Yangshou
As I mentioned in my previous post I went to Yangshou after two days of relaxing at home during our one week holiday. Yangshou is known to be very touristy but the scenery surrounding the city is the reason to go there. On the 20 RMB notes the landscape of Yangshou is depicted with the Li river flowing gently through the green limestone peaks.
The new 20 RMB note.
Just outside Yangshou.
I took a 50 minutes flight to Guilin from Guangzhou, and then a 1 ½ hour bus to Yangshou from Guilin. I took me some time and wandering around to find my hostel which was located outside of Yangshou, a twenty minutes walk by the river.
The colourful hostel.
The city itself is not very pretty or charismatic, it’s busy with loads of traffic and tourists, I was therefore glad that my hostel was outside the city. The city has a nice tourist street called West Street and that’s where one will find all the restaurants and the souvenir shops, on West street it was easy to find a good place to sit down and enjoy a fried rice dinner. Outside that small street the city itself wasn’t worth any exploring.
Yangshou, outside West Street.
A part of West Street
I quickly rented a bike and cycled to “Moon Hill”, a limestone peak with a hole in the middle which was located some 9 km from Yangshou.
Moon Hill in the distance
View from Monn Hill
After Moon Hill it was pretty late so I headed back for town and walked along West Street, then went up a hill and took some photos, I was invited for some tea by the Chinese couple who lived on top of the hill. We drank tea and chatted for a while but my limited knowledge of Mandarin coupled with their limited English made any lengthy conversation hard. Next day I asked the guy running the Hostel about a tip for cycling and he gave me a map and pointed out a route along the Yu Long river which would take about six hours to get around. Off I went and it was tough in the beginning as it was a lot of uphill cycling. It was good to get out on the countryside to see some more authentic than the touristic water caves everyone was trying to sell tickets to.
Farmers
Rice fields
Some kind of vechicle.
In the afternoon I came across a couple of girls who I asked if they knew where the path following the Yu Long river was, they didn’t but it turned out they were Swedish! I haven’t met any Swedes in Guangzhou and only heard someone speak Swedish in Hong Kong but it seems China is attracting more and more tourists from “the west”.
Maria, after crossing a "bridge".
Me and the girls, Linnea and Maria, finally found the path and cycled together and they told me about their backpacking trip through Asia. We parted when we finally reached Yangshou, I was exhausted after about seven hours on the bike so it was nice to relax and enjoy some reading in the hammock.
Me, on a photo not taken by myself!
On the third and last day I checked out and walked along the Li river for a while before taking the bus to Guilin where I explored a beautiful park. I then went to the airport and went home to Guangzhou. All in all, I enjoyed Yangshou for its amazing scenery but was disappointed by the city, probably because a lot of my colleagues had hyped the place quite a bit.
A bridge made mostly of glass in the background.
Hong Kong!
We are enjoying a week off from school this week as it’s a Chinese national holiday, which starts off with celebrating the national day. Now that is something which I think would be a good move in Sweden as well, a week of starting from the national day! I started my holiday with a trip to Hong Kong, travelling there from Guangzhou takes about 3 hours, depending on the amount of people who are going through border control. I stayed in a tiny Hostel in famous Chungking Mansions, a large apartment building that hosts loads of hostels. The location is great, close to the river on Kowloon. Hong Kong can be said to be split into two major parts, Hong Kong island, where the business district is and most of the towering skyscrapers and the other part being Kowloon, the tip of the mainland, where most tourists stay as it’s cheaper. It takes about 6 minutes on the well known Star ferries to go from Kowloon to Hong Kong island.
I arrived at lunchtime on the Saturday, found the hostel, dumped a few things and went out to explore the town. There is something very magic about being in a major metropolis on your own or with one other person, a different feeling of freedom.
Yes, it was very bright, I’m not experiencing pain, that’s how I look when squinting.
I did a lot of walking around Hong Kong, both in Kowloon and on Hong Kong island on my first day. What I really like about HK is that it is “walkable”, compared to Guangzhou which is simply too big so that walking becomes difficult, plus the fact that there’s almost no distinct downtown in Guangzhou, there are several different centres. HK is walkable because the city centre is small but there are seven million people living in HK, resulting in one of the world's highest population density. Hong Kong has a totally different feel to it than any other Chinese city I’ve been to so far, it feels like the world metropolis it is and even if Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Foshan are bigger and have larger populations there is something that sets HK apart from them.
Apartment prices are not to be trifled with in Hong Kong!
As I mentioned, I did some serious walking while being in HK, I walked everywhere, I only took the metro once. I even walked up Victoria’s Peak which provides a stunning view of the city below. Especially at night:
Next day, Sunday, I decided to get out of the city to go see the 22 meter Buddha statue on the island of Lantau. The statue itself was impressive but I didn’t get that wow-feeling about it, probably because of all the tourists, me being one of them.
To get away from the crowds I walked out on a small path, named “the path of wisdom” which should’ve taken 15 minutes but it led me to the path up Lantau Peak (934m), and I thought I would just walk up a bit to get a better view but ended up climbing the peak itself. Small paths are dangerous, you never know where they are going to take you.
Inspecting Lantau Peak to the left.
Well, whence you’re up you realise you’ve got to get down somehow. My calf muscles still ache..
I spend Sunday evening going around Wan Chai:
Last day I went to the Aviary in Hong Kong park and also walked by the cemetery which is as crowded as the city itself. Notable is the fact that the Muslim and catholic cemeteries neighbour each other closely.
