Vignettes of the World
Historic Sites to Visit in Central A walk amidst the hustle and bustle of Central during a weekday rush hour can be a bewildering experience. As Hong Kong’s business district, Central is the heart of the matter when it concerns business. But visitors to Hong …
The plane touched down at Kansai Airport and I looked for the train ride to Osaka. The plan, originally, was to stay that evening in a hotel in Osaka, then the next morning I would see Osaka Castle before heading out to Kyoto. I saw …
Ask just about any Hong Kong person and you would find answers to all things Japan. Japan is hands down the most popular travel destination for Hong Kong people. In fact, many in Hong Kong call it “going home” when they go to Japan. Clearly, I do not think of Japan this way, but there are so many wonderful things in Japan, and I finally made it out there for autumn foliage viewing in the fall of 2023. This was my first trip in Japan.
I was traveling on a shoestring and to ensure that I swooped up the best deals, I planned early. This is also my advice for anyone who wants to see the autumn foliage. Autumn is the high season for traveling in Japan, both for locals and the foreigners. If you do not plan early, you would have to pay a premium for the same experience.
I planned my trip as early as May 2023. My dates in the Kansai area was November 23 to November 30. The first thing to do is to plan a rough itinerary. There are literally millions to do in Kyoto alone and you must prioritize your objectives.
This was my itinerary: I visited the Kansai area for 7.5 days. Five full days were at Kyoto, one day in Nara, and then half a day in Osaka before I headed home. This schedule reflects the relative numerosity for sightseeing locations in these cities, well, at least for a heritage tourist. If you are looking more for food and city life, perhaps Osaka would be a better option. As with always, I will discuss the heritage and history of the sites that I visited in this series on Japan, with tips on how to navigate travelling in the foliage season. For a detailed itinerary for the Kyoto leg of the journey, please see here.
Autumn foliage is everywhere in Japan, but I opted to go to Kyoto, because I wanted to see the foliage in the midst of beautiful ancient temples. Kyoto certainly did not disappoint. In Kyoto alone there are thousands of temples to visit, and five days were not going to be enough for sure. Having gone once, I have plans to go again, to visit the sites that I hadn’t managed to visit last year, but that’s for later.
If you are looking to visit Japan specifically for its seasonal colors, timing is the most important indicator to watch. There are two famous seasons, namely the spring for cherry blossom, and the fall for autumn foliage. For foliage viewing, the best timing would be the last week of November to mid-December or so. As you can see, this is not a long window. Come those times, Japanese and foreign tourists alike would flood to Kyoto. My dates were November 23 to November 30, and as the days went by even in just that one week, I could observe an increasingly overwhelming presence of tourists. As such, I was becoming quite keen to move on to Nara toward the end of my trip.
There are many online sources that can give you an idea about the foliage schedule. Needless to say, when the leaves turn crimson depends on how cold that year is. If the temperature dropped early that year, then you can plan for an earlier date. I actually planned my trip in May, and I made a good bet—when I went to Kyoto, the leaves had turned red and the colors were amazing. Suffice to say, sometime late November to early December would be a safe bet.
As of 2023, there is no requirement for VISA application if you hold a U.S. passport or an HKSAR passport. Please visit Visit Japan Web, set up your account, fill out your information, and present the code for easy customs clearance upon arrival.
There was no snowing when I went to Kyoto at this time of the year, but some sort of down jacket is necessary. The best approach is to bring layers with you, because the weather could induce quite a bit of sweating during the day, especially when you walk so much. Jeans would be appropriate for this weather. Comfortable shoes are a must, be prepared for a whole lot of walking in Kyoto.
I would say that you wouldn’t need to bring any toiletries with you, because most hotels would provide these items, and if not, there are drug stores and supermarkets everywhere. Trying Japanese products is itself an experience.
For the foodies out there, Kansai certainly has its own school of cuisine. As with everywhere else, the famous restaurants require very advanced booking. I did make such a booking with a restaurant that specializes in unagi don (grilled eel over rice). I also learned that, for restaurants that require reservations, they really will turn you away if you didn’t. There is no need to try your luck with them. Therefore, perhaps a month or so before your departure date, you should look into booking at those higher-end restaurants.
For sightseeing, most temples in Kyoto do not require pre-booking, save for one. The Saihoji Temple is known to be the “moss temple,” where vibrant green moss graces its grounds. To protect this ecological feature, foot traffic is to be limited and as such you must make booking in advance. You would be best-served in contacting the hotel that you stay at to make the relevant arrangements at least a month before you plan to visit.
Other suggestions for things to do is to stay at a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese house. These accommodations are not cheap and they get sold out quickly during peak season. Finally, for visitors looking for spiritual experiences, consider staying at a temple and practice zen principles. There are plenty of online sources about these various options, and I am no expert.
In terms of accommodation, I cared most about a convenient location. I stayed at a 3-star hotel in the Goji area, right off the subway station. The rooms were small and private but bathrooms were shared.
