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Shenzhen Shorts – The Home of Oysters in Shajing

Shenzhen Shorts – The Home of Oysters in Shajing

I like seeing old towns and villages. I have seen a few of the ancient old towns and communities in Shenzhen, including the Dapeng Fortress, Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet, Nantou Ancient City and Shui Wei 1368. I was interested in the areas in Shenzhen that 

Lui Seng Chun

Lui Seng Chun

The Lui Seng Chun building stands testament to a century-long entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and a prominent family history. Designed by foreign architect W. H. Bourne in 1929, the beautiful structure expressed the style of the Chinese eclectic with carefully crafted and designed western elements. 

In Their Footsteps – Beautiful Diaolou in the Zili Village of Kaiping

In Their Footsteps – Beautiful Diaolou in the Zili Village of Kaiping

The driver suggested that we visited the Zili Village first, as that village was officially recognized, restored and developed as the preeminent location for Diaolou tourism.

He told me quite a bit about himself. He is a native of Chikan. Mr. Guan is his name, as that is a major surname in the Chikan area. This driving gig is a side business for him. He has a store that sells frozen meats, but since business there was a bit slow, he took on this side gig of driving tourists around.

Some Tips for Ticketing

All of the sightseeing spots that I visited in Kaiping charged admission fees, including Zili Village, Li Yuan Garden, Majianglong Village and the Chikan Ancient Town. At the Zili Village, the ticket office offers a package deal of RMB 180 for the visitation of three sites, including Zili Village, Liyuan Garden and Majianglong Village. As it turned out, I had no time to see the interiors of the buildings at Majianglong Village, so if I could choose again, I would just purchase the tickets at each site.

The Zili Village of Kaiping

On the way to the Zili village, there were views of many Diaolou’s, and the scenes were exceedingly pleasing. The structures inside the Zili village serve as museums with introduction and illustration of the owner’s stories and lifestyle.

The Zili Village showcases the largest, most concentrated clusters of Diaolou’s in Kaiping. There are 15 Diaolou’s in Zili Village, the largest of Diaolou cluster in any given village in Kaiping. Therefore, if you have limited time, certainly visit the Zili Village. Allow for at least 1.5 to 2 hours in Zili Village if you would like to climb these towers and take a thorough look at the museum exhibitions.

There is also a wonderful museum discussing all aspects of these Diaolou’s, including the architectural features, building structures and materials, and history.

As a vernacular architectural form, the Diaolou’s have existed since the Ming dynasty. The Chinese eclectic style is broad and accommodating in its practical expression. For example, the Diaolou’s feature a wide array of western architectural styles, including the renaissance, byzantine, gothic and more.

The general features that define the Diaolou’s are their multistory tower-like structures incorporating western architectural elements, such as rooftop pavilions, elaborate window adornment, arcades, arches, balconies, and roman columns etc.

In Kaiping, the popularlity of the Diaolou’s reached its height in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the buildings in the Zili Village were built in the 1920s to 1930s. As discussed in the last entry, the overseas Chinese returnees built these structures to protect and provide for their families in China.

Broadly speaking, they can be categorized into genglou, julou and zhonglou. The genglou’s were built simply as watch towers. The julou and zhonglou’s are for residential purposes. The julou’s refer to a building that was funded and owned by one owner, whereas the zhonglou’s were built with funds pooled by the village of a few families. There are also Diaolou’s for educational and commercial purposes, especially for hosting banks and pawn shops.

The Remarkable Diaolou’s of Zili Village

The Fong clan are the residents in Zili Village. They originated from Henan and had a celebrated lineage as the descendants of a king’s son-in-law (usually a top scholar in the imperial exams). But beyond a shared surname, the similarity of the Diaolou owners’ lives stop there. The Fong clansmen have gone to vastly different countries abroad, including Canada, the United States, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Fong Pah Liang, in particular, has returned with exceptional education as the first Chinese student at MIT in the United States. He was one of the children that were sent by the Qing court to the United States on the Chinese Education Mission. After returning to China, he made exceptional contribution in the telecommunications sector, a critical project for China’s modernization efforts.

The Mingshi Lou

Mingshi Lou is the key Diaolou to visit. It has five stories and a rooftop offering fantastic 360 views of the village and featuring many Diaolou’s amidst the lush rural pastures. The rice paddies suggest a continued reliance on farming by the village, although the village is now a part of a UNESCO heritage with a thriving tourist presence.

Mingshi Lou was built by Fang Runwen in 1925. His father was a quarryman and therefore the name of the building meant “in memory of stones.” Mingshi Lou is a representative structure of combining both defensive and residential purposes in one. The “swallow’s nest” at the corners of the roof terrace features defensive gun holes, as against the threat to property and life posed by the bandits that ran rampant at that time. The building was also designed against the threats of flooding.

