Friday, July 10, 2009

China Folk Culture Villages (Shenzhen)

Now after Window of the World, you must be thinking: "Jeez, that's a lot of photos. Hope I don't have to go through that again."

Or "Man, those Chinese sure can copy anything."

Well, sorry to inform you. I have more photos, better than ever, in fact, 200 over of them. Ho Ho... (am I trying to break the most photos ever posted in a single entry record or what?)

And this time, Chinese has done its best yet again...


By copying themselves.


Introducing.... China Folk Culture Villages.

china folk culture villages


Another theme park dedicated to reproducing all the best attractions in China, showcasing architectures and daily lives of the 56 ethnic groups in China.

I did wonder why they didn't name it Cultural Village instead of Culture Villages. Oh well, whatever they want it to be called.

china folk culture villages map 1
Map 1


china folk culture villages map 2
Map 2


Let's start with waking up really really early in the morning again.

cupping face
Grumpy look


me on bus on third day
Ipod makes me happy


We arrived at the Culture Villages with sunshine moods.

entrane to china folk culture villages


It was Chinese New Year when we visited the park, hence the place was full of Chinese festivities.

dragon at entrance
Dragon at the entrance


dragon


floor fountain


tang longs on trees
Tang Long everywhere


When I went down the stairs, I was greeted with girls with their skirts up in my face.

flower dances


It was the year of the OX, and a morning performance was going on.

dances


Considering they're Oxes, they're pretty skinny to be one, or two.

cny cowmen


nicolekiss and cowman


And weird tall-ish guy dancing the finale away.

day performance


Shortly after the performance, we were given time to roam freely around.

Few things you could find here in a park that showcase all things Chinese.

First! You have, but none other than... Giant Size Chess.

sitting at stone chess table


Ok, so not all Chess are huge, but this one below is.

human size chess


Chinese do love their chess. Soon there was crowds coming in splitting in two parties to play chess against each other.

public playing chess
The kid was the chess mover. lol. what a way to use your kids.


I sneakily stole a run to the centre of the Chess paper to take this photo.

making a move


Next, Calligraphy!

Another undeniably Chinese signature culture.

wet calligraphy of dragon


This guy was so amazing that to draw calligraphy, all he needed was water and a human size brush with sponge attached at one end.

Watch the video to see him in action.




sifu writing calligraphy on floor


calligraphy of horse
Dragon.


wet  calligraphy of hourse checker
Horse. (I do wonder how he ever draw such a perfect circle)


Third. Go game! Or also known as Wei Qi in Mandarin: 围棋

black white checkers


I learnt how to play this game from the comic: King of Wei Qi.
But know naught of the strategy of how to win it. -.-

nicole playing checkers


black checkers


placing black checker
Pretending to know how to play.


Then there's the famous Handmade Candy of Animals.

animal sugar candy for sale


I don't know about you, but Chinese can do almost anything with their hands. Producing the most exquisite and delicate piece of art or food that would normally take ages for an average human to complete.

Here's a video of the making in process.




Amazing hand movement wasn't that?

bowl of hot sugar


Following that you place a stick on the dragon candy,

letting it to dry


Tuck it in nicely.

sticking stick to hot dragon candy


Then peal it off with your spatula.

drawing dragon candy


Voila! A fierce and fresh dragon candy done!

little boy taking new dragon candy


RMB 10 please.

I opted for candy floss instead.

eating candy floss


Quite big don't you think?

nicole with candy floss
Bigger than my head


Soon it was time for the afternoon performance. There are to be three performances that day. :D

costumes of the mainland china minorities 3


The second performance was a showcase of all the costumes from different ethnicity around China.

costumes of the mainland china minorities 2


Most of which were really pretty. Especially when they were worn by delicately picked beautiful Chinese women.

costumes of the mainland china minorities


The final costume was a gown worn by the empress of a certain dynasty (which I am not sure).

beautiful final performer


If there was one documentary display of the beauty of China, this has to be it. Malaysia should learn such skill from China.

But then again, who could compete with China when it comes to showing off ones grand-ness. Beijing Olympics 2008 proved so.


Finally, now comes the Window of the World - China version.

entering the cultural village park


On the right side of the park (according to the map) was a walk through on the replicas of China's most impressive attractions.

some houses of the mainland minorities
Not sure what this was though.


Phew, ok guys, let's start.

frown puppy eye
I know, long way to go!


