Vignettes of the World
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the 1980s steakhouse Anna Restaurant stands at the core of Hong Kong’s collective memory. That is, at least, for my generation of Hong Kong people. In those times, what was considered a proper steak was served on …
On the second day of the heritage tour in Macau, I visited the Moorish Barracks first, and then headed over to the Monte Fort and the Guia Lighthouse before going home. It was a very hot October day and the walking did amount to a …
The Chiwan Left Fortress has been on my list of interests and I finally had the opportunity to visit it on a rather cold winter day in Shenzhen.
The Chiwan Left Fortress is located in the Yingzui Shan hill area overlooking Chiwan Bay, in the most southwestern end of Shenzhen.
Over the history of China, the southern waters of the now-Shekou, Shenzhen, area has been viewed to be strategically important. For all the ships that sailed between China and Nanyang (Southeast Asia) passed by this area of the seas. Even as far back as the Ming dynasty, the authorities have installed cannons in the Nanshan area of now Shenzhen to fend off pirates.
As to the specifics of the Chiwan Left Fortress, construction began in the 56th year of the Kangxi reign (1717) of the Qing dynasty. At the time, the Viceroy of Fujian, Yang Lin, was sent to Canton as an imperial official. He oversaw the construction of cannons, fortresses, and citadels in the coastal area. In a total of 126 defensive structures that he built, 26 were cannons. The Chiwan Left Cannon was one of them.
Lin Zexu is a man of foresight in Chinese history. He was the Qing dynasty official that saw through Great Britain’s scheme in selling opium to China. He took severe and brave measures against opium, at a time when the Qing court wavered in its opinion on the consequences of his actions.
One such daring act was to destroy 20,000 boxes of opium by dumping them into the Bay of Humen during the 19th year of the Daoguang reign (1839). It is said that the Chiwan Left Cannon played a significant role in Lin Zexu’s campaign against opium during the Opium Wars. Both the Chiwan Left and Right Fortresses had been left in ruins since the Guangxu reign, before Lin Zexu’s time. In preparation for war against Great Britain, Lin Zexu restored the Chiwan Left Fortress.
In the same year as the Humen incident, the Naval Viceroy of Canton, Guan Tianpei, led troops and defeated the British forces at Lingding Yang, at the mouth of the Pearl River. The Chiwan Left Cannon played a critical role in this battle.
Photo: To celebrate the heroism and historic significance of Lin Zexu, Shenzhen installed this statue in 1985 at the 200th anniversary of Lin Zexu’s birth.
I guess the logical question is what happened to the Chiwan Right Cannon. It is in terrible ruins. As of now, only the Chiwan Left Fortress has been preserved.
The Chiwan Left Fortress faces the southern waters in the southwestern part of Shenzhen. It is a rectangular shaped fortress. The platform where the cannon stands is 3 meters high, 26.2 meters in length, and 15.5 meters in width.
The defensive structure was built of blue bricks in the top part. The foundation and the bottom part are consisted of granites.
Photo: This is the ruins of the foundation for the houses that the soldiers lived in.
There is only one cannon at the fortress, and I was a little bit disappointed when I learned that. However, its historical significance is quite a lesson in itself. The authorities have extended resources to restore the Chiwan Left Fortress in 1979. In 1984, excavation was done on the site. In 1985, the Lin Zexu bronze statue was erected.
The closest boundary crossing by the MTR is Futian. From Futian, take Line 4 to Convention Center, change to Line 1 toward Airport East direction. Then at Taoyuan station, change to Line 12 toward Zuopaotai Dong. Get off at the last stop of Zuopaotai Dong. Follow the directions on Gaode Map App and walk about 15-20 minutes to the Chiwan Left Fortress. It is not a far walk and the climb is very gentle.
The walk from Zuopaotai Dong Station:
Make your way from Exit A onto Chiwan Lu. (above)
Walk to the end of the road and turn right on Tianxiang Lu. (above)
Then at the next intersection, turn left onto Linzexu Huanlu. (above)
After a gentle incline (above), you will see the entrance to the Chiwan Left Fortress. (below)
Otherwise, the closest boundary crossing is Shenzhen Bay. From there, the easiest is to call Didi, and it’s not so far away, about 30 minutes by car.