Besides the main Diaolou tower, Mingshi Lou also consists of a flat-roofed, shorter annex building that served as the tool shed and kitchen for the family. Finally, it also features a garden.

There are five stories of exhibits showing the lifestyle of the Fang’s. The rooms display a lifestyle that was classic and traditional in some respects, and novel in terms of its historical context in some other. On display were antique phonograph players, the rattan baskets that were essential containers in a Chinese kitchen of those times, perfume bottles and warm water tumblers, and classic Chinese bedframes with soft beddings.

The highlight of a tour of Mingshi Lou was the climb up to the roof terrace. In its middle stands a hexagonal pavilion with Chinese glazed tile roof. It is at this vantage point that you can have unobstructed views of the whole village, seeing the juxtaposition of tall Diaolou towers with traditional Chinese village homes, in their midst lied ponds, the crisscrossing mud paths within the rice paddies, and arbors blooming in cascading bouquets of flowers.

These are some other Diaolou’s at Zili Village. Most of them are in fact not open to public visit. Suffice to say, they show a wide variety of western elements in their architecture.

Yinong Villa

Fang Wendian, who spent time abroad in Canada, built this residential Diaolou in 1928. The name “Yinong” expresses the wish for a carefree, rustic retired life.

Yunhuan Lou

Fang Wenxian, who spent time abroad in Malaysia, built this residential Diaolou in 1928. The name “Yunhuan,” with the literal meaning of “the illusion of the clouds,” seemed to suggest that the owner had certain disillusionment in life.

Longsheng Lou

The brothers of Fang Wenlong, Fang Wensheng build this Diaolou in 1917, and it was the very first Diaolou in Zili Village. Above the archway of the main entrance is a relief (lime sculpture) of a flying eagle. The name of Longsheng Lou came from the combination of the brothers’ given names, Long and Sheng.

Yangxian Villa

Fang Wenji, who spent time in Southeast Asia, built the Yangxian Villa. It is a julou, serving residential purposes for one owner. At two corners on the 5th floor there are “swallow’s nest” as defensive structures. The name “yangxian” also suggest the yearning for a carefree life.

The Museum  

The Diaolou Museum at Zili Village covers all bases in its educational objective. For tourists, the most important piece of information is an overall introduction of “the best of Kaiping’s Diaolou’s,” where the exhibits show you fun facts about their towering history.

On display is a map showing where the “best of Kaiping’s Diaolou’s” are located. There was “the Diaolou with the most number of rooms,” the “most heroic Diaolou,” or “the most forward thinking Diaolou” having an elevator shaft built in. It was fascinating and if I had another chance to visit Kaiping again, I would certain look up this big map to see which specific Diaolou I would like to visit.

Another very educational section of the exhibition was the materials that were used in building them. The Diaolou’s were built with rocks, mixed rammed earth, bricks and concrete.

Needless to say, the construction of western style materials also required the technology of making these western features and incorporating them into the structures. Therefore the Diaolou’s also stand for the technology transfer that these overseas Chinese returnees have enabled, besides the funds, investment and the ideas that were introduced to the architecture industry of China.

Finally, the lime sculpture, which is a preeminent feature in the rural architecture of the Lingnan region (southern China), finds application in the mostly-western elements of the Diaolou’s.

Unfortunately, all of the descriptions in the museum exhibits are in Chinese only.

Sources

Descriptions on site at the Zili Village of Kaiping.

In Their Footsteps – Some Preliminaries for a Trip to Kaiping in China

In Their Footsteps – Some Preliminaries for a Trip to Kaiping in China

Kaiping is a county in Guangdong Province in China that is known for its people’s long history of migration abroad. Waves of migrants made it in foreign countries and returned to Kaiping rich and glorious. These successful returnees built big houses in their villages as 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Last Impressions of Uzbekistan

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Last Impressions of Uzbekistan

Our Final Lunch in Uzbekistan at the Afsona Restaurant Afsona Restaurant is very popular in Tashkent and it is highly recommended on quite a few online platforms. We sat down for our final lunch in Uzbekistan and we were excited. But we made the wrong 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Learning History Last at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Learning History Last at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan

From the Minor Mosque I took the metro to arrive at the State Museum of History in Tashkent. The museum itself offers some insight into Uzbekistan’s past. If I had a choice, I might have visited this museum in Tashkent before heading off to the ancient silk road, for the history here would have given me the much-needed context to fully appreciate all the other sites.

It is never too late to learn, however, and so I visited the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan on my last day in this trip.

