LI WAN SQUARE
Morning on a work day.
Apparently it's usually much
busier and more crowded!
Morning on a work day.Apparently it's usually much
busier and more crowded!
I was asking Halley about fashionable areas in Guangzhou and she insisted I check this place out. It's where, she said, all Guangzhou's Trendy Youth hang out to worship The Latest Fashions!
Don't ask me whereabouts it is because the city is 1,455 square miles in size so I never know where I am ... but if you want to go there go first to Chen Family Ancestral Village and at the entrance ...
The Entrance!
... and then cross the road and walk straight down the tree-lined avenue ...
The Avenue!
... towards the highest buildings - you can't miss 'em; they're pink - in the distance.
It's a long hike (Halley said "But when I told you about this place, I expected you to catch a taxi!") but you pass a very pleasant Jade Market on the way which you otherwise would have missed ...
(actually it's really a
semi-precious stone market)
And then, when you reach the tall pink set of skyscrapers, you go into a sad-looking rundown skyscraper called Li Wan Plaza ...
"If this is a Square,
I want my money back!"
And you're thinking "Why on earth would Halley have sent me here?", but if you keep wandering through the maze of shops ...
Like these ones!
And this!
Love that sign!
... till you come to the other side, and voila! Li Wan Square:
This is clearly Guangzhou's attempt to become the new Ginza!
And, just like in Ginza, the fashion capital of Tokyo, there are McDonald's on two sides of the Square (note above) with enormous windows where you can watch the passing parade of Fashionistas!
These boys have grasped the concept!
However, although it's definitely and decidedly starting to happen, it isn't there yet! The Trendy Youth of Guangzhou still haven't grasped Ginza's high concept of Statement Dressing and Fantasy Dressing, and indeed both combined! These Trendoids all looked too straight and too nice:
However, Guangzhou's Sino-Ginza is very close. Like, these dudes below have almost got it!
And this dude has even grasped
the concept of fantasy posing
whenever he sees a camera!
Leaving Home Forever!
The Entrance!... turn left and walk until you come to these marble copies of Stevie and Stig ...
Stevie and Stig!
Stevie and Stig!... and then cross the road and walk straight down the tree-lined avenue ...
The Avenue!It's a long hike (Halley said "But when I told you about this place, I expected you to catch a taxi!") but you pass a very pleasant Jade Market on the way which you otherwise would have missed ...
(actually it's really asemi-precious stone market)
And then, when you reach the tall pink set of skyscrapers, you go into a sad-looking rundown skyscraper called Li Wan Plaza ...
"If this is a Square, I want my money back!"
And you're thinking "Why on earth would Halley have sent me here?", but if you keep wandering through the maze of shops ...
Like these ones!
And this!Love that sign!
... till you come to the other side, and voila! Li Wan Square:
This is clearly Guangzhou's attempt to become the new Ginza!And, just like in Ginza, the fashion capital of Tokyo, there are McDonald's on two sides of the Square (note above) with enormous windows where you can watch the passing parade of Fashionistas!
These boys have grasped the concept!However, although it's definitely and decidedly starting to happen, it isn't there yet! The Trendy Youth of Guangzhou still haven't grasped Ginza's high concept of Statement Dressing and Fantasy Dressing, and indeed both combined! These Trendoids all looked too straight and too nice:
Too sweet and ordinary, la?
However, Guangzhou's Sino-Ginza is very close. Like, these dudes below have almost got it!
And this dude has even grasped the concept of fantasy posing
whenever he sees a camera!
Exciting, la? I really want to know what happens to this place so I fully intend to return here whenever I'm in Guangzhou so I can witness The Birth and Development of Sino-Ginza!
And to end this post on a more traditional note, in the Square is a tribute to all the millions of Cantonese immigrants who were sent away from Guangdong to escape the 129 year drought, and whos descendants you meet all over the rest of the world!
And to end this post on a more traditional note, in the Square is a tribute to all the millions of Cantonese immigrants who were sent away from Guangdong to escape the 129 year drought, and whos descendants you meet all over the rest of the world!
Leaving Home Forever!Don't really understand what it's doing here, in this Square, but maybe it's meant as a call to all those Cantonese descendants that, it's OK, we're Capitalist now, you can all come home again.
Oh, and must tell you: while I was there, the Red Guard Band turned up and started to play a Sino-reworking of Orff's Carmina Burana ... and dammit if it wasn't actually a great concert!
Oh, and must tell you: while I was there, the Red Guard Band turned up and started to play a Sino-reworking of Orff's Carmina Burana ... and dammit if it wasn't actually a great concert!
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