Descriptions on site at the Chiwan Left Fortress.
Baidu Baike on the Chiwan Left Fortress (Chin).
Common tourists don’t really go to Macau for its history or heritage. They go to Macau for shopping, shows, gambling and other kinds of fun. They also certainly go to Macau for its food. Perhaps then this entry will appeal to the common interest. This …
Namely the heart of Macau that drives all pedestrian flows, the Senate Square (Senado Square) is a must-see before one reaches the famous Ruins of Saint Paul’s. In this square, you will come across an innumerable number of historic structures, including the St. Dominic’s Church, …
I took an easy walk at the Guiwan Park of Shenzhen’s Qianhai district today and found it to be surprisingly pleasant.
The Guiwan Park is a slender strip of land allocated as a public park space. The park “wraps around” the Guiwan River (a canal), all the way to its mouth to the Qianhai Bay.
As a long stretch of park space, it features a pleasant walk 1.9 kilometers in length one way.
Water is the central theme for the park. It is the first water corridor park developed in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone. According to descriptions on site:
The park’s green spaces extend along the canal in a three-tiered design that accommodates varying elevations while creating diverse waterfront experience. The lowest terrace features mangrove islands that soften the shoreline and showcase tidal fluctuations… the middle terrace houses freshwater wetland gardens where various aquatic plants purify reclaimed water and collect rainwater. At the highest level, where the park meets the urban area, rain gardens, sunken green spaces… manage rainwater and surface runoff, creating a sustainable and resilient urban park ecosystem.
This description suggests high hopes for the park as envisioned by the urban planning authorities. As a visitor, it was certainly good enough that we had a nice waterfront walk. What got me interested in this park was that in springtime, the flowers that are carefully curated in the flower beds bloom. They create beautiful “rainbow fields.” I did not catch the right season to view the peak of its beauty, but the park had some natural highlights.
There are rows of bald cypress that have turned somewhat red.
The relatively sparse flowers in bushes do present the opportunities for some closeup shots too.
I loved the decorative trees in the lawn.
There was also an instagrammable Curtain Bead Pergola with suspending aerial roots, and that was fun.
Be sure to visit both sides of the canal to enjoy the whole park space. We crossed two bridges to see both shores of the Guiwan River.
I highly recommend readers to visit the business district of Qianhai to get a feeling of a key developmental project in China’s grand plan for economic growth. Qianhai is an area infused with upper end business vibes. It is meant to be heavy in technology firms and there is a strong finance presence.
Just a brief walk-around shows you plenty of sparkling storefronts. The area is populated with more upscale chains, or the more upscale brands of the common chains. My friend and I sat down for a wonderful “business lunch” at Yizuo Yiwang Yunnan Restaurant (一坐一忘雲南菜) at the Wanxiang Qianhai Mall. I will let the food speak for themselves.
The Qianhai Cooperation Zone is a key strategic development in China’s vision for the Greater Bay Area. With the State Council’s release of the Qianhai Plan (Plan for Comprehensively Deepening the Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone) in 2021, the Qianhai Cooperation Zone expanded to cover a large area of 120 square kilometers. It is envisioned to develop heavily the services industry in Shenzhen. Needless to say, it aims to leverage the advantages of being close to Hong Kong, which lies southeast of Qianhai Bay across the waters.
Just to note, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration is headquartered in Qianhai and it has its own namesake skyscraper (the SCIA Tower) there.
We took the Metro from Lo Wu on Line 1 and then changed to Line 5 to arrive at the Guiwan Station. After exiting the Qianhai Wanxiang Mall, we walked about 15 minutes to the park.
Descriptions on site at the Guiwan Park.
The Website of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration.
There are a few kinds of local Hong Kong food that are the ultimate comfort foods for me. Beef brisket noodles are one. I have previously written about Sister Wah’s noodles in Tin Hau. Victory Beef Balls （Shing Lee Beef Balls) in Yuen Long is …
It is that time of the year. The “fall” foliage is once again the center of attention for theme photographers. On this wonderfully sunny winter day we visited the Honghualing Park, into the depths of the Longgang District of Shenzhen, to see some of the …
This was my first time returning to the United States in 13 years, and I had to get by without a car because my drivers’ license expired. Therefore, the theme of this trip was “America on Foot.” In both Los Angeles and Portland, I relied on public transportation for my tours. I thought I would have to call uber a lot, but it turned out that I only called Uber once (not counting the trips back and forth the LAX).
