Vignettes of the World
On my way to the Museum of Coastal Defence, I passed by some heritage sites in Shau Kei Wan. Here are the gems that I found in this neighborhood. A Brief Word on Shau Kei Wan Even as early as the 18th century, Shau Kei …
On our last day in Dameisha, I took a walk in the Biling Hiking Trail, which is part of the Malian Mountain Country Park. I have done solo hiking in Xianggong Shan of Xingping, Guilin before. But this hiking experience is significant because I did …
There were those days. A few decades ago, my family took a vacation in Xiaomeisha in Shenzhen. That was when even the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant had not been built yet. In those times, a vacation in Shenzhen alone was a big deal for the people of Hong Kong. For one thing, the boundary crossing at Lo Wu was not yet air-conditioned.
In the dog days of the summer, it took a lot of willpower just to make a trip through the only boundary crossing point at that time, which was the Lo Wu pass. There was no air con, and there were a whole lot of people wanting to visit families in China during the summer. People were shoulder to shoulder at the bridge at the Lo Wu boundary crossing. It was quite a scene then. Not to mention the fact that a trip to Xiaomeisha in those days would necessitate a long, hot and bumpy bus ride after crossing the boundary.
I do remember quite distinctly that our trip to Xiaomeisha was good, despite the difficulty of transportation. The beach there was amazing, with pristine waters and fluffy white sand.
The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant is relevant in the sense that I do not dare swimming in either the Dameisha Beach or the Xiaomeisha Beach anymore. They are simply too close to the nuclear power plant. Lying in the southern waters of the Dameisha Beach is the Mirs Bay, indeed, the waters of Hong Kong.
I visited Dameisha just to look, for mostly nostalgic reasons.
The first impression on this trip to Dameisha Beach was just how much China has shaped up its city infrastructure in the few decades since I last went to Xiaomeisha. Located on the eastern end of Shenzhen, Dameisha was just one metro stop away from Xiaomeisha, which lies at the very eastern end of the subway Line 2.
The subway station was new with clear instructions. Dameisha Beach lies right outside of the subway station and it was exceedingly convenient.
I saw the beach packed with an enormous crowd on a Friday afternoon. It was certainly a family occasion with many, many children.
In terms of amenities, there is a shower and toilet area. I had not checked whether they were clean, but certainly they were of heavy usage. It goes without saying that there are businesses there, chiefly many restaurants along the beachfront offering all kinds of food. There were also many shops there offering rentals, and you could easily get any beach gear you need there.
Finally, and perhaps more importantly, I found the natural endowment of the Dameisha Beach to be exceedingly clean, perhaps in spite of the huge crowd there. Needless to say, there was a bit of a mess in the dining area. But a cursory look at the shore shows clearly that the water was very clear and the sand was fine.
People were swimming and also doing some interesting water sports. I saw a paraglider being pulled by the speedboat in the open sea. All looked fun, but I was happy with my icy cold lemon drink by the beachside. I spent an hour there hearing the cacophonies of summer joy – genuine cheers to the beautiful environment that Dameisha offers to its wave chasers.
According to Nowshenzhen.com, the OCT East (East Overseas Chinese Town), covers “an area of 9 square kilometers at Da Mei Sha of Shenzhen, is the national ecological tourism demonstration district and the international tourism destination, at an investment of 3.5 billion Yuan by the OCT Group. It is a combination of two theme parks, three scenic towns, four resort hotels, two 18-hole golf courses, Hua Xing Temple and Tianlu mansion etc.”
The Interlaken OCT Hotel is a four-star hotel and this was our destination for this weekend getaway. Located up the mountain that hovers over the sandy stretches of Shenzhen’s coastline in Dameisha, the Interlaken OCT Hotel presents something of quite a different nature from that of the Dameisha Beach. As its name suggests, the hotel is part of a resort area that mimics the environ of Switzerland.
