ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Five Natural Wonders in a Dynastic Country

ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Five Natural Wonders in a Dynastic Country

By Jorge Jefferds September 25, 2015

You may be so used to national parks, especially if you live in the Woods or in the countryside. China has national parks too, 225 in total! They cover both scenic and historic preservation areas. Here you will concentrate on five China’s top scenic national parks, featuring outstanding scenery and reputation.

1. Wulingyuan National Park — Zhangjiajie’s Precipitous Pillars

It is considered the only one of China’s national parks to make it to a top-in-the-world list. It features some awesome towering geology, alongside rich wildlife. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park makes up most of it, alongside Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. Its inspiration for the floating rocks in Avatar has added to its fame.

Popular activities: hiking, mountain climbing, photography, and rafting.

Access: From Zhangjiajie take a bus or private transport 1 hour north to Wulingyuan. From there hike or take local transport on park roads.

Suitable for: adventurous hikers with enough to tire the fitter.

Best time(s) to visit: October is the best month, with cooler temperatures and fall foliage; but for summer activities like rafting, you’d better go in the early summer to beat the rain.

Popularity: Expect crowds at the major view points in the peak seasons. Otherwise there’s moderate to low visitor concentration.

Facilities: Two cableways, an elevator, and electric cart; farm houses and small tourist shops provide food and snacks inside the park.

Accommodation: The best hotels are in Zhangjiajie, but there are some good hotels in Suoxiyu and the west gate. Farmers’ guesthouses inside the park can be quite rudimentary.

Entry fee: about $40. 

2. Jiuzhaigou National Park — Multicolored Mountain Lakes

Jiuzhaigou (‘Nine-Village Valley’) National Park is famous for its colorful lakes in high-altitude valleys, with waterfalls, snowy peaks, forested slopes, and Tibetan villages. It’s a classic national park.

Popular activities: hiking, photography, marveling at lakes, and reflected mountains.

Access: Flight or 8-hour bus ride from Chengdu; then 50 km of good park roads are plied by buses and hikers.

Suitable for: All who can tolerate mountain bus journeys will enjoy it. Altitudes over 3,000 m in the upper valleys shouldn’t trouble very fit hikers; others should be prepared to take it easy.

Best time(s) to visit: The fall colors reflected in the lakes is when the park is at its prettiest. Winter is harsh there, and travel is unadvisable.

Popularity: Avoiding the Chinese holiday crowds (especially Oct. 1–7), when the park in overrun, it is still difficult to get away from tourists at the main speak times.

Facilities: good valley roads, guest houses, and Tibetan-family-run shops/eateries.

Accommodation: Better hotels outside the park gate; much simpler guest houses inside.

Entry fee: around $50 (not including $12 for a 2-day bus pass)

3. Guilin Li River National Park, Guangxi — Karst Landscapes

More than a scenic area, with not much of a national park feeling, the Li River National Park has no entrance, and fee to get in. It covers the 80-km (50-mile) stretch of river between Guilin, and Yangshuo, bounded by classic sheer karst hills, which have inspired many a poem and ink painting.

Top features: Nine Horse Fresco Hills, Yellow Cloth Shoal, 20-Yuan-Bill Hill, and Xingping Ancient Town.

Popular activities: cruises, hiking, photography, and hill climbing.

Access: from Guilin, take a Li River cruise, or visit villages along the river by mountain/rural roads.

Suitable for: anyone who can take a cruise or vehicle to see this amazing limestone and water scenery.

Best time(s) to visit: summer for misty peak views after the rain; fall for drier, cooler weather.

Popularity: Immensely popular, dozens of tour boats ply the river daily, but you can find quieter villages, and hills to enjoy relative peace.

Facilities: Cruise boats serve lunch buffet. Bamboo rafts are another choice to see the river; Guilin and Yangshuo offer everything from Western food to local specialties, while farmer restaurants along the river provide simple local fare.

Accommodation: Hotels in Guilin and Yangshuo are the mainstay with several price ranges. However, more modest lodging is offered in Xingping, and other riverside resorts.