It is no news that Los Angeles is especially un-user-friendly when it comes to public transportation. I went to high school in Los Angeles and in the years that I lived there, I had never taken public transportation, not even once. The reason being that public transportation runs rather sparse schedules in LA (there is simply not a general reliance on public transportation, therefore, not much demand to support frequency).
Also, Los Angeles is a vast expanse of city and suburban development. At best, a given bus stop can only take you so close to the final destination. And then there is the prejudice against those folks that have to rely on public transportation. In a place like Los Angeles, it is a fact that public transportation takes the poorest of people around, very much unlike New York City. The prejudice is that “public transportation is not safe because only the beggars, DUI and homeless take buses.”
But when the same trip costs $25 on Uber, and $2 on buses, it is a matter of math to resort to public transportation. Being the way that I am (I tend to travel solo to any destination in the world, and very often in Asia), I would of course opt for the buses. The first time was, “let’s see, be cautious,” then after the first time it was, “hey, not bad, let’s do it again.” By the time I got to Portland, I didn’t even think twice about my options, “certainly buses and light rail.”
Contrary to my impression, the public transportation system in both Los Angeles and Portland run frequently and they are very time efficient. In Los Angeles, the buses that went inter-city between Long Beach and San Pedro came every 15 minutes or so. Google’s bus schedule was also incredibly accruate. In Portland, Google’s bus schedule was also very reliable.
Now, would I recommend any common tourist to do buses in LA and Portland? My answer is no, especially given that I have a lot of Hong Kong readers, who are likely to be able to afford renting a proper car. I think it is an adventure in itself to navigate the public transportation systems in LA and Portland, but unless you have the guts that I do (you know what my guts are, when it comes down to traveling, if you read my blog), I do not recommend taking public transportation in Los Angeles and Portland.
In Los Angeles, I noticed that I appeared to be dressed a notch better than fellow bus riders. I was a little out of place in the crowd, besides the fact that I was obviously clueless (in every trip I had to ask how much). I also did notice that there were homeless people on the buses, and not just a few. My issue was not the possibility of being robbed or harmed, because the bus drivers that I encountered were all sensible people, they appeared to be ready and able to handle that type of situation well.
My issue was simply that it felt icky to have to sit close to people who likely have not showered for a long time. Or otherwise sit at a spot that was previously occupied by people who haven’t showered for a long time. When I returned to my hotel, I put away all the clothes that I had worn on the buses and did not wear them again until I did laundry.
My friends, who are LA natives, told me how brave it was that I chose to do public transportation. He himself had his new iphone robbed once on the light rail in Long Beach. He had never touched the public system since. I certainly appreciated the point. Let’s be real, there are known dangers. So, if you were really going to do the bus, the caution would be not to do it late at night, and do not show your priced belongings at all. If anyone accosts you, avoid the person, or even get off the bus right away. These are common sense measures to protect yourself.
Now, in Portland, I noticed that generally the crowd was a bit better dressed than the public-bus-taking folks in LA. There were some homeless people on the light rail and buses in Portland, but perhaps the vibe was slightly less hopeless than the LA buses. I myself did encounter an incident at the Gateway Transit Center, when I was visiting the Multnomah Falls by the bus. There was a certain someone that was causing a scene, and when he sat at a nearby bench at the station, the staff there indicated to me that I had better get up and leave.
But there was no incident at all where I felt threatened. And I enjoyed my rides, when it did not feel dirty.
Whether I would do the same again is another question. Good experience, however.
Here’s to Los Angeles and Portland for their wonderful hospitality. Until next time.
One reason why I found Long Beach to be exceedingly welcoming is that it offers a wide variety of food in all colors of the spectrum. From daily Asian to food truck Mexican, from all-American steak to a cozy brunch, there are a ton of …