For me, there were two objectives: to see beautiful ancient temples, learn about their histories, and then take a whole lot of wonderful photographs of the autumn foliage. And my purposes were well-served in my first visit in Japan.
Besides the Cha Chaan Teng’s, the Dai Pai Dong’s are also a way of dining that is distinctly Hong Kong. In recent months I have had the pleasure of visiting a few Dai Pai Dong’s in Hong Kong. I do consider the Dai Pai Dong’s …
The train to Shenzhen would depart in the early evening and I debated how to spend the day in Jiangmen. To be honest, there was not very much in this city that I wanted to see, as I was almost always only keen on heritage …
I have a very favorable impression of Jiangmen due to a personal memory of my grandma. When WWII began, resources were scarce. She would take her mother’s Qing dynasty clothes to the merchants of Jiangmen in exchange for money. “One piece of my mother’s Qing dynasty tunic could be tailored into a few pieces of modern style clothing,” as she would tell me. Indeed, Jiangmen had every geographical feature that gave rise to its emergence as a key trading port in Guangdong Province.
Meaning “The Gate of the River,” Jiangmen at its inception as a trading port was an area flooded by the waters of Pengjiang River. Two islands, as mountains submerged in the river, were the land mass in this area. Jiangmen was the river mouth, where the river merged with the ocean. The view of these two mountaintop islands standing opposite to each other created the imagery that inspired Jiangmen’s name. The mountaintop islands were the gate of Pengjiang River.
From Nan Lou in Kaiping we called a car to ride for more than an hour before reaching the vicinity of 33 Hui, a photogenic area in Jiangmen. We had to walk through a web of alleyways to find it.
Photo: A nice alleyway on the way to 33 Hui
You can’t miss the oldest marketplace of Jiangmen, however. From every turn of the streets at 33 Hui, a sense of assuredness emanated. From the introductory signs there one sensed a pride revived — a dilapidated part of the city being thrusted into the national limelight because a popular Chinese TV drama called Kuangbiao (2023) was set in here.
Photo: A hair salon on Jingguo Jie capitalizing on the TV drama that was set in 33 Hui by offering hairdos that replicate the hairstyle of the TV drama’s characters.
Toward the dusk hours we headed into a world of old qilou’s, the sprawling arcades that typified the old urban developments of southern China. As the daylight waned, the street lamps casted a yellowish hue upon a busy street scene, unveiling an age-old community that has stood tall amidst the currents of time.
Yet 33 Hui clearly struggles between meeting the day-to-day needs of the locals and the sightseeing demands of the tourists. Throngs brushed shoulders under the arcades. Hawkers and proper shops alike placed their goods for sale, encroaching on the pedestrian walkways, and rather shamelessly so.
We were overwhelmed and opted to walk on the motorway instead. The loud honking of the vehicles brought us back to a time that my friend and I grew up in, when Hong Kong’s own streets held pedestrians spellbound in its chaos. We realized fully then that we have long lost a survival skill.
33 Hui, pronounced “Sanshisan Xu” in Mandarin, is known to be “the origin of Jiangmen.” Meaning “the 33 market,” this area of Jiangmen was established during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.
Photo: The 33 steps of 33 Hui are the most photographed in this part of Jiangmen
As early as 1363, during the Yuan Dynasty, a marketplace was set up in this area of Jiangmen. Situated on the western slopes of Penglai Mountain, the Jiangmen Market was the beginning of trade in the Jiangmen area. The street that was located on the very top of the market was called Xuding Jie (Top of Market Street), and it has remained so to this day.
33 Hui acquired its name due to the 33 steps on the major stairway in the market. This was the stairway that traders embarked upon to reach the marketplace from their arriving boats loaded with goods.
Photo: Jingguo Jie, a street for fruits
The names of the streets in 33 Hui convey a cultural history that echoes the aged structures on the streets. The street names indicate the kinds of goods being sold in those very early days of market life. Maijidi, for example, referrs to the fact that chickens were sold in this section of the market. Zhuzai Xu was then aptly named for the section that sold pigs. Streets named lantern and coffin suggest that the market offered all varieties of goods that met the needs of life, from food, to home furnishing, to netherworld necessities.
With careful navigation we made our way through to some of the most-visited spots in this area. Neither of us has heard of the TV drama. But we did see why 33 Hui is a good spot to film. As opposed to the studio city in Chikan, 33 Hui remains somewhat dilapidated and certainly unadorned. What stands out to a visitor of 33 Hui is a vitality that rises above the signs of decay. The neighborhood is assured of its meaningful existence as the origin of Jiangmen, and it will continue to shine as such.
Descriptions on site at 33 Hui, Jiangmen, Guangdong, China.
