museum on the street.

another scene at Lee Tung Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong

if you want to study the history of a city, the best to do, other than spending days and nights at the library to read thru books is to visit it, walk the streets, taste the local food, study the buildings in the vicinity. well...this is how you would do when you visit any European cities. The buildings define the character and stand as a silent witness to the history of a city.

on the other hand, to catch up with time, it is also inevitable to redevelop the city especially when the pace of the economy is moving so fast...

hang on, is that really the case?

can the preservation of the city fabric coexists with the new developments?

Disappearing City

always wonder why do we need to tear down so much of our old district. from the economic perspective, this might be the easiest way of getting revenues for the government. the people were furious with the tax increase, value added tax...and the politicians went hysterical when the slight mention of the cutting of social benefits was heard...now there is a limitation as to how the government can generate revenues for all the social expenses, and one such way is to sell off land to the developers, thereby receiving land premium in return, creating more jobs by demolishing what is there, and building something entirely new through the employment of different trades of the construction industry. Of course, even if the selling off of the land is inevitable, the government can still organise architectural competitions in order to find the best solution based on a design perspective rather than purely from the financial point of view.

on the other hand, when we are complaining why the government has to tear down one after another old city fabric, we also have to ask ourselves, are we prepared to do more?

you can not create something out of nothing, it is about how much you are willing to trade.

***fictional writing below***

another sleepless night...

for weeks, the city has been under a blanket of haze, whether these were the result of consecutive days of high humidity or an omen of things to come, i did not know.

days ago, found this letter inside the mailbox addressed to a former occupant of the apartment i stayed. yes, a real letter! these days, what one would normally find in the mailbox were only bills that you ought to pay months ago, promotion leaflets telling you how slim you ought to, or from apparent charitable organization demanding you to pay up in order to save lives from the third world (only that if they didn't print the leaflets in colour, God knows how much they would have saved!). so to find a letter in the post box with handwritten writings came as a surprise.

there were a few things peculiar with this letter. First of all, the letter was addressed to, as mentioned, a former occupant of the apartment, which to my knowledge, was a loner for most of his life, and most important of all, was assumed dead years ago. I had limited deatils of the story, but rumours has it that during a trip to the mountains, he fell off the cliff, and nobody heard from him since...and that was twenty years ago. the other intersting aspect of this letter was that it did not have the sender's name but only an address. the address was in an old part of the city, deserted many months ago, and waiting to be taken down. yet, the postmark was recent, and more importantly, i have not seen handwriting of such calligraphic quality for a long time. if you held the envelope close enough, you could almost smell the distinctive character of the ink. and while doing so, there was the presence of a slight hint of light, ever so faint, but sweet perfume.

with the envelope in hand, i pondered on what to do with this. to send it back to the post office would only mean throwing it into the incinerator as it was a known fact that those building were to be torn down soon.

i decided to pay a visit to this place.

grabbed my torch and overcoat, i left my apartment in the middle of the night...

the day the clock stopped

on 12th November 2006, after serving for almost half a century, the Star Ferry Pier was to be closed down, soon to be demolished and make way for new roads, more commercial ventures.

while not trying to deal with the political issues here, there's always the question of whether the demolition can be avoided, and instead of an entirely new project, like our counterparts in the rest of the world, maintain part of the structure, and transform it to some other use. Financially, the startup cost would definitely be more, but it is exactly these city fabric that defines the character of our city, and in many overseas examples, they become some very succesful self-sustaining projects.

a trip on the Ferry was always a nice break from the chaotic city life, and to some, almost an everyday habit. now that the new pier, modeled in a very much "fake" exterior, is shifted so far out, its significance to the city and its dwellers will never be the same.

more photos can be found in our http://www.flickr.com/photos/adlab/ site.

passing of the Firedragon

despite living in Hong Kong for more than 30years, quite poorly informed of the local customs during traditional festive seasons. one such is the firedragon dance in Tai Hang, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong during the mid-Autumn Festival.
there's this huge dragon, carried by dozens of strong men, meandering through the streets of Tai Hang.
found some info from the Hong Kong Tourism Board here. but as usual, very superficial and lack substance.
the atmosphere was good, and it's good to see there's still so many people out to witness such an event that apparently has been passed on for over a century.

the roar of the engine

the main purpose for our trip to Shanghai was for the F1, and largely due to Michael Schumacher's last appearance in the Shanghai Circuit as a F1 driver before his retirement. whether he is the greatest driver of all times remains debatable, but his presence undoubtedly add plenty of drama in the motorsport.
It was our first time to any F1 circuit, and for the Shanghai circuit, it's about one hour drive from the city centre. we did not get our tickets before coming to the city, and it was quite lucky that the hotel managed to secure a pair of tickets for us eventually at the original price.
the price? really quite expensive, almost 3 times than a ticket to the 1st round World Cup...

