Yuexie Park, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

Yuexie Park is one of the premier parks in Guangzhou. It had 3 lakes, paddle boats, an amusement park and a playground for family fun. It has a memorial to Sun Yat Sen in the form of a tower, the Guangzhou Museum, and it claims the Statue of the Five Rams, a symbol of the city.

That bit of green, just there, that would be the park.

On a Sunday off I stumbled on this gem. Yes, I can see it from my hotel room, but I didn't really know what I was looking at. I took a walk up the road and came upon this gate.

East Gate

So I went in.

The first thing to see is a lake and paddle boats, and an odd gazebo. 

Gazebo

The lake

Paddle-boats (some look like old cars)

Heading counter-clockwise around the lake I came on the playground. It was Sunday so all the families were out doing their day-off thing. The weather was perfect.

The amusement park was just next. Lots of rides that would pass for OK in the states at a church picnic. Like I said, family fun time.

You get to help put the fire out!

A Kung Fu Monkey. 

that's all I can say.

Badass.

After the amusement park was more lake and directions to "a relic of a square fortress". OK, I'll bite. 

Let's find the fortress.

OK, I'll be careful.

The other end of the lake.

 As I continued on, I saw this little house in the bushes. It struck me as something vaguely out of Skyrim. The door was locked and I had no picks, so I moved on ;-/

Odd place.

 I saw this large structure across the park. Could this be the 'square fortress'? Maybe. But  I decided to follow the signs instead.

Fortress?

Im in China. Everything is made of Bamboo. The scaffolding I saw in Hong Kong is bamboo.  But where does it come from? Here in the park is a small Bamboo Forest. Pretty cool.

Bamboo

more bamboo

path to Big Bamboo

I wandered around the paths in the bamboo and came back to the path I was originally on. Then the signs pointed me up the hill. So up I went.

no one takes the stairs any more

 I finally found the 'relic of a square fortress'. What I found was a ROUND cannon emplacement that was used in the 17th century. Still pretty cool.

placards showing where the cannons were
notice the circular design of the paving

Translation needed, but it says "This is an old place"

Having found the old relic, I decided to continue on to find out what that large red structure was. I can see it and a tower from my hotel. Further investigation is required.

Not the relic, what is it?

An what's the tower for?

I found it! The large red, five story structure is the Guangzhou Museum. I was told in Beijing that "Chinese museums are 'shit'. Don't go there".

Guangzhou Museum

So of course, I paid my 10元 and headed inside.

The grounds were pretty nice. 

Some cannons start you off, 

Cannons

bigger cannons

then some carved stone inscriptions follow that.

This is a warning to greedy politicians.
I asked a friend to translate,
but it's in "old Chinese" that he couldn't read.

In side the museum wasn't as bas as advertised. There was the usual "we have old stuff from around here" displays, and the "original" Statue of the Five Rams.

There is a story behind this in Wikipedia.

I was in Beijing an they had "rickshaws". Like everything else there, they are modernized and dirty.

Here's an old-timey one in the museum.

Rickshaw

The view from the 5th floor was fairly nice.

Did I mention there's a stadium in the park?
They play soccer here.

Now, what's that tower all about?

Interesting tower in the park
It's the Sun Yat Sen memorial.

Sun Yat Sen Memorial placard

The actual tower was closed, I'm probably glad for that. I would have tried to climb up.

Looking up into the tower.

Have you ever played Myst? It was an old game where you wandered around a deserted island looking for clues to the death of some friends. This little pavilion remixed me of that place.

In China, they have a way of building things then letting nature take its course. Here a tree has laid claim to the very walls and walkways of the park. This is actually a retaining wall. Up above is a road and the hill continues up. Is that a Gold Skultulla up there?

Hookshot anyone?

The next "attraction" at the park is the Statue of the Five Rams. It is said that Guangzhou was once a barren land, but five gods came in the form of rams and bequeathed the people with fertile land. Once that job was done they turned to stone. I don't think they believe these are the actual gods' remains, but it has become a symbol of Guangzhou.

