Weekend Escape from Troubles - Sail to Mailand China

After several rush hours in Macau, we headed to Zhuhai by a ferry which only took around 15 minutes.

The highlight of the day - seafood dinner. Some people were responsible for picking the best seafood at the best price. Then, a restaurant turned the fresh seafood to great dishes. The dinner was excellent. All abalones, pawns, fishes, etc were mouth-watering. The cost was a surprise. Less than RMB100 per head. I was too excited and forgot to take any picture. Thanks for the buyers and the cooks. A note that many mainland restaurants now charge sterilization fee on tableware, around RMB7 per set. We still washed all the tableware again due to psychological comfort.

Don't look down to the street cooking like tofu. It did taste great. A staff working hard to peel cane to prepare cane juice.

A key to enjoy comfortable accommodation in China is to pick new hotels as maintenance is still the weakness of mainland hotels. The Downtown Hotel Zuhai Hotel we stayed was one of those new and very comfortable. Just the washroom was unexpectedly tiny even for one person.

The statute is the landmark of Zuhai, named "Zuhai Fishwoman" (珠海漁女). She was a goddess but married an ordinary man and became a doctor in the village. The goddess was surrounded by ordinary human weekends.

A church (聖母無原罪堂) in Foshan. Felt peace of mind in this quiet church.

The highlight of the launch next day was the roasted goose by lychee tree which was rich in taste and juicy. Not sure if the food was so good that even a frog was attracted to the dining area.

All the cousins.

Longyan picking time. Sweet and juicy though small.

Longyan tea and longyan honey in progress.

A modern fish pond with automatic sprinklers on the way to Shenzhen.

Congee hot pot before and after adding ingredients. Waiters / waitresses added various ingredients in sequence: 1) clam, 2) fish, 3) vegetables, chicken, meatball. Super yummy.

This fried egg was impressive too.

Play Hard on Weekend - Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou

Chen Clan Academy was in provision of education to children of Chen families in Guangzhou. Thanks for the generous donation of different Chen families, the traditional Chinese academic complex covering 13,200 square meters began to run in 1894. It is really huge.

Every part of the complex is a treasure for it was crafted in great details. A traditional Chinese guardian lion in front of the academy's gate. The lion usually come into a pair but its partner was not in the photo. The lions symbolised protection for the site and more importantly for the people inside.

 

Pottery of the ridge of the front gate featuring the 8 immortals.

Passed the front gate, here is the main entrance of the academy.

Similar to the guardian lions, this stone drum is also come into a pair. Moreover, it carries a symbolic meaning of protection. The drums will produce noise if any bad people go into the site.

A pair of Door Gods is responsible to keep evil spirits from entering.

In traditional Chinese ceiling structure, the horizontal pillars (樑) are used to support the roof. 

More beautiful and lively potteries on the ridges. The craftsmanship is just amazing.

 

Apart from pottery, wood carving was a master art in China as well. A lively dragon looks it is running down from the ceiling.

These grapes looks so real.

Brick carving also plays an important role as decoration.

Transformation from raw materials into art pieces.

Typical setting of a sleeping room.

Huge beautiful rock decoration usually owned by the rich only. 

An outdoors garden for resting.

The academy now houses Guangdong Folk Art Museum. Among all, I prefer paper cutting most because it shows the greatness of an artist simply by simple tools, ie. paper and scissors. 

Play Hard on Weekend - Feel the Prosperity in Guangzhou in the Past

We planned to visit of the Guangdong Provincial Museum but the queue was unexpectedly long, thus, we headed to another place.


















Contemporary style buildings in Haixinsha Square, the venue of 2010 Asian Games.


Shangxiaju Pedestrian Street is a shopping area in Guangzhou. Most buildings there are name Tong Lau which is an architect style mix with Western and Chinese characteristics.


The area is part of the old town, named Xiguan where were the homes of many wealthy businessmen. These statutes showed the life in the past, such as tea house and cultural exchange between the East and the West.


Shamian Island was an important port in Guangzhou where the Western countries started to construct rows of buildings for work and stay around. Therefore, the architects there are mainly in western style.


Today, the are becomes the best background for shooting wedding photos or clothes catalogs. It's also an ideal place to dry clothes after hanging up a line between the trees


A wall picture described the old life on the island. Courier station was full of horses but now is full of bicycles. It proves the world is ever-changing.