On the Monday I went back home to Guangzhou again, tired after the endless amount of walking but very satisfied with my visit! On Thursday I fly out to Yangshou, a spot which is suppose to have some incredible scenery. I will make a post when I get back. Take care all!
Skyscrapers and "super model" towers
China is booming economically and wants to show it, mainly cities display wealth and prosperity by building gigantic skyscrapers and futuristic buildings, which is exactly what is happening in Guangzhou. Some days ago, I went into Guangzhou to take a closer look at some of the impressive new buildings popping up in Zhujiang New Town. This area is being built as a "showing off" area for the Asian games in November. The exteriors of the buildings are finished but the interiors are being finalized now, and since the Asian games start off the 12th of November, time is ticking!
The futuristic Opera house with angles that define gravity. Looks like a space ship to me, designed by famous British architect Zaha Hadid. Cost? About 1.6 billion Swedish kronor (120 million USD). More info here
This is the new Guangdong museum, formed like a Chinese treasure box. Designed by Rocco Design Architects Limited. Cost? About 950 million Swedish kronor. Nice news when I arrived was that the entry was free! I will post photos taken inside at a later point.
Well, this was a bridge I crossed, no more, no less. But still a stylish bridge.
This is the Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, also known as Canton Tower. Designed by Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. It is designed with a female form in mind, a supermodel, tall and slender. It reminds me a lot of Turning Torso in Malmö, but it's more than twice the height of Turning Torso with its 610 meters. They are still working on it, but I look forward to be able to go all the way up and get a nice view of the city. It is the world's tallest concrete tower and on third place for tallest structures in the world - all categories. Source.
This is one of the new stadiums being built in preparation for the Asian games. In the background we can see the following building:
This is Guangzhou International Finance Center, also not really finished yet. But it dwarfs every other building in its vicinity with its 440 meters. Its height is also one reason why its hard to get a good photo of it to show it in relation to other buildings. It will receive a "sister" building, named Chow Tai Fook Centre which will be 560 meters!
I was unable to identify this structure but found it interesting.
The futuristic Opera house with angles that define gravity. Looks like a space ship to me, designed by famous British architect Zaha Hadid. Cost? About 1.6 billion Swedish kronor (120 million USD). More info here
This is the new Guangdong museum, formed like a Chinese treasure box. Designed by Rocco Design Architects Limited. Cost? About 950 million Swedish kronor. Nice news when I arrived was that the entry was free! I will post photos taken inside at a later point.
Well, this was a bridge I crossed, no more, no less. But still a stylish bridge.
This is the Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower, also known as Canton Tower. Designed by Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit. It is designed with a female form in mind, a supermodel, tall and slender. It reminds me a lot of Turning Torso in Malmö, but it's more than twice the height of Turning Torso with its 610 meters. They are still working on it, but I look forward to be able to go all the way up and get a nice view of the city. It is the world's tallest concrete tower and on third place for tallest structures in the world - all categories. Source.
This is one of the new stadiums being built in preparation for the Asian games. In the background we can see the following building:
This is Guangzhou International Finance Center, also not really finished yet. But it dwarfs every other building in its vicinity with its 440 meters. Its height is also one reason why its hard to get a good photo of it to show it in relation to other buildings. It will receive a "sister" building, named Chow Tai Fook Centre which will be 560 meters!
I was unable to identify this structure but found it interesting.
Foshan
Yesterday I decided to take a trip to Foshan, a small city 30 km outside Guangzhou with a population of 6 million. I read in my Lonely Planet guide that Foshan is an important ceramics / pottery centre for all of China and also hosts a few notable temples. It took some time trying to figure out how to get to Foshan from downtown Guangzhou since everybody I asked kept pointing in different directions. That happens a lot here in China, you ask for directions and they point to somewhere off in the distance, when you get there and ask for further directions people will point you to a totally different place. It's frustrating but at some point you will come across someone who will literally go out of their way to help you, even if it means walking with you for 10 minutes to show you the right spot. So I guess China is like everywhere else, some people have no clue and just want to get rid of you, some people think they know but don't and some people actually know and want to help you, which is the golden combination.
So after some time wandering around various coach and train stations I took a bus to Foshan which took an hour, which was strange since it should only be 30 km from Guangzhou. Another thing which makes travelling in China a bit of a bother sometimes is that it takes more time than you'd think to go from point A to point B. Mainly due to the large amount of traffic. But when you've done it once, it becomes easier to find ways that are quicker (thank god for the metro!).
Foshan wasn't what I had expected, even though it's supposed to have 6 million inhabitants it felt like a smaller city, the temples weren't very impressive either but one thing I really liked was Liang's Garden, it was beautiful! Here are some photos:
Always bring an umbrella with you! Even if the sun is shining in the morning a thunderstorm is never far away.
I planned to go to a neighbouring village named Shiwan where it is possible to make your own pottery but the rain started pouring down as thunder closed in on Foshan. Well, when the metro goes all the way to Foshan from Guangzhou I'll make another attempt on Shiwan. I'll also try to see some Wing Chun sparring as there are many martial art academies in Foshan.
A very small bus station in a very populous city.
On my way home I stopped by in a Tesco shop, it does not have the same kind of brands as in U.K though.
But what it does have is oddly dressed sample girls! In every major supermarket there are loads of samples given out, some companies apparently take their campaign one step further.
So after some time wandering around various coach and train stations I took a bus to Foshan which took an hour, which was strange since it should only be 30 km from Guangzhou. Another thing which makes travelling in China a bit of a bother sometimes is that it takes more time than you'd think to go from point A to point B. Mainly due to the large amount of traffic. But when you've done it once, it becomes easier to find ways that are quicker (thank god for the metro!).