The Statue of the Five Rams

Moving on from that excitement, it was time to head out of the park. 

A few more site were see along the way.

Carved stone messages

A nice view of the museum

A badass tiger

Wouldn't be China without carp.

Thanks for getting through this narrative. It was a tiring day, but I'm glad I went through Yuexie Park.

More about the park here:

Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, Guangdong - Travel China Guide

The museum website:

http://www.guangzhoumuseum.cn

 and more about Sun Yat Sen here:

Sun Yat-sen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A day in Hong Kong

I took a Saturday train to Hong Kong from Guangzhou. It was about 200RMB ($30USD) round trip. The trains are clean and efficient, and not too crowded.

From Guangzhou it's about 2 ½ hours to Hung Hom station. You do have to go through Customs, even though it's technically still China. Oh, and change money too.

Map of train route

Once at Hung Hom the fun begins. Taxi to Metro? I opted to get the all-day Tourist Pass. That lets me ride all day on one price. About 80HKD ($10USD). Some stations require multiple fares between transfers, so the all-day pass is worth it.

My first stop, as usual, was the Hard Rock Cafe. If you know me you know I collect the souvenir pins and drumsticks form these places. I have "several".  An extra bonus is that I got to have a real American cheeseburger. After weeks of rice dishes servers 'family style' it was a welcome break.
I was here in 2007, but they moved the HRC to a more hip, but less upscale, venue. Lan Kwai Fong (LKF to use the vernacular) is a party spot of 100's of bars. I wasn't there at night, and I'm probably better off for it.

Hard Rock Cafe

Lan Kwai Fong

 Hong Kong is an set of islands and a bit of a peninsula, but all mountainous. Getting to the center of the island means climbing up up up. Luckily they installed an ESCALATOR!

Hong Kong Central Escalator

Don't take it all the way up unless you want to walk all the way down, or wait until night when the reverse it. Yeah, it only goes one way.

Victoria Peak

There is a train to take you up the mountain to Victoria Peak (a mall is there, so you know you want to go!) Yes, I know - it's called a funicular. It's also calls "a long ass wait to get to board the damn thing".

Boarding the Tram

View from the Peak Tram

Old stop indicators

Once at the top, the hassle to get there was worth it. The city sparkles in the harbor like a gem. After seeing the underbelly in LKF, this view makes things a lot nicer to remember.

A look down the Hong Kong harbor from Victoria Peak

A view across the harbor to Hung Hom

The city view is exceptional, but the back door view of the South China Sea is amazing.

Simply stunning 

A fog rolls in over Hong Kong harbor

After the 90 minute wait for the tram to the peak, I had only about an hour to spend up there. Not nearly enough time. I had to get back to Hung Hom for a 6pm train back to Guangzhou. Long day for a burger!

Beijing in March

A window seat on an international flight isn't the best idea. By the time you have to use the restroom, the two other passengers between you and the aisle are asleep. Funny that the flight crew keeps passing out drinks.
There's nothing to see out the window anyway. Here's a view of the flight tracker though.

This will be posted when I land, I think. More as the trip progresses.

Google (and Blogspot) access is limited here. Sorry.

Beijing

 Here are a couple of the more unique big modern buildings in Beijing.

 

Money is easy - all paper so far, some coins but not many. Food seems to be pretty cheap. A meal at the local (Chinese) fast food place runs about 25 - 35 RMB. That's about 5 bucks (~6RMB/$1USD) for a decent meal. Going in groups also helps if you go to the more formal places. 6 or 7 of us cost 250RMB, so again about 30RMB apiece. The food itself is pretty good too, if a bit rustic. So far nothing has been crazy, but some of the veggie dishes have been a bit spicy. Maybe my Chinese friends didn't order the really crazy stuff because I was there. Not sure.

Boiled Bamboo, spicy vegetables, porridge, fried tofu, braised beef, tea. Napkins - not cigarettes!

