To me, Hong Kong is like my first love. It’s a city where I used to live for some years when I was young. Although Hong Kong has changed substantially since then, it still retains areas that are associated with my childhood memory. For instance, whenever I approach Hong Kong University campus on Bonham Road, […]
Guangzhou is busy with the preparation for the Guangzhou Asian Games that will take place in November. Some people in Guangzhou say the timing is not good, as the opening of the Games is only a few days after the completion of the Shanghai Expo. In any case, lots of construction works and beautification […]
The rise of Shanghai has been subject to academic scrutiny during last few decades. The study of Shanghai and other major coastal cities provides an window to understand China’s past, present and future, but sometimes, misdirects observers to believe that Shanghai (and a few other major coastal cities such as Guangzhou) represents China’s urbanism. As […]
Mainland China has been conducting the national population census every 10 years since 1990, and there will be another this year, starting on the 1st November. It is said that census-takers will visit each household (see China’s 6th national census to start on Nov. 1). While walking around in Beijing, it was interesting to see how important […]
Nanluoguxiang in Dongcheng District of Beijing is now known as a culture district, promoted by the district government as a showcase for heritage conservation and tourist attraction. While many hutongs in Beijing’s inner city areas have disappeared due to demolition and reconstruction-oriented urban renewal strategies, some hutongs have been selectively experiencing revalorisation through upgrading (if […]
An interesting plae that I happened to find by chance. It is located on Sanlitun South Street, diagonally opposite the new Sanlitun Village complex. It is fairly spacious and has a large collection of China-related ‘English’ books, and apparently hosts book talks, which is something that I also find quite new in Beijing. It seems […]
Beijing has changed again. This time in Beijing, the new development on Sanlitun North Street (known as ‘Sanlitun Bar Street’) came to me as a surprise. Sanlitun Village is something completely new to me, and it is apparently very bustling, full of luxury shops, bars, restaurants and cafe that aim at the new ‘middle-class’ in […]
길다면 길고 짧다면 짧을 3주간 여행/출장 막바지. 일요일 오전이면 런던으로 돌아간다. 홍콩 1박, 베트남 호치민 5박, 다시 홍콩 2박, 광저우 11박, 다시 홍콩 2박. 앞으로도 홍콩이 출장 Hub이 될 듯 하다. 장기간 출장 막바지엔 항상 그렇듯이, 더 이상 어찌할 수 없는 일은 잊고, 미루었던 일 처리해야 할 압력과 여독이 함께 몰려 오기 시작한다. 그래도 여행의 […]
텐진에 온 이후로 시내 강변 산책로를 처음 걸어 보았다. 텐진 처음 방문한 2002년 이후 두번째 방문. 강변을 따라 사진 찍던 중 어느 나이든 할아버지를 보았다. 오른손에 든 지팡이를 짚으며 아주 천천히 걷는 할아버지 곁에는 역시나 나이들어 보이는 개가 함께 하고 있었다. 조금 뒤 할아버지의 자전거에 도착한 그들. 자전거 뒤에는 자그마한 수레가 연결되어 있었다. 아주 천천히, […]
Wanfujing 거리 옆 쇼핑몰 전면에 내걸린 걸개그림. 그 크기도 인상적이었지만, Paralympic Games를 준비하면서 여러 군데 내건 정성이 지극하다. 하계올림픽 기간에는 어떤 그림이 내걸렸을지 자못 궁금하다. 지난 며칠간 소나기 등 비가 자주 흩뿌려서 그런지 오후 2시 못미친 이 시간에도 하늘이 한국 가을 날씨처럼 파랗다. 역시 파란 하늘 배경의 천안문. 눈부신 햇살 가득한 오후, 청홍색이 더욱 뚜렷이 […]