China Cultural Chronicles December 13, 2012

  • CN-734652

    smulan79 has added a photo to the pool:

    CN-734652

    Sunset over The Taihu Lake, Jiangsu in China!

    From Alice.

  • secret places

    whistle.and.run has added a photo to the pool:

    secret places

    shanghai

  • secret places

    whistle.and.run has added a photo to the pool:

    secret places

    shanghai

  • Village scene in Hunan province

    Frühtau has added a photo to the pool:

    Village scene in Hunan province

    China, Sept. 2004 (scanned slide)

  • Fushun local market

    Frühtau has added a photo to the pool:

    Fushun local market

    China, Jan. 2008 (scanned slide)

  • Horse Demon

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    Horse Demon

    Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • Chinese Minotaur

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    Chinese Minotaur

    Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • 'Ox-Head', Guardian of Hell

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    'Ox-Head', Guardian of Hell

    Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • 'Horse-Face', Guardian of Hell

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    'Horse-Face', Guardian of Hell

    Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • Gates of Hell

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    Gates of Hell

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • Judgement Group

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    Judgement Group

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • Judges of Hell

    Aidan McRae Thomson has added a photo to the pool:

    Judges of Hell

    The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.

    It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.

    The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.

    Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.

    The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!

    www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...

  • Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    woOoly has added a photo to the pool:

    Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    苏州天平山

  • Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    woOoly has added a photo to the pool:

    Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    苏州天平山

  • Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    woOoly has added a photo to the pool:

    Tianpingshan park,Suzhou

    苏州天平山

  • Hongqiao airport food ranked 15th in world

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    Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport ranks 15th in restaurants and food service among airports worldwide, up from 16th last year, according to a customer satisfaction survey in the third quarter released yesterday by the Airport Council International. 

    Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport ranks 15th in restaurants and food service among airports worldwide, up from 16th last year, according to a customer satisfaction survey in the third quarter released yesterday by the Airport Council International (ACI).

    Some passengers still complain, however, that the Hongqiao airport needs a bigger variety of restaurants, saying that some food is still more expensive than in downtown eateries despite improvements in the past year.

    The airport, the city's major hub for domestic flights, was criticized in the past for high food prices - in one case a bowl of noodles cost more than 50 yuan (US$8).

    The operator, the Shanghai Airport Authority, has signed agreements with business owners to lower food prices after reducing the rent.

    "Improved restaurants, lower food prices, upgraded toilets and the availability of Wi-Fi pushed the ranking forward," one airport official said yesterday.

    ACI's survey found customers were happy to see the changes. The ACI ranking is considered the key performance indicator of airports' service.

    Some travelers, however, said yesterday that they still expect better.

    "The types of foods lag behind," said a traveler, surnamed Bao. In comparison, travelers have more choices and a public space for eating at the Hong Kong airport, Bao said.

    Officials said Hongqiao airport mainly relies on major national and international chain stores with some other popular brands that target different customers.

    Many Christmas-related business promotions and discounts will be introduced soon at the airport, the airport authority said.

    "Santa Claus will deliver coupons and small gifts to air travelers from December 18 to 26," the authority said. Such promotions are common during festivals and holidays.

    The Hongqiao airport is in the world's top 30 airports based on customer satisfaction, according to the ACI, while Pudong International Airport rated among the world's top 10 airports. The two airports handled more than 70 million passengers last year.

    Shanghai's two airports ranked as the top two on the Chinese mainland based on customer satisfaction, said a recent airport survey organized by a China civil aviation website.

    Passengers said Shanghai's airports had sufficient parking spaces, good signage, along with clean toilets.

  • XI'AN#124

    晕点 has added a photo to the pool:

    XI'AN#124

    touch the wall

  • Christmas party at HK's Ocean Park

    Actors dressed as Santa Claus and cartoon characters perform during Christmas party at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong, south China, Dec. 11, 2012. [Xinhua]

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  • Local boys take part in the shaman festival, Tibet 2012

    reurinkjan has added a photo to the pool:

    Local boys take part in the shaman festival, Tibet 2012

    Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...

    The Shaman Festival in Tongren (Repkong) is a large-scale sacrificial performance activity prevailing among the local Tibetan and the Tu villages in Repkong area, which is held annually between June 17th and 25th of the lunar calendar.
    Shaman Festival is a grand and festive occasion for local people to show their devotion and gratitude to the Mountain God. The Tibetan and Tu ethnic minorities in Tongren County worship the Mountain God as the immortal who protects them. The belief is believed to date back to the ancient worship of totems in the pre-civilization era of this part of Tibet.



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