When I arrived at the hotel, I was truly impressed by the beautiful reception hall, with a ceiling a few floors high, and enormous decorative fixtures that did, in my view, create an impression that we were somewhere in a foreign land. It was worlds apart from the scene in Dameisha Beach, and I did appreciate that sense of relative serenity in the mountains.
There was a lake outside of the hotel and I sat down for coffee. I was sure though that this lake was manmade. From afar the structures really make it seem like a European landscape. But upon a closer look at the facilities, I noticed signs of visible decrepitude. Efforts of maintenance are seen throughout, but some of the fixtures could not help but to look tired – the carpets a bit worn, the exteriors showing dark water stains and all structures appeared to be worn and aged. It has certainly past its prime.
My review of the hotel experience is mixed. There are certainly some very good aspects at the hotel that we considered exceptional. I laud the hotel for giving rigorous training to its staff. The hospitality (in all respects, at all venues in the hotel) was flawless. For example, we insisted on being given a room that we were satisfied with. The staff showed not a trace of annoyance when we made repeated requests for another room. The staff at the restaurant noticed that we gave up a whole plate of meat on our hotpot meal set (included in the hotel package), and offered us a full plate of vegetables (that we would eat) instead.
When we returned to our room we found a huge cockroach on the wall. We called for immediate assistance, and when the staff came, it was both a hospitality staff and a cleaning staff. The cleaning staff found a way to remove the cockroach without spraying potentially toxic insecticide. The hospitality staff offered to upgrade our room. We decided to stay in the original room, however. To be honest, this type of service cannot be expected in China, and I make this comment not from prejudice but from experience. The exceptionality is in the fact that we felt taken care of everywhere in the hotel, not just at the front desk.
There are unexpected ways in which the hotel experience was not so positive. For example, the climate there is incredibly humid, and we make this comparison to Hong Kong, which itself is known for its humidity. We could even feel the humidity when we slept. The room did come with a dehumidifier, but we probably could not have stayed there for longer than a few days.
This aspect of the experience shows why something placed in China cannot truly emulate something that is actually in Europe, no matter how much money you pour into the development. Suffice to say, however, that the mountainous environment was itself therapeutic, and the resort was good enough as a weekend getaway. Please see the next entry on the Biling Hiking Trail for more authentic experiences in the nature in this resort area.
Also, the swimming pool was closed and I was disappointed. There is a sense that not enough business and users are at the hotel to sustain the running of certain facilities. The gym was open, however.
In the second day at the hotel I decided to stay all day in my hotel room. It was a nice and roomy accommodation, and all the in-room facilities worked well. Although the lake was likely manmade, the European-style structures afar and the lake view together are tranquil.
Because the hotel is reachable only by a meandering mountain path, we found it troublesome to have to go into town for food. We therefore fully utilized our packaged deal and dined in the hotel’s western cuisine dining room for all our meals. There was breakfast and dinner included in the package.
Dinner was one hotpot set, and we had to say that it was not enough food for two persons, even if we hadn’t turned down the plate of meat that we did not want. So we ordered something from the menu at a low cost. The food was of fair quality. We loved our veggies in the hotpot. Breakfast was scrumptious with many choices in a buffet style. We had late breakfast so that we did not have to order lunch.
I had no complaints apart from the humidity and the pool closure.
Nowshenzhen.com, OCT East (East Overseas Chinese Town).
This is my second time visiting the Museum of Coastal Defense. My last visit was more than ten years ago. Revisiting this incredibly interesting museum, I found the learning to be even more comprehensive than my last visit. It is my view that the Museum …
We strolled through more of the old town of Khiva, and came upon a little coppersmith shop. The small shop displayed many goods of interests, a humble collection of finished products and some were work-in-progress. The coppersmith was playing with some of his instruments when …
Khiva was clean, neat and windswept. We went right by the Kalta Minor to find the Orient Star Khiva Hotel, which took over the original site of the Madrassa Muhammad Aminkhan as its place of business.
