from Australia, you can't criticise the use of rocks as markers of significance. Every Oz country town, to say nothing of every suburb, has a rock symbolising something. China is no different. It has a lot of rocks, and many of them about something. One of the great Chinese novels is called "The Story of the Stone", so it's an ancient tradition.
Anyway, these people aren't here to wallow in a glorious past either. They seemed to be very pleased with themselves in a thoroughly cheerful way. Just out for a Saturday afternoon stroll.
I also spotted a tai chi class, looking an awful lot like a Sydney Saturday-in-the-park tai chi class. Rather disorganised and down-at-heel. A couple of people who looked very expert, and a large number who looked faintly bewildered. You can see the aforementioned rock in the background., looking very brown.
From Shahmian it's about a kilometer or so to catch another subway line. It wasn't completely clear from the map, but it looked like it should be possible to walk along the river bank, and so it is.
This is a view back along the river from the bridge at the edge of Shamian, which is on the north bank at the point where the river splits in two if you are looking at a map. This is the view East, and the building are on the South side of the river, which I guess is newer, or less fashionable, or something. It doesn't get talked about much, although it looks pretty substantial. But, for instance, we have 4 schools on the North side of the river, and the fifth will be the first we open on the South side.
I travelled down to the imaginatively named "Golden Sands" subway station and with a bit of luck navigated my way through a few highways to the place I set out to find. Not lost, for a change. Until I saw the map. You may have to take my word for it, but each of the five entrances to Shamian on this map is labelled "You are here". And not just in English. No, locals are equally catered for. I can only imagine how much joy this gives to the man in the security kiosk on the other side of the pavement. Fortunately (see blog 2 or thereabouts) the compass attached to my keyring provided the needed clues. If you are ever standing in front of this map, you are actually in the top left hand corner. The best way to go is to your right (but actually left is not a disaster in any way).Liz and I noticed when we were in China in 1999 that whoever wrote the Lonely Planet entry for China really didn't like the place. At all. It was full of trenchant criticisms of the creme of mushroom soup in Hangzhou, and similar penetrating stuff. Not to be diverted, but we actually ate several fantastic meals in and around Hangzhou, including drinking the best coffee ever - in the world!, not just in China - despite speaking extremely primitive Chinese and having substantially less idea of how to read a menu than we do now. However, one place that that guy and I shared similarly dyspeptic views about was Guangzhou, although increasingly I'm thinking I may have been unfair. (That's another story) This afternoon I wandered along to the one bit of Guangzhou that he liked. I should note that he liked it because of its Western buildings and quiet charm. Should Lonely Planet be more accurately known as the post-colonial guide to nostalgia tripping? Hmmph. So what am I doing here?
No question, Shamian has Western buildings, all gazetted by the City Government, largely built between 1860 and 1910. They are indeed charming. It also has lots of trees, as do many of the bits of Guangzhou near the river. It is also quiet, and cool, and pleasant, and extremely full of tourist tourists. Not like me, you understand, who actually lives here, but seriously passing-through-complain-about-the-heat-and-the-humidity tourists. Today was NOT hot, nor was it particularly humid. About Sydney average for summer I would think. As well as tourists, it had lots of places for them to spend their money in. Art galleries. Craft shops. Very expensive bars.
But, lest I sound a little cynical, there is other testimony to consider.
What could be better evidence of picturequeness than a bride being photographed? This one is being man-handled by the photographer to make sure her head is at the precise angle required. The groom is obscured by the dress. I haven't included the photgraphs of all the other brides I spotted, but in an hour or so I saw at least 6. It may have been more, but I think some of them were repeats.
Where there are brides (and photographers) there is beauty. It's indisputable. And I have to say that whatever the Chinese feel about the colonial past, it isn't nostalgia. So something else is going on here as well as colonial nostalgia.