Foshan wasn't what I had expected, even though it's supposed to have 6 million inhabitants it felt like a smaller city, the temples weren't very impressive either but one thing I really liked was Liang's Garden, it was beautiful! Here are some photos:
Always bring an umbrella with you! Even if the sun is shining in the morning a thunderstorm is never far away.
I planned to go to a neighbouring village named Shiwan where it is possible to make your own pottery but the rain started pouring down as thunder closed in on Foshan. Well, when the metro goes all the way to Foshan from Guangzhou I'll make another attempt on Shiwan. I'll also try to see some Wing Chun sparring as there are many martial art academies in Foshan.
A very small bus station in a very populous city.
On my way home I stopped by in a Tesco shop, it does not have the same kind of brands as in U.K though.
But what it does have is oddly dressed sample girls! In every major supermarket there are loads of samples given out, some companies apparently take their campaign one step further.
Licha Cun
Continuing where I left of in my last post, we left the first village, Xiangang Cun and went to a restaurant for dinner. While it took us ages to get the food it was nothing compared to how many hours we would waste away in the bus in search of the second octagonal village, Licha Cun. We left the restaurant at 1:30 p.m and what should've been a half an hour drive took us four hours. We arrived at Licha Cun at 7 pm when we according to the schedule should have arrived there at 1:30. It was a very interesting place to visit though and in some ways worth those hours on the bus.
Finally got our food! It was okay but nothing special.
A Pagoda we stopped at while we were lost.
Interesting way of keeping out non wanted visitors. A wall of glass shards.
Finally arrived at Licha Cun! It is almost abandoned these days and only a very few people still live here. Which added to the deserted mysterious feeling of the village.
A tranquil lake on one side of the village.
I think the red is remains from firecrackers.
Very narrow circular streets.
The entrance to one of the larger houses here.
One might understand why people have moved on.
At the centre of this octagonal shaped village one of course finds the source of why the village was built the way it was. The Taijitu ("yin and yang") symbol 太極圖 as well as the Ba gua 八卦 ("Eight Trigrams").
The french teacher Nathalie is taking a photo of the Taijitu..
..while I mostly take pictures of myself.
They offered me a really good price for these two cars!
However, it turned out the lacked a few important features.
Making the last part of the journey home after a total 10 hours on the bus during the same day.
Finally got our food! It was okay but nothing special.
A Pagoda we stopped at while we were lost.
Interesting way of keeping out non wanted visitors. A wall of glass shards.
Finally arrived at Licha Cun! It is almost abandoned these days and only a very few people still live here. Which added to the deserted mysterious feeling of the village.
A tranquil lake on one side of the village.
I think the red is remains from firecrackers.
Very narrow circular streets.
The entrance to one of the larger houses here.
One might understand why people have moved on.
At the centre of this octagonal shaped village one of course finds the source of why the village was built the way it was. The Taijitu ("yin and yang") symbol 太極圖 as well as the Ba gua 八卦 ("Eight Trigrams").
The french teacher Nathalie is taking a photo of the Taijitu..
..while I mostly take pictures of myself.
They offered me a really good price for these two cars!
However, it turned out the lacked a few important features.
Making the last part of the journey home after a total 10 hours on the bus during the same day.
Xiangang Cun and Licha Cun
Yesterday I went on a trip together with some other staff to the Zhaoqing area to explore two villages Xiangang Cun and Licha Cun which date from the Ming dynasty about 700 years ago. They are octogonal shaped villages, built according to "Ba Gua", an octogonal symbol of the eight principles of Taoism. The trip started of okay as we got on th bus at 8 am but little did we know about the amount of hours we would spend in that bus.
The trip to Xianggang Cun should take about 1 ½ hour but after getting lost and driving around we arrived there at 11. The village was interesting to walk around but very worn down. I suppose it's an image of what most parts of China looked like not long ago, before the great economical upswing started. Here are some pictures:
The main village square.
The local fish store.
A man who was curious of the group of us foreigners, as this village rarely see anyone from the outside they approached us several times with questions and greetings.
An unidentified Chinese game.
Some houses were far from the standard that can be found in the cities..
...and some lived in boxes. No, not really, he was just sleeping there while his mother was chatting with some friends.
David and Maya, together with them we broke away from the others and explored on our own. Here we are talking to some women.
Most streets were very narrow.
Bamboo is widely used within construction. I don't know how safe I would feel beneath it though.
Do you recognize the symbol on the top? It's the 'wan', as it is known in China, but it can be found in many cultures and has a history of 3000 years. In the west we mainly know it as the symbol used during World War II. I don't want to write down any terms or make any links here as I'm afraid the blog would be blocked if I do.
The gate to the temple.
A cool dorrknob, I'm getting one of these to my future house!
Tomorrow, I will make a post about our visit to the second village and also whine a bit about the countless hours we spent in the bus being lost.
The trip to Xianggang Cun should take about 1 ½ hour but after getting lost and driving around we arrived there at 11. The village was interesting to walk around but very worn down. I suppose it's an image of what most parts of China looked like not long ago, before the great economical upswing started. Here are some pictures:
The main village square.
The local fish store.
A man who was curious of the group of us foreigners, as this village rarely see anyone from the outside they approached us several times with questions and greetings.
An unidentified Chinese game.
Some houses were far from the standard that can be found in the cities..
...and some lived in boxes. No, not really, he was just sleeping there while his mother was chatting with some friends.