First I want to bring you to Szechuan.

nicole and leshan grand buddha statue 3


nicole and leshan grand buddha statue 2


Where a great Buddha statue situates, called the Leshan Grand Buddha Statue.

leshan grand buddha statue


Seeing that I've never been to the north of China, I can let imagination depicts the size of said statue.

nicolekiss and leshan grand buddha statue


Down in Yunnan, you will find the Dwellings of the Bai Nationality. (translation: white people)

dwellings of the Bai nationality people


nicolekiss and houses of the Bai nationility

Doesn't it make you wonder why these people are called so?


Then there was the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu in Chengdu, Szechuan.

the thatched cottage of Du Fu sign


Why it was translated as Cottage I have no idea, because the place looks nothing like the size of a cottage, nor a large cottage at that.

the thacted cottage of Du Fu


It looks more like a mansion on its own.


Halfway walking, I spotted a tree which has this sign next to it.

osmanthus memorial tree sign


Now for people how read my blog religiously enough would know that I love Osmanthus tea. Especially after my visit to Shanghai.

But never have I known how the tree looks like.

osmanthus memorial tree


I always thought it would be more of a bush than such a big tree. I tried smelling the leaves but it doesn't smell anything like that it tasted after it's dried and soaked in hot water.

The next attraction was familiar to me. I didn't need a sign to tell me what it was for I have seen the actual thing myself.

It's the Elephant Rock in Guilin.

guilin elephant stone


Not this kind of elephant rock.

tiny elephants


Next, we'll fly to Chong Qing, Hu Bei to cruise along the Yangtze River Gorges.

yangtze river sign


Three gorges combined forming a picturesque view,

yangtze river replica


even as a replica.

nicolekiss and mini yangtze river


From the Tang Dynasty comes the Yue Yang Tower.

yue yang tower sign


A historical tower that lasted through Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties till this day.

yue yang tower


It was also once compiled into an essay by famous poet Fan Zhong Yan which made its existence famous.

nicolekiss sitting on yue yang tower


The next building was a significant one.

Maybe even legendary. One I will definitely want to visit one day, even if I have to transform into a boy.

shaolin temple entrance


shaolin temple sign


The Shaolin Temple of Henan province.

shaolin temple entrance side view


shaolin temple


Is there really a 18 bronze men inside the temple? Is there really legendary wise beyond human's wisdom monk inside? No one knows. We only ever heard it from movies and stories.

This is probably the closest I've ever gotten to the temple.

nicolekiss and shaolin temple

Wa cha!


Next is the Yellow Crane Tower, another famous-appeared-in-poems (and stories) tower. Located in Hubei.

yellow crane tower sign


yellow crane tower


miniature yellow crane tower


Yawn.

The next icon they conveniently transformed it into a public toilet.

cave toilet


lady walking out of cave toilet


Introducing, Huang Shan (directly translated to Yellow Mountain). Another historical and legendary icon in China (what is not in China *roll eyes*).

huangshan mountain sign


huang shan


huang shan 2

I was more excited about this mountain than the rest of the river and buildings because coming from a Chinese school, I read about the said mountain in a lot of poems and historical documentary I came across during high school.


huangshan mountain


They even replicated the stone on top.

huang shan close up


And even the famous tree on the Huang Shan.

replica tree on huangshan mountain


There's even a small waterfall next to it. Awee...

water fall replica


Looks like long-kang to me.

me and huangshan mountain


Nearby I was playing hide-and-seek with some flowers. :D

hiding behind flower


smile and flower


nicole and flower


The next icon I happened to come across before too, but never explored much.

The West Lake in Hangzhou.

west lake sign


A lake so big it looks like a sea.

autumn moon on calm lake, hangzhou zhejiang


That's how the proverb "Autumn Moon on Calm Lake" come about.

autumn moon on calm lake, hangzhou zhejiang sign


Man I can't stop laughing every time I read that. How they translate things. haha.

west lake


The ZheJiang is a long river that passed through West Lake, on another location you find a water village on ShaoXing.

water village in shaoxing, zhejiang sign


west lake houses


water village in shaoxing, zhejiang


water village in shaoxing, zhejiang 2


me and water village in shaoxing, zhejiang


Coming to Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, you will come to see the Hanshan (Cold Mountain) Temple.

hanshan temple 3


hanshan temple sign


I read about this place in the poem written by Zhang Xu.

hanshan temple


It does bring a lot of high school memories, seeing actual places from stories you've only read about when you were young. No wonder my mom loves visiting China, it reminded her a lot of when she was a kid.

me and hanshan temple


hanshan temple 4


hanshan temple 5


hanshan temple 2


If you know a Chinese proverb or two, you might heard of "Wen Ru Tai Shan" (or "As steady as the Mount Tai").