Entry fee: none 

4. Lijiang Yulong Xueshan National Park — with Tiger Leaping Gorge

Yulong Xueshan (‘Jade Dragon Snow Mountain’ 5,596m or 18,360 ft) National Park includes the popular hiking route Tiger Leaping Gorge on its west side. The mountain has glaciers and a small ski resort, and the Yangtze thunders north in the gorge, one of the deepest and most spectacular in the world.

Popular activities: hiking, photography; glaciers viewing, yaks, and snowy peaks.

Access: The gate is 15 km north of central Lijiang. Trams go up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) where the glacier park is situated, and to other mountain sights. Take the G214 to 40 km (25 mi) north of Lijiang to access 30-km-long Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Suitable for: The gorge hike is strenuous, but enjoyable for those of normal fitness. A trip up the mountain, especially with physical exertion, should be considered with caution, due to altitude sickness, especially at Glacier Park.

Best time(s) to visit: February to June is the best time frame to visit the snow mountain.

Popularity: you can visit Yunnan all year round, but avoid the Chinese holiday crowds (especially Oct. 1–7).

Facilities: Tiger Leaping Gorge is well-developed for hiking visitors with plenty of shops and hostels. Trams, oxygen, and the usual range of day-visit facilities are available on Yulong Mountain.

Accommodation: good hostels on the gorge hiking route, and plenty of hotels in Lijiang.

Entry fee: The Snow Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge are entered separately. $30 for snow mountain (entry ticket and environmental car are included), $12 for Tiger Leaping Gorge. 

5. Huangshan National Park — the Legendary Yellow Mountains

Surrounded by myths of ancient immortals, the Yellow Mountains have some bizarrely charming geomorphology. Compact and complex, this National Park has it all in a small area. There are peaks to climb, gorges to hike, and ethereal sights to see.

Top features: the seas of clouds, bizarre rocks like ‘Monkey Watching the Sea’, and strange pines like Welcoming Guest Pine.

Popular activities: trekking the mountain paths, photography, gazing out over the swirling mists and island-like peaks, and getting up before dawn to see the sun rise.

Access: 3 hours by coach from Hangzhou, or 1 hour from Huangshan to the main gate; there are taxis in the park to take you to the cableways. From there, you have to go on foot along narrow concrete paths, and steps.

Suitable for: Avoiding the steepest climbs and the long hikes, most of the top sights are accessible even by those of low fitness.

Best time(s) to visit: Summer provides the best weather, but a crowded season; winter is beautiful and peaceful, but treacherous underfoot and closed in places. The intermediate seasons offer a compromise.

Popularity: Crowds peak in the summer, when the narrowest passes become queuing places, as lines of tourists march up and down alternately, and Welcoming Guest Pine becomes clogged with hundreds trying to snap themselves in front of it.

Facilities: Three cableways, including Asia’s longest funicular and a monorail provide access from every side. The mountainside is well-signed. There are plentiful semi-expensive restaurants, and shops. There’s a hot-spring spa at the mountain foot.

Accommodation: The mountain-top hotels offer everything from four-star dormitories, all at least twice the price of those at the mountain bottom. An overnight stay is recommended to catch the dawn and to save time going up and down.

Entry fee: about $40 in peak season, $25 in low season, not including cableways or monorail. 

 

ART JOURNEY: The Chinese Power Station

ART JOURNEY: The Chinese Power Station

By Jorge Jefferds September 22, 2015

Established on Oct. 1st, 2012, the Power Station of Art (PSA) is the first state-run museum dedicated to contemporary art in mainland China. It is also home to the Shanghai Biennale. Standing tall by Shanghai’s mother river, the Huangpu River, PSA now occupies an area of 42-thousand square meters. With an internal height of 27 meters, the museum now houses exhibition sections that add up to 15-thousand square meters, and its 165-meter chimney, being an independent exhibition space. Furthermore, it has become an integral part of Shanghai’s world-famous skyline.

