Dr. Mark Nan Tu

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Wutong Shan Mountain (???)

Wutongshan has several hiking routes to choose from if you want to reach the top. If your Chinese skills aren

Hiking Danan Shan is a popular hike in Shenzhen. It is on Nantou Island (??) in Nanshan District. The mountain is 336-meters high and is surrounded by Shekou

Fenghuangshan, which is also known by some as Phoenix Hill, is situated on the border of Shenzhen and Dongguan districts, only a 45 min drive from the HK-mainalnd frontier crossing at Huanggang.

Tang Lang Hill County Park Entrance

Tang Lang Hill Country Park (塘朗山郊野公园), is located in Nanshan District (南山区), Shenzhen. PRChina. With elevation of 430.8 meters, Tang Lang Mountain is the third highest peak in Shenzhen. The other two are big Nanshan (大南山) at: 336 meters and Wutongshan (梧桐山) of 960 meters above sea level.

A 3 -4 hour 5-6 mile easy walk up and down (3 miles one way up) the Tanglang Hill. The trail is paved and well marked. There are several short cuts through steep stairs. The trail is about 3 miles to the top. On the top of the mountain, you get a panaramic view of the Shenzhen city. In a clear day, you can see the Hong Kong Shenzhen Bridge and the high raise buildings in Hong Kong across the Shenzhen Bay.

The view from top of the mountain is comparable to the view from Goose Mountain of Vancouver,Canada or Runyon Canyon of Los Angeles, United States.

Entrance is free.

How to get there
By car: Follow “Beihuan” (北环)express way, exit on “Longzhu”(龙珠大道), turn right on “longzhu #6”(龙珠六路), 400 meters to the entrance.
By bus: Get off on “Taoyuan village” (桃园村) bus stop. Walk to “longzhu #6” (龙珠六路)road and follow the sign to the entrance.

Tips:
Try to get there at about 4 pm in the afternoon. You are able to reach the top at about 5-6pm. Enjoy the sun set and the view of the Shenzhen city at night.

tanglangshan overlook

After a whole day of raining, the sky finally cleared up. Being in Beijing for more than 4 years now, I can swear this is one of the clearest days in Beijing. The sky is deep blue with clouds hang in the distance. I was later told that the visibility is 35 kilo meters (instead of the usual 500 meter).

I went to the 798 art district. Because of the Olympics, the 798 had a face lift. The streets are decorated with flowers. The motorized vehicles are not allowed in the district. There are lots of visitors and many photos enthusiastic.

The pictures are taken with the color set to: vivid in the Nikon D300. I love the colors.

The entrance to the 751 D-Park

The boilers from the 60s

Nike’s showroom

This should be a Changjiang 750 (modeled from a second world war BMW)

The 798 Art District is still under contruction

Model shoots

Beijing Wangjing Park is not located in Wangjing area. It is located in Dashanzi area, very close to the world renowned 798 art district and the airport expressway. It is rather a small park. Outside the park is the Maple Villa.

The park has very few visitors. The entrance fee is 50cents RMB. There is a pond and some Chinese corridors and pavilions inside the park. However, the park is not well maintained. The paints from the pavilions are pilling off. The grass is growing wildly in the pond. The park is rather clean which is positive.

According to a bulletin board at the park entrance, the park was a result of 30 million RMB investment in 1997 by the Chaoyang municipal government. However, the lack of funding for maintenance and improvement is evidence everywhere inside the park.

Wangjing park from Google map

The entrance

The sign says no swimming, no fishing

Last time I came to Hong Kong was in 1993. I passed through it when I came back to Shenzhen from a visit to the US. I stayed in the Holiday Inn at the Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon Island. I went to visit the Ocean Park and went walking along the Victoria Harbor. However, I did not get a chance to visit the Harbor at night.

During the past 15 years, two additional attractions were added to the Hong Kong, the Avenue of the Stars and the Disney Land. However, the Victoria Harbor night cruise is on the top of my to do list in Hong Kong.

The Victoria Harbor is world-famous for its stunning panoramic night view and skyline, particularly in the direction towards Hong Kong Island where the skyline of skyscrapers is superimposed over the ridges behind.

We boarded the Star Ferry at around 7pm. It started to rain soon after we set off. The sky became dark. The neon lights on top of the skyscrapers were turned on. The reflection of the building lights on the water is amazing. Occasionally, we were overtaken by other cruise boat.

The ride on the boat was about 1 hour. We turned around in the harbor which allowed us to have the view for both sides of the Harbor. This is certainly the most impressive scene during my Hong Kong visit.

Repulse Bay in Chinese is Qian Shui Wan, which means shallow water bay. Repulse Bay is in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, located in the Southern District. Because the desirable surroundings, the area has the most expensive property price in Hong Kong, only matched by the Victoria Peak.

We arrived in the late afternoon in a hot and humid weekday. There was not much visitors as the beach is mostly empty. There was a life guard on duty. The beach is rather short at most 2km in length. On the one end of the beach is the Tin Hau temple which has two huge goddess statues, a standing Kwan Yin and a sitting Tin Hau.

Repulse Bay also features some of the interesting architecture. There was a lotus shaped hotel tower which was said to belong to now deceased Hong Kong Tycoon Nina Gong. There was a new shopping center constructed along the beachfront.

Hong Kong is a very small city. The Repulse Bay is also very small. Hong Kong was once a bridge that connects the West (developed countries) and the East (Mainland China). With the opening up of the mainland China, Hong Kong needs to offer more value to attract investment and talents.

Henan Provincial Musume

An exhibition in the Bronze Display Hall

Henan province is situated in the middle of the Yellow River. Its ancient name is Zhongzhou, which in Chinese, means central region. If one looks at the map of China, it is obvious that Henan is located in the center of China. Thus, Henan is one of the important areas for the rise of the Chinese early civilization. Because of this, exhibitions in the Henan Provincial Museum are mostly related to the ancient history and culture of the Henan region, including objects, historical traces, ancient architecture, archaeological discoveries and arts and crafts.

There is no entrance fee. One needs to show the ID card to get a free entrance ticket. The main exhibition hall is located in a pyramid shaped building. There are three exhibition floors. One can walk the Chinese civilization by following the exhibition hall number 1 to 8. Each exhibition hall displays the artifacts of a certain state in the history. No flash photography is allowed.

I have been to many museums in China, such as Hunan, Hubei and Nanjing and a few others. I personally feel that the Henan Provincial Museum is among the top museums in China. The museum is well organized by chronological order. It is very easy to follow. The displayed artifacts are many and rare. Visitors to Zhengzhou can also take in the Henan Provincial Museum. Housed now in a new building opened in 1998, the museum holds a large number of pieces from the Shang site, the Dahe Primitive Village, and other province historical sites. The Jade Hall and the Bronze Hall are both of special interest.

If you’re looking for China as it was, the China of prehistory, Henan Province is a place you must visit.

An exhibition in the Jade Display Hall