Mount Taishan sign


The proverb was due to its sheer size, ranked first among all the sacred mountains in China, Taishan has been used by many emperors of the past as a sacred place to pray to the gods.

me and Mount Taishan


me and Mount Taishan 2


Now the next one, even if you are a Chinese culture noob, you will hear of it anyway.

Because people stereotype him with Chinese. He is so popular, even Peter Russell made jokes about him.

Temple of Confucious sign


The temple (or monastery) of Confucius.

Temple of Confucius


Temple of Confucius 5


Temple of Confucious 2


Temple of Confucious 3


The man sure had made it.

Just look how big his place is. Though the temple was constructed over his original residence.

Temple of Confucius 6


Temple of Confucius 7


Temple of Confucius 8


Temple of Confucius 9


Temple of Confucius 10


me and Temple of Confucius


The guide pointed out an edge on the roof of Confucius temple which was famous for a proverb.

guide and Temple of Confucius


Which I forgot about it. Does anyone know what proverb is it?

roofs of Temple of Confucius


When taking this photo, I saw a little cute Chinese girl with her cute outfit walked by the temple.

kid and Temple of Confucius


Seriously, why are all Chinese babies all dressed so adorably.


Rushing off to the next location, I passed by the Minng Tombs.

The Minng Tombs sign


Which I shall skip quickly and let you read the sign yourself instead.

The Minng Tombs


We paid a visit to the Summer Palace next to the Minng Tombs.

summer palace in beijing sign


It seems to be located on a lake, accessible via a bridge.

army in summer palace in beijing 2


bridge to summer palace in beijing


summer palace in beijing 2


summer palace in beijing 3


summer palace in beijing


Too bad we couldn't get anywhere nearer than watching it from the other side of the lake, or pond in this case.


If you've realized, we've come to Beijing. And in Beijing, you find a lot of famous historical monument, royal architecture and garden, popular poet's houses. A large amount of reproductions originated from this city.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing sign


The Temple of Heaven for one. A sacred place where the Emporers of Ming and Qing Dynasties prayed to gods, which, btw, was a very grand and sacred event.


The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 2


The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 3


Hence a very, very, very big place.

me and The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 2


My brother's been there. And he said it was a really long walk in spite of it being just a place for praying.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 4


This circular wall is called a Hui Yin Qiang, if you place your ear to one side of the wall, you can hear other people speak on the other end of the wall. No one can hide any secret here, so they say.

Then we reached the actual praying platform

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 6


The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 7


There you see a mini emperor carrying out his prayer.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing 5


It's a long walk in from the entrance.

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing


me and The Temple of Heaven in Beijing


Then you'll find the Mausoleum of Li Bai (famous poet) next to the temple.

li bai masoleum


Located on a hill. To get there, you will need to climb a lot of stairs.

And I mean a lot.

li bai masoleum 2



Skipping Beijing for a bit, we walked past Ying Country, there you find a Pagoda called YingXian Wooden Pagoda.

YingXian Wooden Pagoda sign


YingXian Wooden Pagoda


Then also in Shanxi province, you should know about the famous Terra Cotta warriors in Xi'an.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses sign


Buried in the Qin Xi Huang Mausoleum.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses 4


Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses 3


Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses 5


It's amazing how they had carved out every single warrior and horse and reproduced the entire mausoleum.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses 2


Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses


emperor and Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses


No matter how small, it is amazing.

Here are a few photos of me camwhoring with a human size Terra Cotta Warrior.

me and Terra Cotta Warrior 4


me and Terra Cotta Warrior 3


me and Terra Cotta Warrior 2


me and Terra Cotta Warrior


Back to Beijing.

The content is getting better now.

Tell me. What else is famous in Beijing?

me in front of replica Tian An Men in Beijing


Heard of Tian An Men? (Gate of Heavenly Peace)

Tian An Men in Beijing sign


It's located on the southern part of Forbidden City. A gate actually.

river in front of Tian An Men in Beijing


mini people in front of Tian An Men in Beijing


Existing over 5 centuries and is one of the most substantial architecture ever.

Tian An Men in Beijing 2


Tian An Men in Beijing 3


Tian An Men in Beijing 4


me and Tian An Men Gate


Now what is Beijing without the Imperial Palace. The very one you see in every Qing Dynasty based Chinese TV series (or drama, or movie), though the palace was built in the Ming Dynasty.

The Imperial Palace sign


The Imperial Palace


me kissing The Imperial Palace


If you do watch any TV, you should know more of the interior of this palace than viewing it from here.