The Power Station of Art - Shanghai

Renovated from the former Nanshi Power Plant, PSA was once the Pavilion of Future during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The museum has not only witnessed the city’s vast changes from the industry age to the IT era, but also provided a rich source of inspirations for artists with its simple yet straightforward architectural styles. And as Shanghai’s generator for its new urban culture, PSA regards non-stopping innovation and progress as the key to its long-term vitality. The museum has been striving to provide an open platform for the public to learn and appreciate contemporary art, break the barrier between life and art, and promote cooperation and knowledge generation between different schools of art and culture.

The Museum Interiors with An Exhibition

Currently, there are two important exhibitions you might enjoy on your visit:

Copyleft Appropriation Art in China (Aug 15 – Nov 15)

In contemporary society, the phenomenon of Shanzhai - “copycat” - pervades every sphere, and plagiarism never ends. When we look back at the origins of Chinese contemporary art, the accusation that it worships the West incessantly lingers; when we reflect on the development of Chinese classical art, we may see that relentless imitation of predecessors is the label that has been commonly placed on Literati painting especially since the late Qing Dynasty. In light of these facts, one can’t help but wonder: what is the real reason the Western “appropriation” approach seems to fit China so particularly well? Are Chinese really what Westerners accuse us of being - disrespectful of copyright, with no sense of innovation? Are the current phenomena of Shanzhai and artistic plagiarism in China related to the tradition of Linmo - copying - that has historically existed in Chinese art? If Westerners can make attempts at total “appropriation” with no concern for copyright, why can’t Chinese practice Shanzhai, which at least involves making changes to the original work? Will an excess of reproduction and reproduced works affect the continued creative progress of art? The exhibition proposes the concept of “Appropriation Art in China” for the first time. The curator expanded and altered the Western concept of appropriation art, integrating appropriation, Linmo and Shanzhai with the intention of elaborating a concept of “Appropriation Art in China” that links the past with the present. Appropriation art in China, then, consists of at least three phenomena: Linmo, which is related to Chinese traditional art; appropriation, which is related to modern art and the contemporary art of the West; and Shanzhai, which has connections to contemporary society. By looking at the creative practices related to these phenomena within Chinese contemporary art, and by discussing the interactions between different approaches to artistic production and new technologies and materials; repetition and creativity or originality; intellectual property and the sharing and inheritance of knowledge, the curator attempt to render apparent the differences between the Chinese and Western concepts of appropriation.

Sou Fujimoto: Futures of the Future (Oct 10 – Oct 30)

Sou Fujimoto is a young architect at the forefront of the next generation and explore the possibilities of architecture in the future through looking closely into his practice. Having taken on more than 100 projects including houses and public buildings, Fujimoto has remained aware and repeatedly grappled with the state of people and spaces, and their relationships to the city. He has tried to create new spaces with residential designs such as House N and Tokyo Apartment, or facility designs such as Musashino Art University Museum & Library and Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013, steadily embodying his own ideas. 

By examining Fujimoto's major projects of the past as well as those that are currently underway, the exhibition introduces the architect's ideas and production process, and suggests the potential of architecture in the future. The gallery presents around a hundred models of the architect's past and current projects. And by tracing the changes in the spaces that Fujimoto has created, visitors can follow his wide range of ideas. The events promise to be a thinking experiment in which Fujimoto reevaluates architecture from the ground up and suggests various possibilities for its future.

Born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1971, Fujimoto graduated from the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1994, and established his own office, Sou Fujimoto Architects, in 2000. Among his major works are Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2013 (London, England, 2013), House NA (Tokyo, Japan, 2011), Musashino Art University Museum & Library (Tokyo, Japan, 2011), and House N (Oita, Japan, 2008).
He has won countless awards including first prize in the Liget Budapest House of Hungarian Music International Design Competition (2014), the Wall Street Journal Architecture Innovator Award (2014), grand prize in the Montpellier International Design Competition (2014), the Golden Lion for his part in the Japan Pavilion in the 13th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale (2012), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Fellowship (2012), first place in the Taiwan Tower International Design Competition (2011), first place in the BetonHala Waterfront Center International Design Competition (2011), and the Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) Award (2008).