David and Maya, together with them we broke away from the others and explored on our own. Here we are talking to some women.
Most streets were very narrow.
Bamboo is widely used within construction. I don't know how safe I would feel beneath it though.
Do you recognize the symbol on the top? It's the 'wan', as it is known in China, but it can be found in many cultures and has a history of 3000 years. In the west we mainly know it as the symbol used during World War II. I don't want to write down any terms or make any links here as I'm afraid the blog would be blocked if I do.
The gate to the temple.
A cool dorrknob, I'm getting one of these to my future house!
Tomorrow, I will make a post about our visit to the second village and also whine a bit about the countless hours we spent in the bus being lost.
Black chicken?
Hi all,
Before departure I was thoroughly warned about "proper" Chinese food but what I have eaten here so far has been good though some things might not be very healthy as they like to use buckets of oil when cooking. I was warned about people eating dog paws and silk larva here on a daily basis, however so far I have to say those rumours have been exaggerated. I'm sure you could find some restaurant that serve that stuff but none I've seen so far.
However, in the meat section at Jusco supermarket one can find this:
Yes, it's a chicken. Yes, it's black (or darkish blueish).
After some questions I found out that this is a 烏骨雞 or Silkie (or several actually). And that they, when alive, look like this:
The origin of their name is that their plumage feels a lot like silk. Their meat is considered gourmet food in most parts of Asia. I don't think I've tried any so far, but when going to a Chinese/Cantonese restaurant one barely knows what one eats half the time. When I know for sure what it tastes like I will report back.
Before departure I was thoroughly warned about "proper" Chinese food but what I have eaten here so far has been good though some things might not be very healthy as they like to use buckets of oil when cooking. I was warned about people eating dog paws and silk larva here on a daily basis, however so far I have to say those rumours have been exaggerated. I'm sure you could find some restaurant that serve that stuff but none I've seen so far.
However, in the meat section at Jusco supermarket one can find this:
Yes, it's a chicken. Yes, it's black (or darkish blueish).
After some questions I found out that this is a 烏骨雞 or Silkie (or several actually). And that they, when alive, look like this:
The origin of their name is that their plumage feels a lot like silk. Their meat is considered gourmet food in most parts of Asia. I don't think I've tried any so far, but when going to a Chinese/Cantonese restaurant one barely knows what one eats half the time. When I know for sure what it tastes like I will report back.
My kingdom for some ice cream
After school yesterday I was in a really good mood, I had planned a movie night de lux for myself, just managed to download Ironman 2 (with a crappy internet connection) and had bought some nice ice cream. Thought to myself that I wouldn't eat it all, and after eating half of it I put it back in the freezer but when there was still another hour of the movie left I couldn't resist the temptation to go for more.. The movie wasn't great but good fun to watch and it was that kind of action movie that has you going through massive amounts of sweets in no time. Should've watched a drama as it has an altogether different effect on the sugar craving.
So now I've got to lose those extra kilos it felt like I put on yesterday, I have located two hills nearby my apartment block where I've gone jogging a couple of times and there's an amazing view but to get there one have to go through some dirt tracks. Unfortunately it's cloudy tonight so I'll bring the camera to show you the view next time.
My jogging shoes after the dirt tracks, I like it, they look a bit more hard core now!
So now I've got to lose those extra kilos it felt like I put on yesterday, I have located two hills nearby my apartment block where I've gone jogging a couple of times and there's an amazing view but to get there one have to go through some dirt tracks. Unfortunately it's cloudy tonight so I'll bring the camera to show you the view next time.
My jogging shoes after the dirt tracks, I like it, they look a bit more hard core now!
Some Dos and Don'ts in China
Today's post is not a very long one for being a Sunday post, I've got some things to do before I turn in for the night so I'll share some dos and dont's that apply here in China. I will try to make a longer post soon.
Do:
Do:
- hold your glass below that of the eldest person in the group when toasting – the eldest (aka wise one) holds his/her glass highest
- eat all of the rice in your bowl – some Chinese believe it’s bad luck to leave even a single grain behind
Don’t:
- write anything in red ink unless you’re correcting an exam. Red ink is used for letters of protest.
- shake your feet, lest you shake away all of your luck.
- be offended when asked if you’re married – and if you’re over 30 and single, say yes, lest you be pitied
- give clocks or books as gifts. The phrase ‘to give a clock’ in Mandarin sounds too much like ‘attend a funeral’ and ‘giving a book’ sounds like ‘delivering defeat.’
- Make out in public
Teppanyaki!
Hi all!
I haven't had the time to do any proper post this week so I thought I would post some photos I took with my mobile camera during one of our visits to an all-you-can-eat Teppanyaki restaurant here in G-town. For those of you who wonder what Teppanyaki is I quote wikipedia "Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き teppan'yaki) is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate, including steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki."
We've just arrived at our round table with the griddle in the middle.
Various staff members arrive.
Here you can order almost anything to be cooked on the griddle in front of you, but they do have sushi as well, it's after all a Japanese restaurant.
The cook is doing his magic and he cooks in a very "showing-off" kind of style, which is fun to watch.
Last but not least, deep fried banana with ice-cream!
I haven't had the time to do any proper post this week so I thought I would post some photos I took with my mobile camera during one of our visits to an all-you-can-eat Teppanyaki restaurant here in G-town. For those of you who wonder what Teppanyaki is I quote wikipedia "Teppanyaki (鉄板焼き teppan'yaki) is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan (鉄板), which means iron plate, and yaki (焼き), which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate, including steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and monjayaki."