The State Museum of History in Tashkent

Formerly the National Museum of Turkestan, The State Museum of History of Uzbekistan in Tashkent was first founded in 1876. It was also known as the Lenin Museum during the Soviet times, as it was built to commemorate the centennial of Lenin’s birthday in 1970. The building showcases concrete grilles on the exterior walls with traditional Uzbek patterns called Panzhara. This architectural feature is considered a rare example of Soviet architecture incorporating explicit non-Soviet, multicultural elements.

“An important indicator of the significance of the museum was the fact that even ideological opponents of the use of historical architecture forms in modern buildings recognised the quality, the grace and the elegance of the building.” (Dezeen.com)

There are four floors in the museum and I only had time to walk through the main gallery that exhibits an enormous number of artefacts illustrating all of Uzbekistan’s history. The following are some highlights.

Exhibitions

An Overview of Uzbek History at the Main Hall

I would say this section of the museum would present the most comprehensive overview of Uzbekistan’s long history, from early neolithic settlement all the way to the formal establishment of its modern statehood (independence) in 1991.

Here is what the museum had to say as a welcome introduction to visitors:

Lying on the crossroad of great routes of the east, the Uzbekistan civilization was interacting with the advanced cultures of the east and the west. The first world religion – Zoroastrianism – was formed here, and other world religions – Buddhism and Christianity – have found a fertile field here. The highest level of Uzbekistan civilization has been manifested by the great contribution made by its representatives… in the strengthen of Islam as the world religion. 

It is believed that the earliest human settlement in this part of the world dated back to 1.5 million years B.C., when the human beings developed the resemblance of the modern human. Artefacts of stone, ceramic and metal instruments were on display for this section of the exhibition.

In and around 1 millennium B.C., the ideas of kingdoms appeared in what would be modern-day Uzbekistan, the notable ones being the Khorezm and Bactria. It is believed that the emergence of these types of arrangements were based on the needs to secure resources in the oases, build facilities such as irrigation, and to develop trade. This period of the kingdoms spanned a few centuries, and the development of trade and urban centers gave rise to the trans-continental ancient trade route known as the Great Silk Road.

The era of the centralized and powerful kingdoms came to an end in the early medieval times. Before the Arab invasion, the area that made up what is now Uzbekistan was occupied by smaller state possessions. The prominent ones are recognizable in today’s terms: Samarkand, Bukhara, Chach (what is now Tashkent), Fergana, Khorezm and Chaganian. Around the 6th to the 8th centuries A.D., this area was known as the Turkic Khanate, a period of marked developments in large-scale construction of grand castles and mansions. Luxury and prestige found expressions in the artwork and architecture of the period.

 The 9th to 12th centuries were marked by significant progress made in matters of culture and scientific learning. The cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, Merv, Khiva and Urgench rose to the world stage as cultural centers. The Samanids, the burial of which was excavated in Bukhara, was one of the dynasties of glory in this period.

Tamerlane the great (1336-1405) (also Amir Timur) then rose next as the most revered warrior and statesman in all of Uzbekistan’s history. Beginning in the mid-14th century, he led campaign after campaign against the Mongol conquerors, and eventually built the Temurid Empire, which would last about a few generations after him. His conquests would take him as far as India.

Photo: a Timurid armor.

In the next few centuries, three major khanates dominated Uzbekistan’s territory. Both Khiva and Bukhara became powerful, centralized khanates in the 16th century, followed by Kokand (early 18th century). Now we are finally closer to the modern times. With stability came the significant development of arts and culture, and it was during this time that the development of the Uzbek language flourished. The use of the Uzbek language broadened both in arts and literature, as well as state administration.

The days of stability and prosperity of these khanates would meet an eventual decline in the 19th century, due to the internal strife, external invasions, the rise of alternative marine trade routes diminishing the Great Silk Road, and weak central rule. In face of the ambitions of the Russian Empire, the Kokand Khanate disappeared altogether. Bukhara and Khiva were preyed upon next.

The first attempts of invasion by the Russians took place in 1717 and failed miserably. I have discussed this history in the Khiva entry. It was only until the mid 19th century that the Russians succeeded first in taking down the Kokand Khanate, then capturing Tashkent. Between 1866 and 1868, Bukhara and Khiva would fall into Russian hands. According to the descriptions at the museum, “(the khanates) appeared to be in the grip of colonial yoke.”

In face of colonial oppression, the people of Uzbekistan revolted. There was a unified attempt in all strata of the Uzbek society to rise up against the Russian Empire. Large rebellions took place in 1892 “Cholera” Revolt, 1898 Andijan Revolt, and the 1916 Revolt. These rebellions engulfed all of Turkestan.