The construction for the Kalta Minor was never finished due to the death of Muhammad Amin Khan.
The Madrassa Muhammad Aminkhan is the largest two-story madrassa in Khiva. The High Muslim Court was once located here, and held session in the central courtyard. Perhaps that explained why there is a high platform in the courtyard.
Finally, Muhammad Amin Khan was reputed to be one the most illustrious rulers of Khiva.
As a hotel, there was relevance to the modern tourists in the fact that we could find a money exchange there. We exchanged some Uzbek SOMs.
The Juma Mosque was the next site of significance. We did not know what to expect, and when we entered the mosque, we were amazed by its breathtaking beauty.
Meaning “Friday Mosque,” the original Juma Mosque had been in existence since the 10th century. This was one of the structures that was razed down by the Mongols during the Mongolian Invasion of the 13th century. In the late 18th century, the Juma Mosque underwent a reconstruction, and the structure has since stood to this day.
A one-story building, the mosque prides 213 supporting pillars in perfect alignment. They are what makes it an amazing experience for tourists to walk through the mosque. In every different angle you see the crisscrossing of wooden pillars. With the natural daylight illuminating the space in between, the view of the internal architecture was at once serene and textured in different shades of glow — as if God’s commanding presence could be felt inside.
Photo: At this white structure in the middle, the worshippers wash their hands before praying.
The central pillars in the Juma Mosque are in fact the very original, and as such they had stood there for more than one thousand years. Those were the only of the original mosque that remained at the time of reconstruction.
The Juma Mosque of Khiva can host 5,000 prayers at once. The kings have the first right of entry, then the ministers and the common people. Each prayer takes about 7 to 15 minutes to pray, but during the Ramadan, the prayers take one hour.
We had lunch at the Zarafshon Café, which is located in the Tolib Masxum Madrassa, a heritage building. The Tolib Masxum Madrassa was named after the scribe Talib Makhsum. The small madrassa is said to have been the venue of training for calligraphers. Built in 1908-1910, this relatively new building was one of the last few to be included in the list of buildings considered “historic” in Khiva.
The dining ambience was first class there, with elaborate décor featuring the best of Uzbek tapestries. In a roomy dining hall we savored traditional Uzbek dishes, including the chuchvara (Uzbek dumplings) and green noodles (made of dill and it is a Khiva specialty). It surprised us that the price we paid was just about the price we paid at higher-end restaurants elsewhere in Uzbekistan—about US$20 to $25 for the two of us.
Lying right next to the Tolib Masxum Madrassa is the beautiful Islam Khoja complex.
The Islam Khoja Minaret is the tallest minaret in Khiva. It is also part of the Islam Khoja Madrassa, which itself is the smallest madrassa in Khiva. “Decorative belts of blue and white ceramics alternating with ochre bricks adorn the minaret. It is topped by arched lantern and golden crown.” (Advantour.com)
Islam Khoja was the grand vizier to the khan and he was an educator. He introduced some reforms in education. However, he met the unfortunate fate of being assassinated in 1913.
Completed relatively recently in 1908, this ensemble stands next to the Zarafshon Café, with a square that was brimming with lively actions on that day. There were vendors selling curios and handcrafts. The square featured bronze sculptures.
I loved our lunch, but the beautiful day beckoned, luring us to head outside and again into the embrace of Khiva’s historic charm. We strolled through more of the old town of Khiva, and came upon a little coppersmith shop.
Descriptions on site in Khiva historic monuments.
Some of the information about the Tolib Masxum Madrassa were taken from a reviewer’s comment from Tripadvisor.com.
Advantour.com, Islam Khoja complex, Khiva.