The theme of security and protection has been prominently featured in the diaolou’s that I have visited in Kaiping. But Nan Lou is perhaps the only diaolou that came with an official history in the defense of the nation. We called a car to take …
My friend and I went to Kaiping because she saw an ad on the MTR in Hong Kong promoting the Chikan Ancient Town. As such, it was with a whole lot of anticipation that I arrived at Chikan from Majianglong Village. And, to say the …
I had to hurry through the Majianglong Village because time with the hired car was up soon. Even a quick walk through the village brought forth quite a different experience from the previous two sites that I visited, the Zili Village and Liyuan Garden.
Majianglong Village became a designated diaolou viewing spot more recently than the Zili Village. As a result of becoming a designated tour site, Majianglong Village met a turnaround of its circumstances: a bridge was built to connect the village to the highway network in Kaiping.
I had no time to visit the interiors of the diaolou’s there. Instead, I rather enjoyed the shaded walk amidst the bamboo woods throughout the village. The sites are spread throughout the village, and even a quick walk would take at least 45 minutes.
Majianglong Village was established in the late 19th to early 20th century. Five villages make up the hamlet. The villagers are of the Huang and Guan clans. In this village about 13 diaolou’s are located along a shady path that meanders through other shorter, century-old village homes. It is in this wholesome setting that one embarks on a heritage walk full of pleasant surprises.
It was near-poetic to walk through Majianglong Village and its diaolou cluster. It was a world in itself with an environ that fuses nature seamlessly with human footprints.
The first sighting of a diaolou appeared right at the village entrance.
The Tianlu Lou is namely the most famous of all the diaolou’s in Majianglong Village. As a zhonglou, it came into existence by the villagers’ pooling of funds intended for a communal residence with defensive features. 29 villagers of the Huang’s contributed to the construction of Tianlu Lou in 1925. It is believed that Tianlu Lou costed 12,000 silver coins to build.
The nature of a zhonglou is seen in how the villagers used this building. In this part of Kaiping at those times, the bandits menaced the villagers. The bandits eyed the enormous wealth of the overseas Chinese and abducted young children for ransom. Tianlu Lou was for the male members of those families that contributed funds to this building to rest at night.
Needless to say, such an expensive building would come with the most thoughtful amenities for its residents. There are 29 bedrooms in total from the 1st to the 5th floors. The 6th floor is a communal room, and the 7th floor is a lookout station. The very top floor is fitted with a four-cornered pavilion with a pyramidal roof.
The poetic walk into the Majianglong Village followed the brief look at the Tianlu Lou. As I walked into the dense shades of a woody area, I passed by thickets of bamboo, spreading in round groupings like roll-up curtains. A strange sensation arrived as I headed on the village path. An overwhelming din approached me as the distinct cool of spring zephyrs brushed my face. It felt as if nature turned up its loudspeaker to welcome its visitors. There must have been cicadas that woke to the call of an approaching summer. Unnamable birds chirped their spring symphonies. It felt wild walking amidst such a pleasant cacophony, but the scenery bespeaks an intention to keep the natural features in a respectable state. The efforts of tree trimming are clearly seen.
Soon the scenery opened up to the site of the next diaolou.
In terms of architectural features, I liked Jun Villa the most amongst all the diaolou’s in Majianglong. The Jun Villa is a julou, which served residential purposes. Its owner Guan Chongjun returned from years living in Canada and built this structure in 1936.
There are four stories with a flat roof. The building is a concrete structure. Its exteriors show a burgundy theme that rhymes with the tradition of auspiciousness. Western elements adorn the window sills.
The Chang Villa stands next to the Jun Villa. Also built in 1936, the Chang Villa has four stories and it is a structure of concrete. It features a small balcony with roman columns. It also shows western elements that adorn the windows.
Meaning “Security Building,” Baozhang Lou has 5 stories with “swallow’s nests” as its security feature and also gun holes. It was built in 1925.
Lin Villa’s owner Guan Dinglin was an overseas Chinese in Mexico, who spent 12,000 silver coins for this building. He took the last character of his Chinese name to be its name. Since 1936, the building has 4 stories and it was built in concrete with a flat roof. Like Jun Villa, this building features beautiful window décor, and also with burgundy exterior.
On the way to exit the village, you will see a shorter diaolou called Qinglin North Gate Tower, right at the Qinglin Village, one of the five villages in Majianglong. This three-story structure was built in the early years of the Republican period. The first floor serves as the gateway into the village. The lookout is where the four sides overhang, and it is fitted with gun holes as well.
It was an incredible experience walking through Majianglong. There are certainly other Diaolou’s there that I didn’t manage to find. I simply followed along the “suggested route” and saw what lied on the way. Suffice to say, that I had seen a number of key diaolou’s there.
The final stop of the day is the Chikan Ancient Town, where my friend and I will be staying for the evening. I hopped on the hired car and off we went to Chikan.
Descriptions on site at the Majianglong Village.
Baike.baidu.com, The Most Beautiful Village in the World.
At first glance of the introduction of Kaiping, I was actually least interested in Liyuan. Somehow when the Diaolou’s are placed in a rich man’s manicured garden they seemed to lose authenticity to me. As it turned out, the Liyuan Diaolou’s were very engaging as …