Photo: A trial of the ressistance against the USSR.

With the success of the Bolshevik Revolution came continued subjugation by the Russians, then in the name of the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan was an agricultural-based nation. As part of the Soviet Union, the country’s natural resources were brutally exploited.  The near-disappearance of the Aral Sea was but only one example of such exploitation. From 1919 to 1989, Uzbekistan underwent 70 years of communist rule in what was characterized as “a continued condition of colonialism.” The progress that was made in this time, in the sense that the country did progress in its agriculture by becoming agro-industrialist, was perceived as “progress made by the Uzbek people despite communist rule.”

Photo: This clock stopped at the moment the earthquake hit.

A defining modern event in the history of Uzbekistan is the Earthquake of 1966 in Tashkent. The museum featured a clock that was broken by the earthquake at the very moment that the earthquake struck. The 5.2 magnitude earthquake devastated Tashkent, destroying much of the city’s existing infrastructures. 300,000 of its residents were rendered homeless. The beautiful metro stations in Tashkent were part of the effort to restore the city from the earthquake. In the next three years, reconstruction of the whole city managed to restore life back to normalcy for the people.

Photo: The key of the Tashkent Metro, rebuilt after the earthquake.

Fast forward to September 1, 1991, Uzbekistan finally declared independence as a republic after the final demise of the Soviet Union. It has since maintained a close relationship with its Central Asian neighbors, and was very much within Russia’s zone of influence as well. The former President Islam Karimov was the Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan at the time of independence. He declared Uzbekistan an independent state following the attempted coup in Moscow in 1991. Uzbekistan was the second in the Central Asian nations to declare independence, after Kyrgyzstan.

President Islam Karimov remained in power until his death on September 2, 2016. He was the authoritarian ruler of Uzbekistan for a full 25 years, despite explicit constitutional provisions that limited presidential terms to two only. His third term of presidency was extended by the means of a referendum.

Islam Karimov’s Uzbekistan was a repressive regime, where dissidents were assassinated. He also promoted laws and policies that were anti-civil society and anti-Islam. In terms of foreign policy, he maintained isolationist tendencies.

Contemporary Uzbek Art

The Uzbek artist featured in this exhibition, O’ktam Saidov, was born in 1980. His artwork opened my eyes to the aspirations and hopes of this generation of Uzbeks, who have just come of age. I really enjoyed this part of the exhibition.

Sources

Descriptions on site at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

Architectuul.com, Uzbekistan State Museum of History.

Dezeen.com, Ten key examples of Tashkent’s Soviet modernist architecture,

Uzbek-travel.com, The State Museum of History of Uzbekistan.

The Wikipedia on Islam Karimov at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_Karimov

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Bright and Early at the Minor Mosque in Tashkent

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – Bright and Early at the Minor Mosque in Tashkent

Bright and early at 6am we were back in Tashkent by train. This would be our very final day in Uzbekistan. We would be seeing some museums for this day, before we head out for our flight in the evening. The Bon! Café It was 

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva

Ubiquitously Uzbekistan – The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva

The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva would be the last sightseeing that we did in Khiva before we hopped on the afternoon train for Tashkent. Khiva blessed us with another gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, echoing the turquoise mosaics that would become the 

Lantau Longing — The Tai O Heritage Hotel

Lantau Longing — The Tai O Heritage Hotel

The day was blessed with generous sunshine and it was extremely hot. There was quite a bit of walk to the Tai O Heritage Hotel from the bus stop, via parts of the Tai O town. I took my time, my tour would take place at 3pm, and I had time for lunch at the restaurant there. After a 20 minute walk, I made it to the Tai O Heritage Hotel.

First Impressions of the Tai O Heritage Hotel

The classic white front of the hotel scintillated brilliance under the sun. Having past noon the day ushered in its hottest hours. As I ascended the gentle incline toward the main office of the former police station, the classic structure slowly came into view, revealing a small part itself — beautifully restored, radiating an air of elegance that belongs to a bygone age in Hong Kong. Formerly the Tai O Old Police Station, the heritage became a revitalised monument and it now remade itself into a boutique heritage hotel.

The hotel was a whole lot smaller than I thought. After joining the tour, I learned that the very original structure, standing as it was in 1902, was even smaller, consisting only of what is now the hotel reception and the story above, which were the dorm rooms for the British officers. The section below the now-glass roof restaurant was an addition in the 1960s. Those rooms served various functions, including police dormitory and canteen.

A Tour of the Tai O Heritage Hotel

A short tour taking just about 15 minutes is offered free to visitors and signup can be done at the hotel’s website. The tour guide highlighted some of the features at the heritage site that required more explanation than the display boards, or otherwise could have been easily missed.

