Songjiang? Really? Wow, I lived there a while back & had no idea. That street scene really looks like the movie set for Kung Fu Hustle (one of my fave Chinese movies)!
We all know the fireworks and big clean up afterwards is just starting and will go on for a few weeks . Yes, out in Songjiang district / Shanghai, not far from the G15 Expressway and G320 National Highway.
Huge empty real estate construction site in Qingpu district just off the G318 HuQiPing Highway (Shanghai) makes a great playground for the Jialing JH600 sidecar during a winter weekend. Really enjoy owning the JL sidecar, great fun for daily cruising and running errands....
Another Chinese New Year is just around the corner and so are the traditions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year "Gong Xi Fa Cai", the traditional Chinese New Year greeting. But the Chinese don't stop at wishing for prosperity - they eat for it as well! 31 January 2014 marks the first day of the Year of the Horse. This is the start of 15 days of eating and greeting, the period over which Chinese New Year is celebrated. Air drying and curing various types of meats and homemade sausages outside homes, yards and restaurants is quite a common sight during the build-up to Chinese New Year. Actually its not a bad time of the year to be around Shanghai and taking daily cruises with the mighty Jialing JH600 sidecar to the townships like Qibao. Qibao is a town in Minhang District, Shanghai. Its formation can be traced back to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, to the Northern Song Dynasty. The name comes from the local temple, "Qibao Temple": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qibao
More Shanghai Qibao - Minhang pictures just before the Chinese New Years holidays 2014 Making popcorn from scratch can be tricky and here in China they do it the old fashion way .
I might starve in China. Seeing all of the carcasses does not ignite my appetite. Very cool pictures though. Some of my family lived in Chengdu and another region before that but the name escapes me. Always wanted to go.
Au contraire . . . . . . Thanks for posting the pre-horsie year food pix . . . . . Made me drool a bit; Looks like you're headed for some days of feasting ! ! ! Enjoy the festival ! ! ! Happy year of the horse ! ! !
Don't tell me you forgot that the steak on your plate used to be part of a cow...:) The pictures make me look forward to my next trip to china. I will have to be cautious though. Last trip made me gain 6 pounds in 2 weeks... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Back to the Southern China tropical Island of Hainan for a few weeks. For the annual Boao Forum they build a full on police checkpoint heading along towards the Yalong Bay area..... The Boao Forum for Asia, abbreviated to BFA, is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on the most pressing issues in this dynamic region and the world at large. BFA is modeled after the World Economic Forum held annually in Davos, Switzerland. It has its fixed address in Bo'ao, Hainan, China, although the Secretariat is based in Beijing. The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals. Initiated in 1998 by Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, and Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, the Boao Forum for Asia was formally inaugurated in February 2001. The founding of the BFA was driven by the People's Republic of China and founded by 26 Asian and Australasian states on 27 February 2001. The organisation held its first meeting from April 1213, 2002. Discussions at the BFA focus on economics, integration, cooperation, society, and the environment. In the past the forum also addressed China's entry into the World Trade Organization, as well as Southeast Asia's economic crisis during the 1990s. The geopolitical strategy 'China's peaceful rise' was a topic of discussion for the forum in 2004. In addition to its annual meeting, the BFA also sponsors other forums and meetings related to Asian issues.... Boao Forum for Asia info source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boao_Forum_for_Asia and http://www.boaoforum.org
More massive developments, another water park under construction beside the highway from the Sanya airport out direction Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay.... Weird tree design for this particular real estate development called Sanya Beauty Crown Grand Tree Mansion. The complex has Chinas Lego hotel, the hotel resembles the famous toy bricks and boasts a record 6,668 hotel rooms in a so called seven star environment..... Heading up to Haitang Bay from Sanya city area to check out more developments like new hotels and the new CDF Mall. China Duty Free Mall scheduled for a opening during Summer 2014 after much delay and billed as the world's largest duty free mall. According to the China Duty Free Group, the shopping mega mall will stock major international luxury brands and compete, price-wise, with duty-free shops in Hong Kong and Singapore. CDF Mall, the silver spaceship building pictured below besides the Westin and Intercontinental hotels at Haitang Bay.
Further up the coast, the Surfer Dudes at Riyue Bay (Wanning) have been busy as well with a lot of improvements done since my last visit. The Riyue Bay Surf Club, located on tropical Hainans south east coast, is a must-visit for surfers and non surfers alike. Conveniently located in Chinas Surf Capital with a variety of breaks within walking distance, Riyue Bay is the perfect place for all surf levels... http://www.surfinghainan.com
From Riyue Wan (Wanning) going trail riding around the reservoirs and lakes up in the mountains and ending up near some "mining" equipment on the route back to Sanya...
Another beautiful Hainan Island day, cruising up the mountain roads through the green forests... Bush Hairdresser... Graves in the mountains and someone paying respect during the recent Tomb Sweeping Festival holidays. The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day or Ching Ming, is a traditional Chinese festival on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival) is when Chinese people visit the graves or burial grounds of their ancestors. Qingming Festival is an opportunity for celebrants to remember and honour their ancestors at grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and/or libations to the ancestors. A very common sight all over Hainan = vegetable and fruit harvesting / trading...
Up the National Road #314 / Hainan Island in South China for some exploring around the central highlands... Well - good time for chain lubing and maintenance while the bike is over on the ground due to a soft spot just before the water crossings and more trail riding... The trail ride finished in Wuzhishan in the mountains (approx. 80k from Sanya / Hainan Island). Wuzhishan is a county-level city in the south-central part of Hainan Island, located beside Wuzhi Shan, the mountain.
Hainan Island cruising time coming to an end again and as always saying farewell to the bike at a shrine and temple till the next time... ...Hainan Island riding shall continue later on in 2014....
