Vignettes of the World
Panyu is the haven of food in Guangzhou, which is a heaven of food itself. I took my family to Panyu because of the great food, and it certainly did not disappoint. The following is in random order and it is not a ranking. Baomaye …
In early December, the beautiful bald cypress at the Dafushan Forest Park had not yet turned red. There was a whole afternoon of free time, so I decided to take my family for a stroll at the Dafushan Forest Park anyway. In the wintertime, when …
There are endless things to do in Guangzhou, which is known to the Chinese as the City of Rams. In a recent family trip, I took my family first to Panyu, as part of Guangzhou, then we headed on to Guilin in Guangxi Province to experience its beautiful scenery.
For the Guangzhou leg of this family trip, I chose to stay mostly in Panyu because it is known to be a heaven for great food. Since food is the love language for my family, I took them on quite a few culinary excursions in that part of Guangzhou, and the experience was very good in all of the restaurants that we visited. Therefore, stay tuned for the foodie entry.
Panyu lies south of Guangzhou. The Guangzhou South station is roughly where the metropolitan area of Guangzhou ends and Panyu begins. For accommodation, we were staying at the Radisson Red in Guangzhou South Station.
It is just about an 8-minute walk from the station. Newly built in 2023, the hotel provides a speckless environment with user friendly facilities and good amenities.
The District of Panyu has a history going back to the Qin dynasty times. After the fall of the Qin dynasty, Zhaotuo, a Chinese general, established the kingdom of Nanyue in the southern parts of China, including parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Vietnam. He established the capital of the Nanyue Kingdom in Panyu in 204 B.C. He named himself King Wu of Nanyue.
The days of glory of Panyu would slowly recede into the ebbs of history. As Guangzhou rose as the predominant city of Guangdong province, Panyu would eventually come under Guangzhou’s administration, and that fact remains to this day.
In the Panyu District of Guangzhou lies the 800-year Shawan Ancient Town. The ancient town began its first chapter during the Song dynasty. Cobblestone streets meander through the village, laying the groundwork for the area’s antique Lingnan architecture. A leisurely stroll in this ancient town will take about two hours. If you would like to visit the museums as well, then allow for more time.
The town was very crowded as we visited on a Saturday. The atmosphere in the ancient town was festive and business appeared to be booming. There are a whole lot of antique buildings in Shawan, and I will introduce just a few.
Of the He surname, the He Grand Ancestral Hall is a major landmark in Shawan Ancient Town. The very first He Ancestral Hall was built during the Song dynasty, in around 1275. It took 40 years to build it, and it was meant to be grand even at its very inception.
He Renjian is the first generation of He ancestor that settled down in Shawan. With the purchase of a large track of land in here by He Renjian, the He surname became one of the major clans amongst the Panyu five (the other four being Wang, Li, Li and Zhao).
Throughout its long history, the He Grand Ancestral Hall had experienced a few destructions. Yet the descendants had never let the significance of their ancestry slip through the cracks of history. Of the three major reconstructions, the current ancestral hall was rebuilt during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. It furthermore underwent a major restoration in 1986.
The He Grand Ancestral Hall’s grand architecture is itself of significance. The structure is of five hall, five bay layout, which, even amongst the myriad ancestral halls in the Lingnan area, is in the scale of being majestic. Other standard features of Lingnan architecture are carried through to a grand scale as well, including the 112 stone and timber pillars, the intricate clay sculptures that adorn the rooftops and the eaves etc.
The name of the He Grand Ancestral Hall, Liugeng, has the meaning of blessing the descendants by bequeathing with them the eternal virtues of the He family tradition.
It is perhaps enough simply to soak in the antique vibes in Shawan Ancient Town and just walk through its beautiful streets. Jinshi Lane is such a street with enormous cultural significance for the He’s in Shawan.
Jinshi is the title of the imperial scholar that sat and passed the highest level of civil examination system in ancient China. In Shawan, the Jinshi Li (Jinshi Lane) is consisted of 8 relic houses, one of which is the former residence of He Zihai. He was of the 8th generation of the He clan in Shawan, and earned the imperial scholar title in the 4th year of the Hong Wu reign of the Ming dynasty (1371).
The Song dynasty He ancestor He Qilong had also earned the Jinshi title. The former residence of He Qilong is also on Jinshi Lane.
A structure of the 60th year of the Kangxi reign (1721), Wen Feng Tower is a fengshui architecture that was attached to Liugeng Tang. It also served as the fengshui tower for the whole village. The three stories tower gives home to Wenchang, Guandi and Kuixing god statues, each god taking up one floor. During the winter term, school children of the village come to this tower to pay tribute to these gods for good academic results.
The tower is made of blue bricks and timber in a hexagonal layout.
In terms of architecture, Shawan’s antique buildings feature the “wok handle top” gabled roof prominently. It is a common feature in Lingnan vernacular architecture. That was the main reason why I chose to visit this ancient town.