I’d be willing to offer a bag of gold in exchange for just one look at the ancient city of Khiva. This Central Asian saying speaks amply to Khiva’s historic status as one of the most beautiful and storied cities along the ancient silk road …
At the roadside restaurant, where most tourists stopped for their meals in a vast stretch of no man’s land, we had a much-needed Lachman in hot soup. I also had the opportunity to put on whatever pieces of clothing that I had with me to …
The Karakalpakstan State Museum of the Arts was named after Savitsky as the Savitsky Art Museum. Located in Nukus, which is the capital for the semiautonomous region of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the Savitsky Art Museum is simply known as the Nukus Museum of Art. It is a crown jewel of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, although in a different way from the Chilpik Kala that we discussed in the last entry. The museum boasts being “the Louvre in the sands,” as having one of the largest collections of Russian Avant Garde and Central Asian applied art.
Having visited this museum, I would say it was slightly exaggerated to call it “the Louvre in the sands,” as its scale is not comparable to the Louvre. However, it does present a rich collection of interesting paintings in the Central Asian themes, and for that I was surely very thankful. We found it eye opening to see some of the works of Uzbekistan, created both by local artists and overseas (mostly Russian) artists.
Igor Vitalievich Savitsky (1915-1984) was the founder of the Nukus Museum of Art. His dedicated work in this region of Uzbekistan has both inspired him to create his own and enabled him to collect an enormous number of locally created artworks, which formed the foundation of this museum.
Igor Vitalievich Savitsky was part of the Khorezm Archaeological — Ethnographic Expedition of 1950, the work of which had resulted in the excavation of Khorezm era artefacts and the discovery of ancient fortresses in this part of Uzbekistan, as well as parts of modern-day Turkmenistan. This expedition was headed by the renowned Soviet scientist Sergei Tolstov. Igor Savistky served as an artist in this expedition. It was during this expedition that Igor Savitsky began collecting the works of art by local artists through his own independent study.
It was Igor Savitsky’s initiative to found the Nukus Museum of Art in 1966. During the Museum’s earlier years, it was the hub for relatively unknown artists to explore their creativity, especially in Avant Garde artworks. Because this part of Uzbekistan was off bounds to foreigners then, the Soviets left the museum alone. As such, a lot of the forward-thinking artists that were dubbed dissidents in the Soviet regime found refuge here in this art museum. Over the years, Savitsky has also kept his collection secret. It was only upon his death in 1984 that the well-preserved artworks of a whole Soviet era met the light of the day.
The Nukus Museum of Art thus stands tall in the history of Uzbekistan (and the former Soviet Union) as the stalwart for artistic expression. Its exhibitions speak amply to that historical role.
I was particularly drawn to the exhibition of both Russian and local artists showing their appreciation of the landscapes of Uzbekistan. Needless to say, there were a number of artworks that were inspired by the Aral Sea, which was once the very lifeline for the Karakalpakstan people. The exhibition The Memory of Water showcases the artworks of eight artists living in different times during the 20th century. On their canvas they find expressions of beauty as they were inspired by the Amu Darya River or the Aral Sea.
This exhibition was the perfect prelude to our visit of the Aral Sea itself in Muynak, where we would see the extreme desertification that had shrunk the sea surface to 1/10 its original size as compared to the 1960s. The paintings are the literal memories of the beauty and abundance that the Aral Sea once was.
The artwork that features Uzbekistan was very engaging, and they were the works of both Uzbek local artists and Russian artists, showing the myriad colors, textures and aspects of life in Uzbekistan.
I highly recommend a visit to the Nukus Museum of Art to see the artwork of this particular region in Uzbekistan. It is a rare chance to look into life in Karakalpakstan that had but altogether disappeared due to the desertification of the Aral Sea.
English descriptions are available at the Nukus Museum of Art throughout the exhibitions.
Advantour.com, Savitsky Art Museum, Nukus.
Visitworldheritage.com, Nukus Museum of Art.
Descriptions on site at the Nukus Museum of Art.
The train headed west toward Khiva. As it turned out, the desert climate of Bukhara would pale in comparison to that of Khiva. When we left the train station, we were greeted with a frigidity for which I was completely unprepared. We went from 38 …