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, between 11 A.M. and 7 P.M. The admission is free, except for special exhibitions. 

 

RESTAURANT DESTINATION: Mr. and Mrs. Bund, a French Concept in Shanghai

RESTAURANT DESTINATION: Mr. and Mrs. Bund, a French Concept in Shanghai  

By Jorge Jefferds September 17, 2015

September 24^th is the date you have to book in one of the most exclusive restaurants of Shanghai. The event is called “Bingo Night Fever.” For those human owls, Mr. and Mrs. Bund offers a Late Night Dinner every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from 11pm until the last order taken at 2am. The promotion invites to participate in a nibble, a tipple, and perhaps even some dance.

The owner is a French Chef. His name is Paul Pairet. He describes his place as contemporary, relaxed, and not stuffy. Without sacrificing the chic touch, they target populist French favorites in a family-styled service, recasting for a modern table.

“We riff on classical comfort cuisine,” Paired recalls. “And life's too short to drink wine you don't like.”

But finding your personal crank-turners isn't always easy; wine lists can be intimidating. They get that, and are overhauling the norm. Enabled by the latest in wine service technology, Mr. & Mrs. Bund offers 32 lovingly picked wines "by the glass" – each in three sizes – so you can sip, savor (and switch) as you please, when you please. Spoiled by choice? It's a good thing.

Main Entrance to the Restaurant

While their approach to wine may be in a freer spirit, the cocktails in the menu are greatly mixed with classics from the house specials. Authentic, gorgeous, and solid – those drinks are another perfect way to get spoiled.

Chef Paul Pairet is a culinary egalitarian. Whether using tinned sardines to produce sophisticated, avant-garde fine dining, or the simplest of French and global dishes, he approaches both with an equal lack of prejudice and unbiased opinion.
Pairet came to Shanghai in 2005 to open Jade on 36 at the Pudong Shangri-La. In three short years, he staked out an international reputation for his highly personal and completely original cuisine: often exaggerated, highly technical plays on texture, temperature, and preconceived expectations. 

Beef Short Rib with Teriyaki Sauce

Mr. & Mrs. Bund is a different expression of Paul's passion. The theme here is simplicity and popularity, a democratic flourish that embraces the foods of the world. Viewed casually, Mr. & Mrs. Bund's populist formula seems a radical departure from the sophisticated, avant-garde cuisine, for which Pairet has been known. But at its heart is a unique democracy of vision, an undercurrent that unites the two. Pairet is adamant about the equality of ingredients, looking at them for what they are, devoid of context, as opposed to what they might be, an approach he terms "the newborn's eye". He insists that a canned sardine is not in any way "worse" than a fresh one, nor are truffles intrinsically more suited to fine dining than Coca-Cola. All of them can be found in his cooking, at various occasions.
In the same spirit, his daring avant-gardism is no "better" than the populist simplicity of Mr. & Mrs. Bund. In one, the technical theater is on the plate; in the other, it is a means to an end, a new approach that results in inspired renditions of old favorites, perhaps with a twist.

Chilean Black Cod

Some of the dishes that impress the finest palate are the Chilean black cod and the Hainan seabass.

The Chilean black cod is served in three different stylish choices: in heat proof bag with Cantonese sauce, sauté in lemon with olive oil, or lightly marinated with mashed potatoes. The Hainan seabass is steamed with olive oil, lemon, soy, ginger, and basil.

Frog legs in garlic parsley is a traditional Chinese recipe Mr. & Mrs. Bund could not leave absent from their cuisine.  

Seared turbot came from the North Atlantic, and is served sauté in lemon with croutons, asiate, and capers.

Long short rib Teriyaki roasted, and in orange reduction.

There is a great selection of tarts, gateaux, homemade ice cream, sorbets, and entremets.
Mr. and Mrs. Bund is located on the sixth floor of an Art Deco building overlooking the Huangpu River.