Photo: The Tai O Old Police Station Features a Classic Veranda, a Typical Feature for Colonial Era Buildings.

Situated at the southwestern tip of Tai O and overlooking the boundary between the waters of Hong Kong and China, the former police station was the frontier station that was set up with the intention of addressing two main problems that troubled the seas of Hong Kong between the 1900s and 1950s — the presence of pirates and the influx of refugees arriving by sea. The Old Tai O Police Station began its duty in 1902. It became a part of the marine police in 1948. By 1996 the police station became merely an outpost for the Land Police. Due to the exceptionally low crime rate in Tai O, in 2002 the Old Tai Po Police Station finally stepped down from its former historic duty after nearly 100 years of service to the community.

The Searchlight

Close to the hotel’s reception one will see a beautiful searchlight, restored and preserved. This search light was a key facility for the patrolling function of the police station, providing visibility for approaching vessels, be they pirates or refugees. It is no longer in use today.

The Detention Cell

In the now-reception area one will see the charge room and the preserved former detention cell. It is actually very small but at the time it was expected to keep up to ten detainees there. The old mesh wiring was handwoven and that was preserved.

Additional Amenities for the Officers

The section where the now-reception area stands is the very original in 1902. The area that mostly serves as guest rooms now was an addition in 1962, serving the purposes of briefing room, canteen and dormitory for local officers.

The Turret — “Mosquito-feeding Watch Tower”

There were two turrets in the original Old Tai O Police Station. One was preserved and it stands next to the Tai O Lookout. It served the function of guarding and patrolling. The original watch tower was reached by climbing a ladder. There was also no large opening in its original design. One could only imagine that this was the least favorite post for the officers, due to the heat and the humid and woody environment that bred swarms of mosquitoes. The officers used to call it the “mosquito-feeding tower.”

Murder with a Gun

Rumors suggest that the Tai O Heritage Hotel is haunted, and a story seems to confirm the possibility that it is indeed so. A disgruntled Indian officer that was fired came to the constable’s office to confront his supervisor. He fired shots (and some of the bullet holes are still see in the metal window shutters), killing his supervisor. He then killed himself as well.

But that might have been the only tragedy that took place here, and only once.

The Tai O Heritage Hotel Today

Photo: The Removable Wooden Puck Indicates the Officer Who is On Duty.

In 2008, the Old Tai O Police Station underwent revitalization, thus heralding a new historic role as a part of the Tai O community that has embraced the latest trend of eco / sustainable / heritage tourism. It became the Tai O Heritage Hotel, which is run by the nonprofit enterprise of Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation Limited. All profits from the hotel business go into the maintenance of the Grade 2 Historic Building. Needless to say, the revitalization had the aim of preserving some of the salient features of the Old Police Station, as discussed above.

The Tai O Lookout is the hotel restaurant of the Tai O Heritage Hotel. Before I went, I learned that its afternoon tea menu was particularly interesting. Dishes of the tea set menu feature a few of Tai O’s locally made specialties. I have heard good reviews of the pork chop bun with Tai O shrimp paste. However, when I went, I was too early for tea set. I ordered fish and chips with tartar sauce in Tai O shrimp paste instead. It was indeed delightful. I also ordered a cold drink, lemon with Tai O grown honey.

The glass roofed Tai O Lookout is an additional structure that was built specifically to serve the catering needs of the hotel patrons. The design came with sustainability features. The clear reason was that the interiors being lit by natural daylight would serve energy conservation purposes and create a hospitable ambience for the diners. 

The not-so-obvious reason was that this type of structure can be taken down relatively expeditiously, should one day the hotel business fail (let’s hope not) and the property has to be restored to original conditions and be returned to the Hong Kong Government.

The Tai O Old Police Station is a wonderful window into the life of Tai O in the 20th century. In those times transportation was not as developed and a duty post out here meant that officers had to sacrifice their family time in the urban areas. The “mosquito tower” was just one aspect of the harsh conditions of being stationed in the wild.

 

Sources

Descriptions on site at the Tai O Heritage Hotel

Guided Tour of the Tai O Heritage Hotel

The website of the Tai O Heritage Hotel

Lantau Longing — Tong Fuk Tsuen Village and Its Pristine Beach

Lantau Longing — Tong Fuk Tsuen Village and Its Pristine Beach

I needed a getaway and decided to go local this time. I booked a hostel in Lantau Island for a two-day one-night stay. With anticipation I embarked upon my journey. The first stop was Bathers at Lower Cheung Sha Beach for a beachside lunch. I