We've just arrived at our round table with the griddle in the middle.
Various staff members arrive.
Here you can order almost anything to be cooked on the griddle in front of you, but they do have sushi as well, it's after all a Japanese restaurant.
The cook is doing his magic and he cooks in a very "showing-off" kind of style, which is fun to watch.
Last but not least, deep fried banana with ice-cream!
My weekend
It's Sunday and I finally have some time to sit down and post something! I'm in the final stages of my Sunday routine, which goes something like this: Wake up at nine, put clothes in washing machine, make breakfast, clean the floors and the rest of the apartment, chill for half an hour, get the laundry, take the bus to Jusco to get meat and other groceries, come home and put the groceries in the fridge, go to local supermarket for vegetables, come home, eat late lunch, after lunch go down to swimming pool to cool off, after that I go back up to apartment and post something on the blog, then hopefully skype with Rebecka, then go out jogging. That's been my Sunday routine for three Sundays now.
Yesterday I went to a house-warming party that started at Ikea, so I went in a bit earlier to enjoy a plate of some sweet Swedish meatballs.
I wouldn't be surprised if they ship them from Sweden as they tasted exactly the same as back home. Anyway, the gang met up at Ikea and since the Chinese enjoy sitting in the sofas and taking naps on the beds in Ikea we thought we would adapt to the culture here. We brought a few drinks and seated us in a living room, I read out loud for everyone what the different names meant and also read out loud from "Stora Djurboken" which could be found on a shelf in "our" living room. It was great fun sitting there enjoying some vodka and lemonade in a plastic bottle and just chatting away as if we were sitting in someone's home.
After an hour or so we went up to Jessica's apartment where the party got started, we later went out clubbing at a newly opened club, Nova. It was really crowded but good music. I was the only one from Rhytmico who went clubbing, everyone else live in the city centre so I got a taxi home alone but it was still ok since the fare was 37 CNY (43 kr) for a 20 minutes taxi ride. =)
On Saturday my internet went dead once again (Welcome to China..) and I decided to go in early to the city centre and take the cable car up to the Baiyun mountains. I wouldn't say they are mountains with the top peak being 385 meters above sea level but we all got our own definition I suppose. Since it had been raining all night it was very cloudy at the top so I'll pose some photos next time I go up there but I enjoyed the cable car ride up!
Not the most romantic spot to take a photo but it's a representative picture of Guangzhou where there are overhead roads everywhere. All the photos in the post were taken with my mobile camera if you've noticed some difference in quality.
I had one of these to myself, I quite liked the privacy and calm in my little cube as it went higher and higher.
The Chinese army mobilizing? Let's hope not!
Yesterday I went to a house-warming party that started at Ikea, so I went in a bit earlier to enjoy a plate of some sweet Swedish meatballs.
I wouldn't be surprised if they ship them from Sweden as they tasted exactly the same as back home. Anyway, the gang met up at Ikea and since the Chinese enjoy sitting in the sofas and taking naps on the beds in Ikea we thought we would adapt to the culture here. We brought a few drinks and seated us in a living room, I read out loud for everyone what the different names meant and also read out loud from "Stora Djurboken" which could be found on a shelf in "our" living room. It was great fun sitting there enjoying some vodka and lemonade in a plastic bottle and just chatting away as if we were sitting in someone's home.
After an hour or so we went up to Jessica's apartment where the party got started, we later went out clubbing at a newly opened club, Nova. It was really crowded but good music. I was the only one from Rhytmico who went clubbing, everyone else live in the city centre so I got a taxi home alone but it was still ok since the fare was 37 CNY (43 kr) for a 20 minutes taxi ride. =)
On Saturday my internet went dead once again (Welcome to China..) and I decided to go in early to the city centre and take the cable car up to the Baiyun mountains. I wouldn't say they are mountains with the top peak being 385 meters above sea level but we all got our own definition I suppose. Since it had been raining all night it was very cloudy at the top so I'll pose some photos next time I go up there but I enjoyed the cable car ride up!
Not the most romantic spot to take a photo but it's a representative picture of Guangzhou where there are overhead roads everywhere. All the photos in the post were taken with my mobile camera if you've noticed some difference in quality.
I had one of these to myself, I quite liked the privacy and calm in my little cube as it went higher and higher.
The Chinese army mobilizing? Let's hope not!
Very authentic polo shirts!
This weekend I was in Guangzhou and couldn't help to do some shopping. Since I wear a shirt every day to work I wanted to have some variation in my wardrobe and I thought that a polo shirt or two would be nice. I've seen some horrible Ralph Lauren copies here, like this one:
...but I wanted something closer to the original.
I came across a woman having a three for a hundred (110kr) sale going on and decided to see what she had. The result are as follows:
A vanilla white one.
A dark blue one.
And my favorite, a purple one! This photo is taken early in the morning, hence my tired eyes.
You can still feel that the quality is not the same as the original but is it a 600 kr worth of difference? No.
...but I wanted something closer to the original.
I came across a woman having a three for a hundred (110kr) sale going on and decided to see what she had. The result are as follows:
A vanilla white one.
A dark blue one.
And my favorite, a purple one! This photo is taken early in the morning, hence my tired eyes.
You can still feel that the quality is not the same as the original but is it a 600 kr worth of difference? No.
Jade costume and funny signs
On Saturday I went into Guangzhou to have a walk around in two famous parks; Yuexiu Park and Liuhua Park. Both were beautiful and I'm glad whenever I discover a place I want to take Rebecka when she comes over for Christmas.