expecting the venue to be full of souvenir shops and eating outlets. yes, they had it, only that perhaps even the organiser did not expect a literal full house, the food ran out before the event began. we only managed to grab a few bottles of softdrinks before entering the spectator stand.
the tickets we got for the mainstand was perhaps the closest one can get to the track. Our first time to see the F1 cars in such close proximity, and whats even more pulsating was the deafening roar of the V8 engines!!!

the anticipating crowds played a crucial part in the game. supporters from the Renault and the Ferrari teams were each waving their huge flags. All dressed in either blue or red, it was a race that was crucial to Ferrari in catching up with the current race leader. (of course we know now who's the champion)

Schumacher won in the end after a hard fought battle.
a truly inspiring race!
never give up, as long as the race is still on, there's always a chance.

single move, millions follow

Shanghai, at night, quite a lot of place to hang around to spend your seconds and money. so, Shanghai is probably one of the richest city in China, and definitely one with the most amount of construction in recent years. However, while there are brand name flagship stores here and there, just round the corner, one can find a local noddle shop selling a bowl of noddle in five yuans. maybe most cosmopolitan cities are like this, an almost schzophrenic phenomenon, the richest and the poorest coexist in a not so harmonious way.

the night we were in Shanghai was the night before the Shanghai F1 Gran Prix. Half expected the city would be filled with motor racing fanatics or tourist from all over the world, after having a hairy crab meal, we went down to the Xin Tian di area for a stroll, a very tourist spot where one can mostly see non-chinese customers. down the road, across the street was an official Ferrari Store. went in, took a look, got out without casting another glance - a thousand yuan for a polo t-shirt!!! yet, there were dozens of customers inside, picking the right merchandize, more than ready to dig into their pockets.

need a drink, and not far from it on ma-dang road was this place that shone like a crystal in the dark. Liuligongfang Museum, no windows visible and only a small entrance on its side, mysterious yet tempting. we went in without a second thought.

saturday night, and for this place of such size, the were only 2-3 tables with customers. right, the drinks were not cheap, iced lemon tea can set you back for almost a hundred yuan, but if it's here, there ought to be a customer base, a market, in order for it to survive. but throughou t our two hours stay at the place, the servers definitely outnumbered the served.

nice interior, couldn't have done it better myself. the place was a museum by day, and a bar by night, showcasing hundreds pieces of Liuli - the art of glass.

not a place to miss too, inside the toilet. multiple reflections when one is attending one's private business.

single move, millions follow!

Shanghai, Art Biennale

during the month of October this year, we took a short trip to Shanghai for the weekend. was my first visit to the city, amazed by the number of highrise in the city, the amount of good food available, the price of how some of the restaurants were charging...but best of all, it was time for the 6th Shanghai Art Biennale.

some wonderful works by local chinese and international art community.

still have rooms for improvement, but is already an eye opener.

farewell, berlin, farewell, WorldCup 2006!

Italy became the champion; Zidane got sent off in possibly the most controversial way; Klinsman led Germany to 2nd runner up, none could have predicted that before the tournament; England once again flopped...

a successful tournament all in all, looking forward to the 2010 South Africa World Cup!!!

here ends our trip to Germany, phew! time to move on.

mitte, Berlin

in what was the former East Germany, Mitte has come a long way since the unification of the 2 countries.
lined with designer shops, cafes, bars and interesting inner courtyards, this area worth at least a few days of exploration, and definitely not during a Worldcup when one's mind was still pondering on who entered the last 16!

managed to find some interesting links to this area:

http://uinic.de/berlin-mitte/en/index.html

as it was effectively the last full day of our trip in Germany, we only managed to spend a short few hours in the district which did not do the place justice, before rushing off to Postdamer Platz again for the live coverage of the final group game of France.

give us another reason for revisiting Berlin in the future...

neighbourhood playground

even in a cosmopolitan city like Berlin, there are parks and playgrounds almost everywhere. spoke with a German friend, and it appears that the German governement is doing a lot to help developing the kids. if you look at the innovativetoys still being produced today, products from Germany still top the list. (No, we are not talking about video game consoles! that is a totally different category!)

looking at a playground next to the hotel where we stayed, most of the structures were built and finished with the most natural form of materials, timber. there's no hi-tech swings, or mechanical fittings, but just the good old treehouse with planks and walks, fashioned in a high adventure setting. and there's no safety matting, but just sand, foilage, or cork.

your kids won't learn unless they have a few bumps and scratches, fall to the ground and learn to pick themselves up again.

deutsches historisches museum - I.M.Pei

The museum is housed in the Berlin "Zeughaus", or the arsenal, the oldest building on Unter den Linden. Not only has it an extensive assortments of artefacts detailing the German History, it also has a vast collection of weaponeries, from the early ages through to the 2nd Worldwar. Through the courtyard in centre leads to the new extension, completed in 2004, designed by chinese born, american architect I.M.Pei.

Nice use of materials and manipulation of space.

but, somehow found the public space inside this extension, largely for circulation and waiting, was more impressive than the actual exhibition space inside. which brought the question of which is serving and which is served...

the winding staircase, with its transparent enclosure, was a nice touch to the exterior elevation, but to me, its purpose remains a mystery...