Lying on the eastern edge of Shawan Ancient Town is the very famous Dairy Queen of Shawan. In Chinese, the dessert shop is called Shawan Nainiu Huanghou, literally “the Shawan Queen of Milk Cows.” The specialty of the Dairy Queen in Shawan is its ginger milk pudding. It is certainly a Cantonese favorite and it originated from Shawan.
The special milk of the Dairy Queen of Shawan is actually buffalo milk. The owner, Wang Xiutian, began her business 30 years ago by rearing two buffalos and making products out of their milk. Despite its appearance, the dessert shop is not located in an antique building, but an imitated one.
Descriptions on site at the Shawan Ancient Town.
The Wikipedia on Panyu, Guangzhou.
The Wikipedia on the He Grand Ancestral Hall (Shawan) (Chin).
www.newton.com.tw on Liu Geng Tang (Chin).
It’s springtime and the major events of the year are underway. I visited the Art Basel 2025 last night at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Here’s a quick snapshot of my experience. The Art Basel brings together an enormous number …
I had just about a little more than a half day in Osaka and so I decided to visit Shinsekai. Time stopped at Shinsekai after the reconstruction period post WWII. Meaning “New World,” Shinsekai was once a beacon of hope for Osaka. The area developed …
Visitors of Nara must not miss the Nakatanidou mochi as it is certainly a precious intangible heritage of Nara. In my Japanese food entry, the Nakatanidou mochi is the only food that I thought was an absolute must-try in this Japan trip.
I passed by Nakatanidou a few times in my sojourn in Nara. The most crowded time was in the afternoon, with long queues of eager customers wanting a taste of this wonderful Nara specialty. Bloggers say that the shop displays the pounding technique during the day, but I did not have a chance to appreciate it.
When I was heading out for dinner in the evening, I passed by Nakatanidou again, when the store was packing up the last few mochi’s that were left over from the day. I snatched what was there, and ate it before having my dinner. After dinner, I passed by the store on the way back to the guesthouse. At that hour, the chef was cleaning the tools, utensils and the kitchen. There was just one box of mochi’s left. I snatched that box as well.
The chewy texture of the mochi comes from the repeated motion of rapidly pounding the glutinous rice dough, which serves as the wrapping for this wonderful morsel. At Nakatanidou, the mochi pounding is a world record. Nakatanidou holds the Guiness record for the speed of pounding the steamed glutinous rice.
TheIntroverTraveler has a perfect description of the amazing theatrics involved in the pounding of the steamed glutinous rice cake. The workers work in perfect synchrony with the pounding of a wooden mallet upon the dough to turn up a pillowy but stretchy mochi. The process of making mochi is called mochitsuki.
Needless to say, the fact that I went back a second time to snatch the last box of the day shows just how good these mochi’s are. The sensation of eating the Nakatanidou mochi is one of unlikely opposites. When I put the mochi into my mouth, the first expectation was that the glutinous rice cake would melt away. Its softness indicates so. Yet not so soon. I tasted the red bean paste inside and the whole piece became fluffy and chewy at the same time. It could have been heaven in your mouth, yes, as in having clouds squished between your tongue and the roof of your palate.
Before serving these mochi’s, a layer of yomogi is sprinkled. Yomogi is Japanese mugwort, which gives “the treat a subtle earthy and herbal taste.” (TheIntroverTraveler).
My only evening in Nara ended on a sweet note as I had this last mochi of the day with hot tea over a small coffee table on the tatami.
As I wrapped the super fluffy blanket around me that evening, I felt an incredible sense of satiation. I have seen the deer of Nara Park and savored the heavenly morsel of Nakatanidou mochi. There was wonderful chocolate cake and coffee at the Myriam Café in between. The cold was very soothing in Nara, and I did not have to fight with other tourists over so many things like I did in Kyoto.
In the following day, I would take a one last (or rather, the only) look at Osaka as the conclusion of my first trip to Japan.
TheIntroverTraveler on Nakatanidou, the Famous Mochi Shop in Nara (Japan).
The Toadai-ji Temple is a significant temple within the grounds of the Nara Park. I simply took a look of its outside, and did not bother to queue a long line to see the big Buddha statue inside. Suffice to say, the imposing Nandaimon Gate …
I had concluded my journey in Kyoto after five full days touring numerous temples for Momiji. It came time for Nara, and I headed out on the slow Nara train in the morning. I arrived into a Nara that was slightly overcast and notably colder …
In this journey I spent five full days in Kyoto and visited countless breathtaking sites for momiji foliage viewing. I found all of the sites that I visited to be worthwhile. Based on this experience, I have come up with the following suggested five-day itinerary for the red foliage season in Kyoto.
