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Posted On Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at
at
2:25 AM
by Alvin
Arguably the most popular city in China, we felt the special atmosphere of Qing Dao (青島) the moment we stepped off the long distance bus after the 6 hours' journey from Qu Fu (曲阜). It might be the sea, the clear blue sky, the refreshing salty air (distinct from the inland smog), the stunning vista of the skyscrapers along the many beaches or the colonial feel of past Western influences, Qing Dao just could not disappoint. We managed to stay right by the 6th Beach which was dominated by the landmark of Qing Dao - the Sea Bridge (棧橋). We spent time exploring the seafront of this city as well as visiting the European-styled villas in the beautiful district of 八大關 - a matrix of crossroads formed by 8 beautiful tree-lined avenues which reminded me of some faraway laid-back European suburbs. The city was justly famous for : the rose-colored roof tops, leafy trees, emerald seas and blue skies (紅瓦綠樹 碧海藍天) and we saw these vistas aplenty along the cool Qing Dao sea front as well as up the commanding hill of 小魚山. 
We also explored the more modern parts of Qing Dao where we saw some awesome art deco as well as the famed Qing Dao Beer Street and Museum. We also visited Lang Yai Tai (琅琊台) located some 100 km south of Qing Dao (well, that journey was another amazing story for another day... well, basically, a half-day trip turned into a 12 hours trip...), where the first Chinese Emperor (秦始皇) sent his troops (led by the navigator 徐福) to go find that elusive elixir of life 3,000 years ago. Go East young man ! Lang Yai Tai held a strategic position right on the sea front, with a commanding view to the East, facing nowadays, Korea and Japan (miles away of course) and yep, records showed that these were the same troops who helped the local Japanese farmers with advanced fishing and farming methods and I guess the troops had such a wonderful time that they decided to stay for ever...
Posted On Sunday, June 6, 2010 at
at
9:06 PM
by Alvin
有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎 ? We came to the organised city of Qu Fu (曲阜) - the home town of Confucius (孔子), to pay our respects to arguably the most important person to have shaped the psyche and outlook of the Chinese in its history. The reasons why Chinese paid so much emphasis on education (讀書) to their offspring, was a direct result of this great scholar. Confucius championed Confucianism (儒家) and was known as 萬世師表. The philosophies that he taught had a timeless-ness and applicability, regardless of dynasties, generations, war or peace times; and that was why Confucianism had endured till this very day, and was treasured as a founding cornerstone of the Chinese psyche. The fact that his teachings some 2,500 years ago had current and immediate applications in our daily lives was a true reflection of his insights and understanding of Human behaviour. 
We visited the temple dedicated to him, his mansion and his place of burial (孔廟,孔府,孔林) where remarkably, more than seventy generations of his offspring were also buried. Arguably, Mencius (孟子) was Confucianism's true heir who further consolidated the way his Master's philosophies applied to the Chinese as well as adding valuable insights of his own. We took a local bus and travelled about an hour to the city of Zou Cheng (鄒城) where we visited the peaceful and solemn Mencius Temple and Mansion (孟廟, 孟府). The Mansion showcased the famous story of 孟母三遷 - how Mencius' mother moved their home three times (first away from a cemetery where Mencius imitated mourners, secondly away from the market where Mencius imitated shouting merchants and finally settled near a school where Mencius followed the behaviour of scholars).
Posted On Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at
at
1:33 AM
by Alvin
登泰山而小天下 ! Tai Shan had been the mountain which we looked forward to climbing for a long time - grand, majestic, steeped in history and tough ! We arrived in the city of Tai An (泰安) which was nestled at the foot of and dwarfed by, Tai Shan, the day before the climb and found the city buzzling and modern. We ventured into the temple (岱廟) where past emperors paid tributes to Tai Shan in elaborate ceremonies and the atmosphere in the temple was very special and solemn as the ground was planted with hundreds of ancient cypress trees (松柏), some dating back to 2,000 years ! However much we had prepared ourselves, the climb up Tai Shan was definitely one of the toughest mountain work-outs we had experienced in China ! Basically 4 hours of solid cardio-exercises up more than 10,000 steep steps. We were rewarded with views of some magnificent stone carvings, neat and cute rest stops and cafes along the way, as well as the daunting vista of the famous 18 Turns (十八盤) and finally a complete birds' eye view at the very top - 玉皇頂. Although Tai Shan stood only at about 1,700 meters, the mountain air at the top was crisp and cool; we enjoyed our picnic lunch before trekking back down from 玉皇頂 and reached Tai An at 4P.M. to the welcome sight of the public bus waiting for us to take up back to enjoy a bottle of the famed Tai Shan Original Brew - best consumed fresh before the 7-days expiry period (泰山原漿啤酒), what a day !