Do you love your homeland? Then recycle! I wonder if this encouragement would cause some controversy back in Sweden?
The entrance of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. The burial site was discovered in 1983 when excavating for yet another shopping plaza.
This is the jade suit that the Nanyue King was buried in, it is made of thousands of small jade tiles sewn together. This was a custom for the Han dynasty as jade was thought to preserve the body and make the wearer immortal.
Do you know what this is? Pillows! Yes, that's right, porcelain and ceramic pillows that were used some 1000 years ago. Thank god for soft pillows!
The museum also housed an antiquity shop, this Buddha statue was slightly larger than the size of my hand, do you want it in your living room? Well, then you have to pay up 70 000 CNY (81 000 kr)!
Yuexiu Park is probably the most famous park in Guangzhou and a lot of people are strolling around within its 93 hectar.
Within Yuexiu Park there are lots of tiny waterfalls and shaded wood paths.
As well as signs with interesting takes on the English language.
Walking out of the park I found a florist and I wished I could've bought a rose and sent it home to Rebecka.
I finished my day of walking in Guangzhou with a visit to the computer market where I bought some headphones and another laptop cooler.
Do you love your homeland? Then recycle! I wonder if this encouragement would cause some controversy back in Sweden?
The entrance of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. The burial site was discovered in 1983 when excavating for yet another shopping plaza.
This is the jade suit that the Nanyue King was buried in, it is made of thousands of small jade tiles sewn together. This was a custom for the Han dynasty as jade was thought to preserve the body and make the wearer immortal.
Do you know what this is? Pillows! Yes, that's right, porcelain and ceramic pillows that were used some 1000 years ago. Thank god for soft pillows!
The museum also housed an antiquity shop, this Buddha statue was slightly larger than the size of my hand, do you want it in your living room? Well, then you have to pay up 70 000 CNY (81 000 kr)!
Yuexiu Park is probably the most famous park in Guangzhou and a lot of people are strolling around within its 93 hectar.
Within Yuexiu Park there are lots of tiny waterfalls and shaded wood paths.
As well as signs with interesting takes on the English language.
Walking out of the park I found a florist and I wished I could've bought a rose and sent it home to Rebecka.
I finished my day of walking in Guangzhou with a visit to the computer market where I bought some headphones and another laptop cooler.
A boat cruise
On Friday evening, Anne, a German teacher who is going back to Germany had arranged a boat cruise on Guangzhou river. The cruise lasted for about two hours and included some fantastic food made by the school chef Matt. It was a perfect evening for it, to stand on the deck enjoying the many neon lit buildings close to the river in a slight breeze and about 24 degrees is definitely one of the best experiences I've had in Guangzhou so far. Here are some photos of the evening.
Our boat, although I didn't see the bank office onboard..
It was incredibly difficult to get good-non-blurry pictures on a moving boat, but I tried.
As we all know psychology teachers are a bit messed up, but that science teachers are even more so was a surprise! Thank you Brianna for that lovely expression!
There is no shortage of neon-lit buildings in Guangzhou. Although I heard that many of them are not lit due to repairs in preparation for the coming Asian Games.
It was a romantic setting to silently glide down the Guangzhou river which Brianna and Zack certainly seemed to enjoy. I really wanted to hug my own fantastic girlfriend and missed Rebecka enormously. Looking forward to go on a boat cruise with her when she comes over.
All good things must come to an end. We moved on to a bar by the river and many interesting topics were discussed as everyone seemed to be in a debating mood.
Our boat, although I didn't see the bank office onboard..
It was incredibly difficult to get good-non-blurry pictures on a moving boat, but I tried.
As we all know psychology teachers are a bit messed up, but that science teachers are even more so was a surprise! Thank you Brianna for that lovely expression!
There is no shortage of neon-lit buildings in Guangzhou. Although I heard that many of them are not lit due to repairs in preparation for the coming Asian Games.
It was a romantic setting to silently glide down the Guangzhou river which Brianna and Zack certainly seemed to enjoy. I really wanted to hug my own fantastic girlfriend and missed Rebecka enormously. Looking forward to go on a boat cruise with her when she comes over.
All good things must come to an end. We moved on to a bar by the river and many interesting topics were discussed as everyone seemed to be in a debating mood.
Barbeque!
Quite close to where I live there is a barbeque place which is something special, a favourite amongst teachers who have been living here for a couple of years. Yesterday, it was time for some barbequeing!
There's no menu so the choose-and-point method is widely used.
Here our lambsticks are being grilled, they are really good!
Part of the gang.
Ridicolous amount of grilled stuff and beer only costs 40 CNY (45 kr) so it's easy to have one or two beers too many, especially since it's Thursday!
There's no menu so the choose-and-point method is widely used.
Here our lambsticks are being grilled, they are really good!
Part of the gang.
Ridicolous amount of grilled stuff and beer only costs 40 CNY (45 kr) so it's easy to have one or two beers too many, especially since it's Thursday!
Phone number
I'm sorry that I haven't given you my Chinese mobile phone number, I just took for granted that you would e-mail me if you wanted to get a hold of me. My number is: 008615220007730 and I might as well give you the school's number as well: +86 (20) 8720 2019 or you can look here. And as a bonus I give you a photo of my dinner:
Yes, I know, I should've been a chef..
Yes, I know, I should've been a chef..
Dressed for success
Hi all!
As I missed posting a photo of how I abide by the school dress code in this post, I'll do that now with a ( slightly blurry) photo taken this morning.