I spent a week in Beijing, but really only got to be a tourist for one day. Here is a report on that day - it was along one at that.

Tienanmen Square

The largest square in the world. Vast and empty, but somehow draws crowds anyway. It is bordered to the north by the Forbidden City and Mao's mausoleum (maosoleum?) , south by The Peoples' Hero Museum, to the west by the Museum of China, and to the east by the Peoples' Hall.

This is a shot facing north from about 1/3 of the way south on the square. I hope it conveys the scale of the place. Vast and empty.

Forbidden City

From Tienanmen Square, I headed north through the Mao tomb gate into the Forbidden City. I decided to not hire one of the many many tour guides, but I did rent the audio guide. It's automatic based on where you are, and in any language you may want. 40RMB.

The Forbidden City is now a museum (In fact "The Palace Museum" is the name PRC has given it.) One can not actually enter any of the buildings, unless they are the gift shops or tea rooms. But on a day less crowded, you can linger and look into the rooms and imagine what the Emperor may have been up to. 

 View of Mao's tomb looking south

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

The Hall of Preserving Harmony

 

View to the Northwest

 The Emperor was a virtual prisoner in the city. Although he wanted for nothing, he lacked his personal freedom. What was running through his imperial mind as he looked over the walls?

A dragon sculpture

Dragons playing in the clouds

 My favorite part of the Forbidden City has to be the gardens. Here the Emperor was able to just walk around alone or with his prospective consorts and just think.

Garden sculptures

Garden Pagoda

At the edge of the city and the gardens

Maybe in the interest of full employment I would take that guide next time. 

Nanlougu Xaing

Shopping - tourists - crowds. That's Nanluogu Xiang. This is essentially a place to eat, shop for trinkets, and well - be in a crowd of people. It quite reminded me of the boardwalk in Wildwood NJ or the Strogge in Copenhagen. I liked popping in and out of the little shops that sell pretty much anything.

Getting to Nanluogu Xiang is an adventure itself. I was on foot, but had some directions from locals. I avoided the rickshaws from the Forbidden City. I'm glad I did. I walked north, stopping for some fried rice and tea for lunch. Then kept going to the hutongs (old neighborhoods). Nanluogu Xiang is really just a street in the hutongs, but with all the shops and restaurants on it there is a real vibe. A must see if you are in Beijing!

A stream through the hutongs

A gate into the neighborhoods

Nanluogu Xiang - See it!

Yes, people all around

A smarter smart car, or just small? I'm not sure, but it's yellow!

Chinese lanterns. Where did they get THAT idea?

Street Sign

I had a great time here. I found some treasures for myself and gifts I hope others will enjoy. But just around the corner I found something  I could not pass up...

The Ocarina of Time - and it's all mine!!!

I found a great shopping district in Beijing. I'm happy for that. Otherwise the city is a smoggy mess of big buildings and superhighways. Get off the beaten trail and adventure will follow.

HouHai

HouHai Lakes or the Black Lakes is a region west of Nanluogu Xiang and near the Drum and Bell Towers. I won't bore either of is with a history lesson, but these towers were used to keep time across the city.

The Bell Tower

The Drum Tower

I continued my walk from Nanluogu Xiang to HouHai. Having to stop, I saw this Engrish gem and couldn't resist the photo op

You are the BEST!

 I continued on, once I stopped laughing, to HouHai lake. There were fishermen and swimmers, although there were signs against both activities. I thought this was a pretty mundane spot (why would my local friends suggest I come here...)

Houhai lake

 As I continued down the street, things got more lively.

Restaurants along Houhai

 What I found were more shops, bars, and street food joints crammed into one spot than I've ever seen. Souvenirs were all around. More of the same from Nanluogu Xiang. I resisted most of the touristy stuff, but of course you have to buy something!

The gate at Houhai

I left Beijing knowing that I saw more than the usual attractions, but there must be more that I've missed.
Next week - Guangzhou.

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