And in addition to brides, we have tourists! Not ones likely to complain about the heat or the humitidy either, 'cos they are locals (you can't hear them, but I could). The umbrellas are to keep the sun off. Pale skin is still a feature of Chinese beauty. They are photographing a group of rocks. I couldn't particularly fathom why, but coming from Australia, you can't criticise the use of rocks as markers of significance. Every Oz country town, to say nothing of every suburb, has a rock symbolising something. China is no different. It has a lot of rocks, and many of them about something. One of the great Chinese novels is called "The Story of the Stone", so it's an ancient tradition.Anyway, these people aren't here to wallow in a glorious past either. They seemed to be very pleased with themselves in a thoroughly cheerful way. Just out for a Saturday afternoon stroll.
I also spotted a tai chi class, looking an awful lot like a Sydney Saturday-in-the-park tai chi class. Rather disorganised and down-at-heel. A couple of people who looked very expert, and a large number who looked faintly bewildered. You can see the aforementioned rock in the background., looking very brown.From Shahmian it's about a kilometer or so to catch another subway line. It wasn't completely clear from the map, but it looked like it should be possible to walk along the river bank, and so it is.
This is a view back along the river from the bridge at the edge of Shamian, which is on the north bank at the point where the river splits in two if you are looking at a map. This is the view East, and the building are on the South side of the river, which I guess is newer, or less fashionable, or something. It doesn't get talked about much, although it looks pretty substantial. But, for instance, we have 4 schools on the North side of the river, and the fifth will be the first we open on the South side.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Oddments
No photographs this week, not well organised.
Went into Hong Kong on Tuesday - for a cup of coffee! The builder from Ability/AGMate, Gary, was in Hong Kong visiting family and couldn't arrange a visa. So I dropped in to meet him. From Shenzhen it's fairly easy. At the main railway station you walk South into a building which turns ouit to be the border. 30 minutes, 2 queues and not much paperwork later, you are in Hong Kong. The border itself is a moat with razor wire fences, but you walk over it. Borders are unpleasant places, essentially a reminder of the species' continuing (and growing) inability to collaborate. This border is not so vicious now, but the memory of the past is there. In 1990 Hong Kong is where most of the population of Guangzhou - well, most of the population that I saw on the street - wanted to be. I bet there are still a lot who feel thed same way.
Anyway, once across the border I decided to try and work out how to get back - not as easy as you might think. Exit from China is on the 2nd floor & re-entry is on the 1st (ground) floor and there is no connection between them, except the railway. So I had to catch a train one station into HK, to Sheung Shui, and catch up with Gary there. There is one restaurant at Sheung Shui station with A/C and it looks like it was making a fortune out of people doing just this. One noticeable difference with HK from Guangdong is that EVERYBODY in HK speaks Cantonese, as opposed to many in GD. In Shenzhen, due to the migrant nature of the place, Mandarin is actually pretty common. Not much to say about Sheung Shui - I may be doing it a disservice but it appeared to be an old people's home and a geriatric hospital combined. Not the shiny part of Honkers, that's for sure.
***
Coming back from Shenzhen on Thursday the train was packed so I shared my table in the dining car with a mother and son (it's the school holidays). I have never, and this is despite many years working in inner-city pubs in Melbourne, seen one person with so many form guides. Halfway through the trip out came the mobile phone, a new form guide emerged from the handbag and bets were laid. Sadly, I didn't get to see or hear the result.
***
I was in a bookshop on Sunday. I previously thought I had seen a crowded bookshop during the May day public holiday, but in fact I was wrong. Stocking up on materials to keep the children entertained - although the entertainment looked suspiciously educational in many cases - during the school holidays, dedicated parents and grandparents stood in queues 20 or 30 people long. Average height of the stack of materials purchased - around 15 cms.
***
I have decided that there is definite escalator nervousness at a fairly high level in the Guangzhou community. I don't know what this means - for all I know there is an fatal escalator accident daily (thinks, must start buying the tabloids). Perhaps it just balances out the super confident queue-jumpers. I've noticed something else about escalators here as well; they move! Not just up and down. At the East Railway station (which has 5, count them, five, Starbucks) the up escalator at exit D suddenly became the down escalator. Not suddenly suddenly as in while I was on it, but between last week's visit and this week's. It is very awkward. I used to collect the newspaper from the vendor at the bottom with my free left hand & now I have to shift my bags to the left hand so I can collect it with my right hand. It's not really safe to actually stop for the paper in the morning rush hour. Still, I'm pretty sure that no other escalators that I have dealt with have suddenly changed their character in this way.
