Spagbag
Dec-25-2007, 07:19 PM
For Easter 2007 I travelled to China to visit Shanghai, some nearby water towns, and parts of Sichuan. It has taken me an age to get these online, but here are a few of my favourite shots from the trip.
Here is their famous Pearl Tower, as viewed from across the Huangpu river. This is a favourite place for people to stroll around in the evenings.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230154724-M.jpg
I thought Shanghai looked much prettier at night than in the day, thanks to all the neon. You could see it by the riverside, on the riverboats...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230157287-M.jpg
along the crowded shopping streets...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230164045-M.jpg
lighting up the traffic overpasses:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230343265-M.jpg
and even underfoot.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230165697-M.jpg
Following the busy metropolis, we visited the quiet gardens of Suzhou, where I was mostly preoccupied with detail rather than the traditional views.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230170453-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230174349-M.jpg
In Hangzhou we visited the Lingyin Temple.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230175660-M.jpg
This was taken in a "tea village" in Hangzhou, which was a magnet for busloads of tourists. To escape the sales schtick, I wandered off, and found these deserted shoes.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230177157-L.jpg
I thought the paper cuts on display were cool too.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230177253-M.jpg
Then we spent a couple of days relaxing in the beautifully restored water town of Wuzhen. This is still in the nearby region of Shanghai. Under these cloches they were fermenting soybean paste.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230303284-M.jpg
Wuzhen was another place that looked prettier when it was illuminated at night:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230303664-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230304333-M.jpg
We basically had the place to ourselves, as it had only been open a few months. The quietness felt a bit weird (I imagined it was like being on a film set), but it was great for wandering around in the rain for hours, to practice long exposures.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230304249-M.jpg
Next I flew West into Sichuan Province. This is in the quiet town of Songpan:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305562-M.jpg
This sleepy Tibetan baby caught my eye. Many Tibetans and Hui (Muslim minority) people live here.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305872-M.jpg
This man is from the Hui minority.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305707-M.jpg
Nearby was the very scenic Jiuzhaiguo National Park, where I spent a day travelling around by bus, visiting the snow-melt lakes and some spectacular views.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230326721-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230327154-M.jpg
The park was used as a shooting location for the film Hero.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230327061-M.jpg
After all that scenery I wanted to see the pandas of Wolong. A long, bumpy, dusty drive from Chengdu took me there, and I had to laugh when this was the first thing I saw, down the street from my hotel.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230328922-M.jpg
Once inside my (thankfully very nice, very modern) hotel, these words of caution amused me...exactly how rowdy can a game of Mah-Jong get??
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230329012-M.jpg
But these fellas were the main attraction. This was at breakfast time; just a few hundredweight of bamboo to snack on...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230334155-M.jpg
The Wolong Research base houses pandas both old and young. This fur-ball was about 6 months old. There were tourists working at this base as volunteers, which is a great way to spend a week or so in close proximity to the pandas.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230338080-M.jpg
And as you can see, they are working hard to make some more pandas! This was a bit of a shock, even to my guide. She had never witnessed the pandas "in action" during her previous visits, so I guess I was lucky. There were teams of boffins taking notes outside the cages - so no pressure or anything!