At the back lies the Imperial Garden, also built in the Ming Dynasty.

imperial garden sign


imperial garden


imperial garden 2


imperial garden 3


imperial garden 4


imperial garden 5


We're almost coming to an end.

Now the last final thing you have to see and experience in China, is the great wall of China.

And yes damn well they reproduce it.

Or sections of it.

JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China sign


These are the The JuYongGuan and Badaling sections.

JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China 4


me and mini Great wall of China


JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China


If I didn't know better, I thought this photo was pretty realistic.

JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China 2


JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China 3


Until I came into the picture.

me kicking JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China


me and mini JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China


Hehe...

me and JuYongGuan Pass and Badaling of Great Wall of China 2


Ok. Done with the most part of China. Now let's get off course of China. Like the Mongolia.

The Mausoleum of Chenghis Khan sign


Here you find the Mausoleum of Chenghis Khan, the ever ferocious ruler who founded Yuan Dynasty. (most also like to refer to him as Gengkhis Khan)

The Mausoleum of Chenghis Khan


The Mausoleum of Chenghis Khan 2

I managed to spot a broken wall on the replica. Haha.. so funny. Wonder if the real thing is also broken :p

broken wall on the replica The Mausoleum of Chenghis Khan


A typical Nadam Fair in Mongolia.

Nadam Fair in Inner Mongolia sign


mini houses Nadam Fair in Inner Mongolia


See the jubilee people on the road?

mongolians Nadam Fair in Inner Mongolia


Yep, they sure looked happy alright.

broken heads found in Nadam Fair in Inner Mongolia
Someone must've stepped on these guys' heads.


In XinQiang, you will find a Great Islamic Mosque.

great islamic mosque sign


So don't say China doesn't have great mosques. :)

great islamic mosque


Have anyone of you watched the movie Huan Zu Ge Ge?

When you heard Xin Qiang, did it remind you of the Fragrance Concubine that Emporer Qian Long once fell head over heels for?

Well, here is her Mausoleum.

the Abakh Hoja's Tomb in Kashar, Xin Jiang


the Abakh Hoja's Tomb in Kashar, Xin Jiang sign


All the way out in Gansu, stood a Jiayu Pass (a wall, or gate),

Jiayu Pass in Gansu, China


Jiayu Pass in Gansu, China sign


which was famous by its archictect. Why? Because some say such was his accuracy in design and calculation of such a perfect outpost, that by the time building was done, he count of bricks of over estimated by ONE.

ONE BRICK! can you believe it?!

me and Jiayu Pass in Gansu, China


Jiayu Pass wall in Gansu, China


Finally!! Our last building!

This one is located alllll the up in the mountains.

Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet 2


Where? Tibet of course.

Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet sign


The Potala Palace in Lhasa. (I thought I read Potato palace at first :p)

Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet 3


To get up there, you need days of trackings, and if you're not fit, don't even think about reaching your destination. Because air is thin up there and you might it difficult to breath, least to stay up there.

So I stayed below to take photos with a few Tibetans.

mini tibetans


But who knows, one day. One day I might have the chance to go up there. :D

me and Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet


See the horses running in the wilderness.

mini horses


Done! We've finished the park!

Let's have a family photo.

family photo at culture villages


I know, we're a tall family. Mom being the shortest. 5ft 5. Hehe.



But wait, aren't we forgetting something.

Oh right! The evening performance.

Haha. don't think I forget that.

Told you it's going to be a long entry. It's meant to tire you out.

As it is tiring me out now to type these. La la la...


But since most of you like photos. I shall go through this very quickly with just photos k?

perfomers in nude costumes
Introduction: Little girls in nude costumes


indigenious performers
Natives dancing


hip hop head spinner
Person doing hip hop move


rain on stage
started to rain


king and his war carriage
Emperor and his war carriage


string of performers
flamboyant costumes


beautiful flower perfomers
beautiful girls doing synchronized dance


dragon and kids
dragon and kids doing synchronized dance


white butterfly dancers
more beautiful girls


beautiful yellow performers
This time yellow beautiful girls


yellow performers before finale
oh look, pink butterflies join in the yellow and white butterflies


coming to finale
almost finishing


white and yellow human butterfliles 2
almost there


finale 2


Finale!!!

finale

What a great show. Everyone clap hand please.


The show, I would like to summarize, was really worth watching. I thoroughly enjoyed every piece of it. Especially the rain on the stage. It's real water, with real artificial river.

And now, god, it's time to sleep. I think my hands are going to wither from typing.

Night night everyone! Visit Shenzhen soon k!

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