The dates of my travel were November 24 to November 28. Depending on how cold a given year is, it is safe to visit Kyoto in the few weeks between late November to mid-December if you want to ride on the red foliage season. There are online sources that show the projected red foliage season arrival each year, approaching October or so.
| Site | Significance | Transportation | Nature of Scenery |
| Nijo Castle | The historic seat of authority of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the site where the last Shogun announced a return of actual power to the Emperor of Japan in the Taiseihokan of 1867 | Metro | Temple architecture and historic gardens |
| Kiyomizu-dera Temple | A pre-Heian era historic temple with early roots from Nara and also practices Nara Buddhism. | Buses | Temple architecture, night photography |
| Yasaka Shrine | A shrine to pray for relationship success, a favorite for the Kyoto locals | Walk from Kiyomizu-dera Temple | Shrine altars |
| Gion District | A historic district known to be where the geisha’s are still present, with many food options | Walk from Yasaka Shrine | Antique street vibes lined with historic buildings |
| Site | Significance | Transportation | Nature of Scenery |
| Bamboo Grove | What used to be sections of aesthetic plants in the noble villas in the area | Metro | Bamboo grove |
| Tenryu-ji Temple | One of the most prominent Zen temples in Kyoto, with roots tracing back to the very first Zen temple in Kyoto | Metro | Temple architecture and gardens |
| Okochi Sanso Villa | The villa of famous actor Denjiro Okochi | Metro | Temples, villa and garden ground |
| The Jojakko-ji Temple | A temple abiding by the Nichiren school of Buddhism, a sect of Kamakura Buddhism | Metro | Temple architecture and gardens |
| The Nison-in Temple | A temple practicing Tendai Buddhism with cemetery grounds, including Emperors that buried here | Metro | Temple architecture and imperial cemetery |
| The Nonomiya Shrine | The former site where imperial priestess went through cleansing rituals before serving in the Ise Shrine | Metro | Shrine and a few torii gates |
| Site | Significance | Transportation | Nature of Scenery |
| Togetsukyo Bridge | Views of Katsura River, an ancient bridge that has much cultural significance for Arahisyama | Metro | A beautiful bridge with mountains hugging in the back |
| The business district of Arashiyama | Full of festive vibes during high touring season, with plenty of food choices | Metro | All around hip area with shopping and food |
| Gio-ji Temple | A sanctuary that gave home to heartbroken women | Metro | A moss-covered garden |
| The Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street | The Saga Toriimoto Preserved Street features century-old traditional Japanese houses called machiya’s. | Metro | Beautiful traditional Japanese houses |
| Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple | 8,000 stone markers that memorialized the lonely souls that did not have a proper burial | Metro | Beautiful garden, cemetery ground and a bamboo grove with very few tourists |
| Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple | 1,200 rakan stone statues carved by believers | Metro | Temple architecture and stone statue garden |
| Site | Significance | Transportation | Nature of Scenery |
| Ninna-ji Temple | A Shingon temple, where a member of the imperial family used to serve as head priest. | Bus | Temple architecture and garden grounds |
| Ryoan-ji Temple | A Zen temple with one of the most famous classical Zen gardens in Kyoto | Bus | Temple architecture, gardens and ponds |
| Kinkaku-ji Temple | Exterior covered in shiny gold leaves, exceptional three-tier architecture | Bus | Temple architecture, gardens and pond |
| Nishiki Market | Centuries old market selling all things food-related, featuring Kyoto local specialties and an overload of street food | Bus | Photography of wonderful store space and fresh produce of all kinds |
| Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine | A shrine dedicated to scholarship in the Nishki Market | Bus | Shrine architecture and ambience |
| The Samurai Museum | A cool museum in the Nishiki Market showcasing all that you need to know about medieval Japanese history during the Shogunate periods, as well as the samurai and ninja. | Bus | Historic learning |
| Site | Significance | Transportation | Nature of Scenery |
| Blue Bottle Kyoto | Located in a restored heritage building, a traditional Japanese wooden house, serves coffee and offers light refreshments as well | Metro | Heritage house architecture, peaceful and cultural vibes with coffee |
| Nanzen-ji Temple | The “first temple of the land,” as the head temple that oversees the top Zen temples of Kyoto and Kamakura | Metro | Temple architecture, garden and pond |
| Eikando-ji Temple | Fomerly Zenrin-ji Temple, Eikando Temple practices Jodo Buddhism | Metro | Night illuminated views, temple architecture and garden and pond |
| Fushimi Inari Shrine | Dedicated to the Shinto god of rice harvest, Inari | Bus and Metro | A cascade of torii gates line up beautifully for instagrammable photos |
I was just strolling in Sai Ying Pun and stumbled upon a hidden gem amidst its crisscrossing uphill grids. No. 9 and No. 10 Yu Lok Lane are classified as the shophouse type of tenement houses. A lot of the traditional Hong Kong tenements are …