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230338167-M.jpg
A roof tile in Dujiangyan, where I visited the ancient irrigation system.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230340908-M.jpg
The local group tour guides never went anywhere without their loudhailers.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341188-M.jpg
I was intrigued by the many different varieties of playing cards:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341501-M.jpg
A crazy staircase, cut into the rock at Leshan, home of a giant Buddha statue:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341625-M.jpg
In Chengdu they like the panda theme. They even use it on traffic lane dividers.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230342497-M.jpg
On my last night in China, I ate some cleverly branded dinner. This is the J-Kungfu fast food chain. I'd heard about it before I went, and spent 2 hours tracking it down. Thankfully, when I got there, it was very good.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230342866-M.jpg
Finally, one last view of the Shanghai Bund, from the rooftop of my hotel:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230343585-L.jpg
Thanks for looking. :D
Here is their famous Pearl Tower, as viewed from across the Huangpu river. This is a favourite place for people to stroll around in the evenings.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230154724-M.jpg
I thought Shanghai looked much prettier at night than in the day, thanks to all the neon. You could see it by the riverside, on the riverboats...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230157287-M.jpg
along the crowded shopping streets...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230164045-M.jpg
lighting up the traffic overpasses:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230343265-M.jpg
and even underfoot.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230165697-M.jpg
Following the busy metropolis, we visited the quiet gardens of Suzhou, where I was mostly preoccupied with detail rather than the traditional views.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230170453-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230174349-M.jpg
In Hangzhou we visited the Lingyin Temple.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230175660-M.jpg
This was taken in a "tea village" in Hangzhou, which was a magnet for busloads of tourists. To escape the sales schtick, I wandered off, and found these deserted shoes.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230177157-L.jpg
I thought the paper cuts on display were cool too.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230177253-M.jpg
Then we spent a couple of days relaxing in the beautifully restored water town of Wuzhen. This is still in the nearby region of Shanghai. Under these cloches they were fermenting soybean paste.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230303284-M.jpg
Wuzhen was another place that looked prettier when it was illuminated at night:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230303664-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230304333-M.jpg
We basically had the place to ourselves, as it had only been open a few months. The quietness felt a bit weird (I imagined it was like being on a film set), but it was great for wandering around in the rain for hours, to practice long exposures.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230304249-M.jpg
Next I flew West into Sichuan Province. This is in the quiet town of Songpan:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305562-M.jpg
This sleepy Tibetan baby caught my eye. Many Tibetans and Hui (Muslim minority) people live here.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305872-M.jpg
This man is from the Hui minority.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230305707-M.jpg
Nearby was the very scenic Jiuzhaiguo National Park, where I spent a day travelling around by bus, visiting the snow-melt lakes and some spectacular views.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230326721-M.jpg
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230327154-M.jpg
The park was used as a shooting location for the film Hero.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230327061-M.jpg
After all that scenery I wanted to see the pandas of Wolong. A long, bumpy, dusty drive from Chengdu took me there, and I had to laugh when this was the first thing I saw, down the street from my hotel.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230328922-M.jpg
Once inside my (thankfully very nice, very modern) hotel, these words of caution amused me...exactly how rowdy can a game of Mah-Jong get??
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230329012-M.jpg
But these fellas were the main attraction. This was at breakfast time; just a few hundredweight of bamboo to snack on...
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230334155-M.jpg
The Wolong Research base houses pandas both old and young. This fur-ball was about 6 months old. There were tourists working at this base as volunteers, which is a great way to spend a week or so in close proximity to the pandas.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230338080-M.jpg
And as you can see, they are working hard to make some more pandas! This was a bit of a shock, even to my guide. She had never witnessed the pandas "in action" during her previous visits, so I guess I was lucky. There were teams of boffins taking notes outside the cages - so no pressure or anything!
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230338167-M.jpg
A roof tile in Dujiangyan, where I visited the ancient irrigation system.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230340908-M.jpg
The local group tour guides never went anywhere without their loudhailers.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341188-M.jpg
I was intrigued by the many different varieties of playing cards:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341501-M.jpg
A crazy staircase, cut into the rock at Leshan, home of a giant Buddha statue:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230341625-M.jpg
In Chengdu they like the panda theme. They even use it on traffic lane dividers.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230342497-M.jpg
On my last night in China, I ate some cleverly branded dinner. This is the J-Kungfu fast food chain. I'd heard about it before I went, and spent 2 hours tracking it down. Thankfully, when I got there, it was very good.
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230342866-M.jpg
Finally, one last view of the Shanghai Bund, from the rooftop of my hotel:
http://www.smugmug.com/photos/230343585-L.jpg
Thanks for looking. :D