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April 28 - 30, 2000 |
Photos & Text © 2000 by Len Schwer
Revised 24 September 2000
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(Daily Journal- Day 16) |
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Wuhan is an interesting city in part because it has sections with
European architecture, as it hosted English and French Concessions
the Chinese provided to several countries in an effort to encourage trade
and development along the Yangtze.
The Walking Crane Pagoda, a.k.a. Yellow Crane Pagoda, is a city landmark that also provides a some nice views of Wuhan. There is an interesting legend about human greed associated with the Yellow Crane, that our local guide Tony related in a well told story. The day we visited they were preparing for a local festival that weekend and had some festive balloons & lanterns displayed. We also visited the provincial museum that housed an interesting collection of musical instruments recovered from an ancient tomb in 1978. The main item in the museum collection is a huge set of bells, a replica of which is played in the museum's auditorium and well worth seeing and listening; no pictures of this museum. |
) Becky & local guide Tony |
) Walking Crane Pagoda |
) View of Wuhan |
) Red Lanterns for festival |
) Decorations for a local festival |
) Large bell near pagoda (WuhanBell.jpg) |
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(Daily Journal- Day 17) |
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Our last stop was Hong Kong. To be fair, I was more than ready to go home,
but to me Hong Kong was like a GIANT shopping mall -- just endless rows of
shops and stores. We had the first afternoon and evening to ourselves so we took the Star Ferry across the harbor and walked through a number of stores. Ms Becky bought herself some very nice jade jewelry and we had dinner at what must be the world's most elaborate(and expensive) buffet. The next day we rode the tram to Victoria Peak, but were not too lucky with the foggy/cloudy weather. The tram ride is worthwhile and the views are an added bonus. Our bus met us at the peak and we stopped a few times on the way down. One stop was for a view of what is billed as the world's most expensive hole, which is an artistic hole in a large condominium. The cost estimate is based on the square foot lost rental income to provide the hole. After Victoria Peak we rode on a sampan to get a close view of the floating city of fishing 'junks' that is home to a lot of people. We also passed Jumbo's Restaurant which claims to be the world's largest floating restaurant. We stopped at a Government housing project for our last home visit. We were told that as many as 15 people may live in a 400-500 square foot apartment. The unit we visited had 6 residents, but only the grandmother was home when we arrived. The apartment is one open room, so to provide some minimal privacy, room dividers were used in a manner similar to cubicles in a large office. The 'bathroom' is on the small balcony and people hang their laundry out the window to dry. This was a very depressing place as perhaps the photo of the hallway might indicate. |
) Star Ferry crossing harbor |
) Some of the endless skyscrapers |
) Tram ride to Victoria Peak |
) View from Victoria Peak |
) Forest of skyscrapers |
) Race track viewed from Victoria Peak |
) Ms Becky with expensive space |
) Sampan view of harbor |
) Jumbo Restaurant - world's largest floating |
) Hallway inside Government housing project |
) Laundry hangs from poles outside apartments |
Photos & Text © 2000 by Len Schwer