As a contrast I post a photo of me in a tad more informal clothing, being ready for exploration of Guangzhou:
I'll try to avoid turning this into a fashion blog, but it's hard to avoid with my extremely extensive wardrobe and extravagant taste in clothes..
PS. Yes, I'm being ironic. ;)
As I missed posting a photo of how I abide by the school dress code in this post, I'll do that now with a ( slightly blurry) photo taken this morning.
As a contrast I post a photo of me in a tad more informal clothing, being ready for exploration of Guangzhou:
I'll try to avoid turning this into a fashion blog, but it's hard to avoid with my extremely extensive wardrobe and extravagant taste in clothes..
PS. Yes, I'm being ironic. ;)
Another day of exploration
Ok, yesterday (Saturday) I went into Guangzhou western city centre and I brought my camera with me so here is another batch of pictures.
First stop was The Temple of the six Banyan Tress, it was nice but I wasn't overly impressed by it. It was a like a not so beautiful garden in the city with a heavy scent of incense hanging over it. I've come to realise that Guangzhou is not a great place for tourists since there are not a lot of tourist spots around. It's also a bit hard to get your head around the layout since there's no proper city centre. The city is simply too big, there's a centre in the eastern part, one "centre" in the western part and one south. Which is a bit unusual for me, being used to the standard central square or railway station to be the starting point of most exploration trips. Something that Guangzhou is great for though is shopping! More on that later.
I think this dragon/sea monster is some kind of instrument, noticing the hammers in the lower left corner my guess it's a gong to call the monks in for dinner? or playtime?
We walked by an "official ivory trader", where they sold amazing ivory carvings such as this one. If you would to buy one you wouldn't be allowed to take it outside China however.
In Guangzhou, and probably in China as a whole, the layout of shops are different to the one in Europe. Sure, there are massive malls where you can buy clothes and shoes here as well but for other kind of wares you would have to look elsewhere. Here almost every street specializes in some type of product(s). Walking down a street and you will suddenly find that the last 8 stores you walked by are selling baby clothes, and so are the rest of the 28 stores further down the street. You continue for a couple of blocks and find yourself on a street where all the stores are selling rubber bands (below), another street sells trophies, a third neon signs, etc etc. Very interesting trading structure.
One of the many stores selling rubber bands and plastic bags.
Hmm, maybe I should bring home a few trophies in various sports to put on my shelves? Well, probably feels better if one earns them..
A back alley with playing kids.
A lot of products are transported this way, on bicycle wagons in surprising high speeds.
On most street corners and below the many trees lining the streets one finds groups of men standing around. Most often they are watching a game of Xiangqi, Chinese chess, but there are also numerous card games that are played. The Chinese love to gamble!
View of the Zhujiang river.
This is the "famous" shopping street, Beijing Lu, here one can find any type of clothes and it's really crowded during the weekends but that part of the fun.
This beautiful building houses the Foreign Affairs Office just outside Renmin park.
First stop was The Temple of the six Banyan Tress, it was nice but I wasn't overly impressed by it. It was a like a not so beautiful garden in the city with a heavy scent of incense hanging over it. I've come to realise that Guangzhou is not a great place for tourists since there are not a lot of tourist spots around. It's also a bit hard to get your head around the layout since there's no proper city centre. The city is simply too big, there's a centre in the eastern part, one "centre" in the western part and one south. Which is a bit unusual for me, being used to the standard central square or railway station to be the starting point of most exploration trips. Something that Guangzhou is great for though is shopping! More on that later.
I think this dragon/sea monster is some kind of instrument, noticing the hammers in the lower left corner my guess it's a gong to call the monks in for dinner? or playtime?
We walked by an "official ivory trader", where they sold amazing ivory carvings such as this one. If you would to buy one you wouldn't be allowed to take it outside China however.
In Guangzhou, and probably in China as a whole, the layout of shops are different to the one in Europe. Sure, there are massive malls where you can buy clothes and shoes here as well but for other kind of wares you would have to look elsewhere. Here almost every street specializes in some type of product(s). Walking down a street and you will suddenly find that the last 8 stores you walked by are selling baby clothes, and so are the rest of the 28 stores further down the street. You continue for a couple of blocks and find yourself on a street where all the stores are selling rubber bands (below), another street sells trophies, a third neon signs, etc etc. Very interesting trading structure.
One of the many stores selling rubber bands and plastic bags.
Hmm, maybe I should bring home a few trophies in various sports to put on my shelves? Well, probably feels better if one earns them..
A back alley with playing kids.
A lot of products are transported this way, on bicycle wagons in surprising high speeds.
On most street corners and below the many trees lining the streets one finds groups of men standing around. Most often they are watching a game of Xiangqi, Chinese chess, but there are also numerous card games that are played. The Chinese love to gamble!
View of the Zhujiang river.
This is the "famous" shopping street, Beijing Lu, here one can find any type of clothes and it's really crowded during the weekends but that part of the fun.
This beautiful building houses the Foreign Affairs Office just outside Renmin park.
Documenting a Thursday
Rebecka asked me to document my surroundings an ordinary week day with the camera she so generously have lent me. So I did and the result can be viewed below. I apologize in advance for the large amount of photos and slow browsing speed.
I was a bit stressed this morning so I had no time to document my morning but if you picture a bowl of porridge and a well dressed man in black trousers and a shirt you get the picture.
The path outside my apartment building which I walk down at 7:07 to catch the bus to school.
Taking a short cut to the bus stop.
Pick up place for the teachers' bus, a.k.a "the bus stop"
In the bus which takes 15 minutes to reach the school.
Driving out from Rythmico, the apartment area where I live.