***
There are a lot of demonstratively affectionate young people - as in school uniform young - on the subways at the moment. The numbers reflect the school holidays. The demonstrativeness, I was informed today, reflects the recent and rapid Westernisation of Guangzhou. It is disconcerting for those aged 30 and above (well, that's what my 30 plus Chinese teacher told me). She said the current generation gap is about 5 years.
***
I have just realised - really - that a camera is the opposite of a mirror. That's why my head is never straight in photographs. I wonder how many other people have taken 50 years to work that out?
Went into Hong Kong on Tuesday - for a cup of coffee! The builder from Ability/AGMate, Gary, was in Hong Kong visiting family and couldn't arrange a visa. So I dropped in to meet him. From Shenzhen it's fairly easy. At the main railway station you walk South into a building which turns ouit to be the border. 30 minutes, 2 queues and not much paperwork later, you are in Hong Kong. The border itself is a moat with razor wire fences, but you walk over it. Borders are unpleasant places, essentially a reminder of the species' continuing (and growing) inability to collaborate. This border is not so vicious now, but the memory of the past is there. In 1990 Hong Kong is where most of the population of Guangzhou - well, most of the population that I saw on the street - wanted to be. I bet there are still a lot who feel thed same way.
Anyway, once across the border I decided to try and work out how to get back - not as easy as you might think. Exit from China is on the 2nd floor & re-entry is on the 1st (ground) floor and there is no connection between them, except the railway. So I had to catch a train one station into HK, to Sheung Shui, and catch up with Gary there. There is one restaurant at Sheung Shui station with A/C and it looks like it was making a fortune out of people doing just this. One noticeable difference with HK from Guangdong is that EVERYBODY in HK speaks Cantonese, as opposed to many in GD. In Shenzhen, due to the migrant nature of the place, Mandarin is actually pretty common. Not much to say about Sheung Shui - I may be doing it a disservice but it appeared to be an old people's home and a geriatric hospital combined. Not the shiny part of Honkers, that's for sure.
***
Coming back from Shenzhen on Thursday the train was packed so I shared my table in the dining car with a mother and son (it's the school holidays). I have never, and this is despite many years working in inner-city pubs in Melbourne, seen one person with so many form guides. Halfway through the trip out came the mobile phone, a new form guide emerged from the handbag and bets were laid. Sadly, I didn't get to see or hear the result.
***
I was in a bookshop on Sunday. I previously thought I had seen a crowded bookshop during the May day public holiday, but in fact I was wrong. Stocking up on materials to keep the children entertained - although the entertainment looked suspiciously educational in many cases - during the school holidays, dedicated parents and grandparents stood in queues 20 or 30 people long. Average height of the stack of materials purchased - around 15 cms.
***
I have decided that there is definite escalator nervousness at a fairly high level in the Guangzhou community. I don't know what this means - for all I know there is an fatal escalator accident daily (thinks, must start buying the tabloids). Perhaps it just balances out the super confident queue-jumpers. I've noticed something else about escalators here as well; they move! Not just up and down. At the East Railway station (which has 5, count them, five, Starbucks) the up escalator at exit D suddenly became the down escalator. Not suddenly suddenly as in while I was on it, but between last week's visit and this week's. It is very awkward. I used to collect the newspaper from the vendor at the bottom with my free left hand & now I have to shift my bags to the left hand so I can collect it with my right hand. It's not really safe to actually stop for the paper in the morning rush hour. Still, I'm pretty sure that no other escalators that I have dealt with have suddenly changed their character in this way.
***
There are a lot of demonstratively affectionate young people - as in school uniform young - on the subways at the moment. The numbers reflect the school holidays. The demonstrativeness, I was informed today, reflects the recent and rapid Westernisation of Guangzhou. It is disconcerting for those aged 30 and above (well, that's what my 30 plus Chinese teacher told me). She said the current generation gap is about 5 years.
***
I have just realised - really - that a camera is the opposite of a mirror. That's why my head is never straight in photographs. I wonder how many other people have taken 50 years to work that out?
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