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APR

China Building Museums

While many countries, including Canada, where I currently live, are working to drive up tourism, I doubt that there is any place in Canada that would go as far as China in building not one, but two multimillion dollar museums in less than a decade.

One of the museums, worth $67 million USD, is called the Museum of Chinese Film and fills twenty-one exhibition halls containing posters for war movies and costumes used for early 20th century period pieces. The other is the Beijing Capital Museum, a sleek building with a foyer that is five stories high and includes a full scale copy of one of the cities oldest residential streets.

"The purpose of the museum is to explain Beijing's excellent history and culture and show them to the world," said Peng Xin, a museum spokeswoman.

No doubt this is part of their recent build up to show off the greatness of China to those coming from around the world for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It also has to do with the idea that China needs to focus on its culture and history as they move forward into being a world player in all markets. The government has said that it will open around 300 new institutions over the next ten years to focus on World War II, communism, and China's fifty-five ethnic minorities which will each get their own museum.

Don't think that these museums are the only ones to visit if you are travelling to China, as there are over 1,500 public museums in China currenty, ranging in topics from history, art and music, to tea, and fabrics.

That's right, I said that there is a tea museum. The China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou shows off the most comprehensive collection of modern and ancient tea utensils in China, and an experience not to be missed are the tea performances and tea ceremonies which you can also take part in.

You will not lack interesting and imaginative places to visit in China, even if you only get to hit up some museums.

China launches museum-building frenzy [CNN]

TAGS: china landmarks museum

MAR

Luxury At 11,000 Feet

The rugged Himalayas, one of the most alluring yet treacherous landscapes on Earth has long been out of reach for the luxury traveller. Not anymore. Banyan Tree Ringha is a new luxury resort built by Singapore-based Banyan Tree which operates some of the most unique resort environments in China, Thailand, Japan and Indonesia.

Located on the edge of Tibet in Yunnan Province the Ringha resort is set in a mountainous paradise with winding meadows, rustic villages and views that literally take your breath away.

...what I found in the minibar in my room: a 1.7-ounce bottle of Johnnie Walker Black for $31 and a canister of oxygen. I wanted the Johnnie Walker but I needed the oxygen, which, handily, was free.

The Ringha resort instantly lays claim to being China's highest, high-end luxury resort. Chances are, Ringha will have to share that moniker in the near future, as the once-called Zhongdian County, now officially renamed Shangri-La (2001) continues to attract a growing flow of tourism and developers.

Whether you are an adventure seeker, or a spiritual spa hound that wants to see, smell, taste and experience the roots of Buddhism without giving up your facial or hot tub, the Banyan Tree Ringha may be the 'soft adventure' trip of your dreams.

Thin veils of smoke rose from the chimneys of whitewashed farmhouses, and pack horses moved through meadows wending toward the shimmering Ringha River. A breeze blew past with the faint smell of smoke from cooking fires, charcoal wisps trailing the narrow length of the foothills of the snow-capped Hengduan Range, where Meili Snow Mountain, one of the most sacred peaks of Tibetan Buddhism, hides behind clouds for most of the year, unconquered by mountaineers. Just out of sight, the Mekong and Yangtze rivers tumbled out of the flats of Tibet. Laos was over one border; Myanmar beyond another. And in the great distance of the imagination, I could hear the magical scrape of prayer wheels endlessly turning as golden stupas caught the dying light.

A View That Takes Your Breath Away [LA Times]

TAGS: buddhism china resorts tibet

MAR

The Top 18 Skylines In The World

Lists are always fun, and Luigi Di Serio has compiled one for the top skylines in the world. Toronto lands #7 on the list while being described as "downtown Canada". Vancouver was snubbed completely.

Hong Kong earned top spot and would be well represented on many lists like this one. If a high-energy, high cost getaway appeals to you the Island Shangri-La Hotel is situated on a footprint in the heart of the Central District on Pacific Place's 5-million square foot downtown development. You are literally on the doorstep of one of the most unique urban playgrounds on Earth. Overlooking the harbour, the views from this 56-story hotel are pretty stunning.

Hong Kong's size and activity have their benefits, but there are downsides. Hong Kong's factories are major polluters and air quality in Hong Kong is becoming an increasingly visible issue. When travelling to Hong Kong, if you are an occasional asthmatic, it may be wise to pack that Ventolin.

Hong Kong's air is consistently more polluted than cities such as Bangkok, Paris and Taipei, and most of the grime floats over the border from China, an expert said on Thursday. By analysing satellite images, scientists at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have monitored the level of aerosols, or atmospheric particles, in the air in Hong Kong and the neighbouring region of southern China since October. Compared with aerosol levels in various other cities around the globe, the picture is grim.

Pollution in Hong Kong has been worsening, with the number of clear days dropping, respiratory problems on the rise and worries also increasing that the deteriorating environment is starting to affect the economy.

It's one thing to visit a big city like Hong Kong, but living in one is an animal unto itself. Meanderings blogger Eric Stone lived in Hong Kong and then subsequently moved to California. Not surprisingly, he notes how shopping 'is' culture in Hong Kong.

One of the things I didn't like about living here is that the launch of a new designer wristwatch is (mis)taken for a cultural event. The introduction of a new-style Rolls Royce is the Hong Kong equivalent of one of those blockbuster art museum shows - like the greatest hits of Van Gogh.

Who needs art when the city itself is one giant conceptual work in progress. It's a strange place. It's solid. All those buildings and crowds are not figments of anybody's imagination. But increasingly, Hong Kong is more of an idea than a reality. And to me, it's beginning to feel dated.

Economically Hong Kong is one huge shopping mall in which nearly everyone sells stuff to everyone else. The guy who runs the Rolex shop sells watches to the guy who runs the Guy Laroche shop next door who sells his clothes to the watch guy. It's not unlike the Eskimo potlatches I studied in college anthropology class. Everyone brings everything they've got to the party and then they trade it to each other. Here they use money to facilitate the exchanges, but it's pretty much the same thing.

So the bottom line with Hong Kong is this...don't leave home without your credit card, and it doesn't matter what it is, they will take it. Or, the shirt off your back will do.

Here is a video that showcases the top-10 things to do in Hong Kong.

Second Impressions of Hong Kong [Eric Stone]
The Top 18 Skylines in the World [Things You Don't See Everyday]
Hong Kong Air Pollution Higher Than Most, Comes From China [Planet Ark]

TAGS: china downtown hong kong shopping urban

JAN

10 Wonders Of The New China - The Building Boom With No End In Sight

With China ramping up for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games it's no surprise that Beijing, and China in general, continues to experience what seems like a perpetual building boom. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have the world's fastest growing economy either. But building and growing are one thing, and designing breathtaking architectural masterpieces is quite another. There is a new generation of architecture sprouting up in places like Dubai and Kuala Lumpur but it is China that is clearly setting the bar highest from concept to construction.

China will soon be home to the world's largest airport, the world's first fully sustainable city, and the world's highest outdoor observation deck, to name just a few of its innovative architectural feats.

The roster of talent hired to complete projects in these two megacities (Shanghai, Beijing) reads like a Who's Who of star architects: Holland's Rem Koolhaas, Switzerland's Herzog & de Meuron, and Britain's Foster & Partners are all completing buildings scheduled to debut by the time the Olympic torch is lit. But more remarkable than the architects' names are the projects themselves.

10 Wonders Of The New China [Business Week]

TAGS: architecture beijing china landmarks olympics