United Buddy Bears in Berlin

on unter den Linden, not only were there the Deutsche Guggenheim Gallery, Staatsbibliothek, the Neue Wache, the Zeughaus, but also tons of Buddy Bears at the Bebelplatz.

there were altogether 142 of them, from different country, painted differently, and have travelled as far as Hong Kong and Tokyo back in 2004 and 2005.

more info on www.buddy-bear.com

quoting from the inside cover page of the special publication for this event:

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding." - Albert Einstein

sunset in Berlin

at the time of writing, the trip to Berlin was already five months ago, but the images i saw, the taste of the food, and the smell of the air, still hangs vividly at the back of my head. seems so near, yet so far.

any experience is memorable because there comes a time when the trip ends, the break overs, and it's time to return to the more routine daily life. but it is exactly because of its limited duration that we would treasure it. when you can have everything you want, there is nothing more you want...

the dinner at the Tele-Cafe was at a surprisingly reasonable price, quite a contrary to what i would expect from a tourist destination. the view was stunning, as the cafe provides a panoramic view in a revolving movement.

only another full day left in Germany before bidding farewell!

Fernsehturm revisited.

very much the one and only landmark you can not miss in Berlin. after leaving the museum island, it was getting late, and although the sun was still not set, after a day's walk of some of the greatest museum, it's time to sit down and have a proper dinner. better still if we could catch the setting sun at Berlin.
the metal sphere was only like this during the WorldCup, at other times, it's simply a sphere with steel cladding.
took us about another half an hour or so on foot to reach here while passing the Alexanderplatz on the way.

Pergamonmuseum - Ishtar Gate

Its name owes to the housing of the famous Pergamon Altar in the main hall. This museum is separated into three independent collections including those of the Greeks & Romans, the museum of Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of Islamic Art, results of German extensive archaeological expeditions during the 19th and the early 20th century.

It was quite amazing how could works of such immense scale could travel so long a distance and rest finally here in Berlin. In particular, the Ishstar Gate from Babylon really was an exhibit that one must not miss.

Babylon, a city which once stood in the present day Iraq, was considered one of the most important civilization in ancient history. The hanging garden of Babylon is still being regarded as one of the Seven wonder of the world.

But another piece of history which is probably even more well known was the Tower of Babel - man's attempt in equalling the power of God. while not trying to get too religious here, the reaching of the heavens, or the playing the role of God are not something that is too unfamiliar to us in present days. With advancement in genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, cloning...aren't we, in a unified sort of way, trying to create the Tower of Babel in a way?

Just one side note: for an exhibit as important as this, the exhibition hall was surprisingly bare, and lack proper consideration in bringing out the essence of the Ishtar Gate. I was thinking, if only I could be the designer for the hall, can i do it with greater effect?

a break for lunch.

after leaving behind the Altes Museum, it was already after two in the afternoon, and knowing that we will only have time to visit one more museum for the day, as we walked along the am Kupfer-Graben, we stopped by an Italian restaurant just before reaching the Pergamon Museum and had our lunch.

as said earlier, it seemed that while you were in Berlin, it's way easier to find italian cuisine rather than authentic German food.

Altes Museum

right in front of the lustgarten, the Altes Musuem holds collection of Greek & Roman antiquities, and is a piece of beautiful neo-classical building, with an overwhelming portico held up by 18 Ionic columns.
the bronze figures of Castor and Pollux are featured at the corners of the central building.

Neues Museum

during our visit in the summer, the Neues Museum was under a large scale renovation. heard on the news a few days ago it was officially reopened in November. the renovated museum will have on display collection of Egyptian Art and of those from early history.
incidentally, stumbled onto a site on Museums+Collections which has some useful information on the museums in Berlin.

o, Nefertiti, will come and pay you a visit the next time we visit Berlin again!

Alte Nationalgalerie - the gods

there were many pieces of scultptures worth writing about, but to do so will take months to do it, and what's better than go and visit it yourself? so we shall keep the description of the place to a minimum, and hopefully, our pictures and writings are good enough to arouse your interest at the place.

this sculpture was located near the entrance to the galerie, and with so many to see but so little time (we later found out that apart from a full ticket which allows you to go inside all the museums located on the museum island, there's also another ticket which allows you to visit the place over 3 days, which if you have the time, is definietly worth buying), we skipped the description.

but who can he be?

the eagle, and the God-like character who's chained to a rock, looking up at heaven with a sign of defiant?

who else other than the great Prometheus?

Alte Nationalgalerie

completed in 1876, this building housed a collection of fine arts, particularly of the German Romantic Period as well as some of the finest collection of 19th century sculptures.

One important work is "The Island of the Dead" by Arnold Bocklin which was located on the upper floors. standing there staring at it, there's a mysterious force seemingly pulling one from reality to the picture world, all is silent, except the sound made by the boat gliding through the dark, placid water, signalling an ominous destiny.


what lies ahead? there was not a clue except the distant cries from ravens deep in the woods...