Arriving at our school.
A surprisingly empty staff room, is there a meeting I didn't know about?
The Mac lab, where I teach the "Design Technology" course.
Basketball court where the students hang out during the recess and lunch time.
Looks like a bit of rain is coming, better get my umbrella since I'm on yard duty.
And there's the rain! It really pours down for about half an hour then suddenly stops.
Time for some lunch at 13:20, I'm starving! Forgot to mention the price for lunch in yesterday's post. Cost for a large meal is 25 kr, which is what I always get.
Slightly blurry picture of one of my psychology students posing. Some students prefer to buy a slice of pizza or a baguette instead of a meal, which they do in this part of the cantine.
The beautiful library.
One of my psychology classrooms.
Finally after a busy day we head for the buses at 16:50.
I ignore the short cut and walk through a bit more beautiful path to my apartment building.
Finally at home, this is the entrance to my apartment building. I live on the top 7th floor.
When I come home I clean the floors, which is important if you don't want all kinds of bugs invading. So far so good, no cockroaches in my apartment. I cook some dinner since I'm starving again.
After the sauna which the kitchen becomes when cooking I go down to the pool where I find a cryptic message regarding the inside pool, so I head for the pool outside.
No, it's not my pink slippers. I promise. Seriously. They aren't!
After a 20 minutes swim I head up to my clean apartment, have a shower and post things for you to enjoy!
I was a bit stressed this morning so I had no time to document my morning but if you picture a bowl of porridge and a well dressed man in black trousers and a shirt you get the picture.
The path outside my apartment building which I walk down at 7:07 to catch the bus to school.
Taking a short cut to the bus stop.
Pick up place for the teachers' bus, a.k.a "the bus stop"
In the bus which takes 15 minutes to reach the school.
Driving out from Rythmico, the apartment area where I live.
Arriving at our school.
A surprisingly empty staff room, is there a meeting I didn't know about?
The Mac lab, where I teach the "Design Technology" course.
Basketball court where the students hang out during the recess and lunch time.
Looks like a bit of rain is coming, better get my umbrella since I'm on yard duty.
And there's the rain! It really pours down for about half an hour then suddenly stops.
Time for some lunch at 13:20, I'm starving! Forgot to mention the price for lunch in yesterday's post. Cost for a large meal is 25 kr, which is what I always get.
Slightly blurry picture of one of my psychology students posing. Some students prefer to buy a slice of pizza or a baguette instead of a meal, which they do in this part of the cantine.
The beautiful library.
One of my psychology classrooms.
Finally after a busy day we head for the buses at 16:50.
I ignore the short cut and walk through a bit more beautiful path to my apartment building.
Finally at home, this is the entrance to my apartment building. I live on the top 7th floor.
When I come home I clean the floors, which is important if you don't want all kinds of bugs invading. So far so good, no cockroaches in my apartment. I cook some dinner since I'm starving again.
After the sauna which the kitchen becomes when cooking I go down to the pool where I find a cryptic message regarding the inside pool, so I head for the pool outside.
No, it's not my pink slippers. I promise. Seriously. They aren't!
After a 20 minutes swim I head up to my clean apartment, have a shower and post things for you to enjoy!
Supermarket
I just got back from the local supermarket and thought I would write short post about the costs of various things here in Guangzhou. When it comes to groceries I have two choices, alternative one is to walk 10 minutes to a local supermarket where I can get basic groceries but I can't buy things like pasta or lintels. Alternative two is to take a 10 minutes bus ride to a larger mall and supermarket named "Jusco" where I can find (almost) anything I would be able to get in a supermarket in Sweden or Britain, even ecological fiber enriched spaghetti! Jusco is a bit more expensive but it's well worth those few extra kronor for the variety of goods.
Jusco
I will write the different amounts in Swedish Kronor since the majority of my readers are Swedes. Here's a list:
5 tomatoes = 5 kr
2 chili fruits = 1 kr
1 cucumber = 4 kr
0,5 kg apples = 7 kr
Bottle of 0,6 L beer = 6 kr (And it tastes good!!)
1 pint in a bar = 20-30 kr
1kg Packet of Oatmeal = 20 kr
3 peppers = 5 kr
Grapes = 5 kr
1 DVD movie from a "DVD lady" = 11 kr
1 pair of chinos = 64 kr
1 shirt = 60 kr
Bus or metro ride = 2.5 kr
Restaurant visit = 35 - 140 kr
As you can see the cost of living here is very low, which I truly enjoy! However, you could of course get everything at much higher prices, comparable to those in Sweden or Britain but then you would have to shop at the most expensive supermarkets who specialises in importing "western" groceries.
Jusco
I will write the different amounts in Swedish Kronor since the majority of my readers are Swedes. Here's a list:
5 tomatoes = 5 kr
2 chili fruits = 1 kr
1 cucumber = 4 kr
0,5 kg apples = 7 kr
Bottle of 0,6 L beer = 6 kr (And it tastes good!!)
1 pint in a bar = 20-30 kr
1kg Packet of Oatmeal = 20 kr
3 peppers = 5 kr
Grapes = 5 kr
1 DVD movie from a "DVD lady" = 11 kr
1 pair of chinos = 64 kr
1 shirt = 60 kr
Bus or metro ride = 2.5 kr
Restaurant visit = 35 - 140 kr
As you can see the cost of living here is very low, which I truly enjoy! However, you could of course get everything at much higher prices, comparable to those in Sweden or Britain but then you would have to shop at the most expensive supermarkets who specialises in importing "western" groceries.