Arguably the most popular city in China, we felt the special atmosphere of Qing Dao (青島) the moment we stepped off the long distance bus after the 6 hours' journey from Qu Fu (曲阜). It might be the sea, the clear blue sky, the refreshing salty air (distinct from the inland smog), the stunning vista of the skyscrapers along the many beaches or the colonial feel of past Western influences, Qing Dao just could not disappoint. We managed to stay right by the 6th Beach which was dominated by the landmark of Qing Dao - the Sea Bridge (棧橋). We spent time exploring the seafront of this city as well as visiting the European-styled villas in the beautiful district of 八大關 - a matrix of crossroads formed by 8 beautiful tree-lined avenues which reminded me of some faraway laid-back European suburbs. The city was justly famous for : the rose-colored roof tops, leafy trees, emerald seas and blue skies (紅瓦綠樹 碧海藍天) and we saw these vistas aplenty along the cool Qing Dao sea front as well as up the commanding hill of 小魚山. 
We also explored the more modern parts of Qing Dao where we saw some awesome art deco as well as the famed Qing Dao Beer Street and Museum. We also visited Lang Yai Tai (琅琊台) located some 100 km south of Qing Dao (well, that journey was another amazing story for another day... well, basically, a half-day trip turned into a 12 hours trip...), where the first Chinese Emperor (秦始皇) sent his troops (led by the navigator 徐福) to go find that elusive elixir of life 3,000 years ago. Go East young man ! Lang Yai Tai held a strategic position right on the sea front, with a commanding view to the East, facing nowadays, Korea and Japan (miles away of course) and yep, records showed that these were the same troops who helped the local Japanese farmers with advanced fishing and farming methods and I guess the troops had such a wonderful time that they decided to stay for ever...
有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎 ? We came to the organised city of Qu Fu (曲阜) - the home town of Confucius (孔子), to pay our respects to arguably the most important person to have shaped the psyche and outlook of the Chinese in its history. The reasons why Chinese paid so much emphasis on education (讀書) to their offspring, was a direct result of this great scholar. Confucius championed Confucianism (儒家) and was known as 萬世師表. The philosophies that he taught had a timeless-ness and applicability, regardless of dynasties, generations, war or peace times; and that was why Confucianism had endured till this very day, and was treasured as a founding cornerstone of the Chinese psyche. The fact that his teachings some 2,500 years ago had current and immediate applications in our daily lives was a true reflection of his insights and understanding of Human behaviour. 
We visited the temple dedicated to him, his mansion and his place of burial (孔廟,孔府,孔林) where remarkably, more than seventy generations of his offspring were also buried. Arguably, Mencius (孟子) was Confucianism's true heir who further consolidated the way his Master's philosophies applied to the Chinese as well as adding valuable insights of his own. We took a local bus and travelled about an hour to the city of Zou Cheng (鄒城) where we visited the peaceful and solemn Mencius Temple and Mansion (孟廟, 孟府). The Mansion showcased the famous story of 孟母三遷 - how Mencius' mother moved their home three times (first away from a cemetery where Mencius imitated mourners, secondly away from the market where Mencius imitated shouting merchants and finally settled near a school where Mencius followed the behaviour of scholars).
登泰山而小天下 ! Tai Shan had been the mountain which we looked forward to climbing for a long time - grand, majestic, steeped in history and tough ! We arrived in the city of Tai An (泰安) which was nestled at the foot of and dwarfed by, Tai Shan, the day before the climb and found the city buzzling and modern. We ventured into the temple (岱廟) where past emperors paid tributes to Tai Shan in elaborate ceremonies and the atmosphere in the temple was very special and solemn as the ground was planted with hundreds of ancient cypress trees (松柏), some dating back to 2,000 years ! However much we had prepared ourselves, the climb up Tai Shan was definitely one of the toughest mountain work-outs we had experienced in China ! Basically 4 hours of solid cardio-exercises up more than 10,000 steep steps. We were rewarded with views of some magnificent stone carvings, neat and cute rest stops and cafes along the way, as well as the daunting vista of the famous 18 Turns (十八盤) and finally a complete birds' eye view at the very top - 玉皇頂. Although Tai Shan stood only at about 1,700 meters, the mountain air at the top was crisp and cool; we enjoyed our picnic lunch before trekking back down from 玉皇頂 and reached Tai An at 4P.M. to the welcome sight of the public bus waiting for us to take up back to enjoy a bottle of the famed Tai Shan Original Brew - best consumed fresh before the 7-days expiry period (泰山原漿啤酒), what a day !
