The City Of Guangzhou, China!

Those folk who don't believe that Guangzhou, this city in South China ...

... on the banks of the Pearl River ...

... is 8000 thousand square miles in size ... well, you're right. I have the Official Guangzhou Tourist Guide book here with me, and it says categorically that the city is 7434.4 square miles in size, which means I was wrong by roughly 500 square miles!

Still, 7434 square miles! Do you know how HUGE that is? Viti Levu, the main island of the Fiji Group, is roughly 4010 square miles, so this city is nearly twice the size of Viti Levu. My mind boggles! The entire island of Viti Levu entirely city and then double it! Oh wow!

So, really, put like that it's hardly surprising locals don't know what they have in there, so I now take back my criticism that no one knew where Bao Mo Gardens were.

Honestly, I can't get over such a size. You know, going out to Panyu District, to Bao Mo Gardens, took over one and a half hours, and that was all city. And we travelled on by-passes ...

They have literally thousands
of fly-overs and by-passes.

... and freeways ...

The roads to the outer suburbs
nearly all look like this.

... the whole way without a single moments hold-up anyplace, so that entire 1.30 hour journey was all city, city, city ... although I must confess that it quickly started to look like this:

The still-under-construction city

And then this:

The more-rural version of city.

But still! Wow, this city is immense!

And old. This kick-arse modern city of Guangzhou is also astonishingly, amazingly, mind-bogglingly old:

Model of the city as it was back
during the Ming Dynasty,
when it was already known as an ancient city.

I've already told you that Peaceful Markets, over there near beautiful Shamian Dao, were discovered by archeologists to be over 10,000 years old. Yup, even before they had a concept of money, the Cantonese were already entrepreneurs; Peaceful Markets were the place where Tanka Fishermen traded wares with Hakka Farmers! Ahhhh! Doesn't that just grab you! 10,000 years of trading, bartering and much, much later, selling, and, unlike other not-quite-so-ancient cities like Ur which exist now only in ruins, legends and folk memories, this Market existed on this very spot from way back in the dawns of time, always the site of trading - oh, apart from during the Cultural Revolution when Maoists shut it down ... but no one has ever accused the Cultural Revolution of understanding the significance of HISTORY!

But here's something else I came across this visit that blew me away. This is Beijing Road:

Trendy shopping district.

Several years ago, while widening Beijing Road to turn it into a Pedestrian Mall, they stumbled across this ... no, I can't identify a decent photograph in among the thumbnails so I'll only throw in a whatever to give you the idea, and then do an individual and proper post on it later ...

Beneath modern Beijing Road are other earlier Beijing Roads. Yup, Beijing Road existed in five other incarnations, during five completely different periods of Chinese history, in exactly the same place!


They were so astonished, they didn't want to cover it all up again, so covered the area with glass so everyone can now see all the different roads this road had once been. This so blew me away, I will show you more on it at some other time.

So that's all on Guangzhou today, kiddies. Can you remember that? Guangzhou: HUGE and OLD! Massive and Ancient! Got it? Good. Exam on Wednesday!

Sorry, I've been a teacher too long and I just can't help myself when I come over all Pedagogic like this! I'll go now!

Cute Little Piece of History.

When Halley was showing me around her old neighbourhood in Guangzhou, soon to be demolished and which I do intend to show you any day now, we came across a shop selling all the old signs they'd gathered up from around the area.

Cantonese, huh!
Knee-jerk entrepreneurs!
Never let a sale go by!

There were several of them that made her feel all nostalgic since she'd known them all her life.

One of these, which she really wanted me to buy, was a sign from the turn of the previous century that read "Smoking adds to your Health!"

I think this is it,
although this could be the

definition of happiness.
Not being able to read
much Chinese, I can't be sure.

Of course, it could be this one: Or this one:

If you wonder why so many elderly Chinese smoke ... I'm sure signs like this are the reason.

Don't you just love coming across genuine pieces of important Social History! I'd buy them all only ... don't want to pay Foreign Devil prices. Maybe someone would like to send money to Halley and let her bargain them down for the lot, and then I'll send them on to you. And all I'd want for my commission is the one that says "Smoking adds to your health!"

Rounding up the African News!

There I was, so convinced Robert Mugabe was already living on Tai Po - a little island here in the South China Sea where they appear to be setting up a luxury bolthole/sanctuary for him - when he rocks up at his 85th Birthday Party in Harare! There goes that theory!

He's still in Zimbabwe, folks, although I don't think it'll be for much longer.

Did you read about that birthday party? For a once-proud nation, now so broken and bloody, in ruins, with 90% below the poverty line and a raging cholera epidemic, it's kinda obscene spending zillions on a party. But hey, no one said Monsters were logical!

And the speeches!!! "You are a crocodile! Strong, resilient and ever-lasting." I'm not kidding! Fulsome praise from all around. And even if it is just blowing smoke, you'd think that now, as he teeters on the edge of his fall, is not the time people should be seen aligning themselves with The Monster ... something which China needs to realise; that only really really stupid people are currently showing support for Mugabe!

Stupidity? China! Oh yes indeed! Must tell you, China is definitely getting stupid again! It goes it cycles! In fact, it's so up-and-down, it's almost like the Chinese Communist Party is bi-polar.

Let me tell you the latest: Hong Kong asked China why they are pressuring us to give sanctuary to Mugabe and were told "You support Falen Gong! You let them buy land! You don't extradite them! This is the same thing!" THIS IS NOT A JOKE! THIS IS WHAT CHINA SAID ABOUT WHY WE SHOULD SUPPORT THE MUGABES!

I'm having a hard time getting my head around their thinking: Because we say that our collective conscience refuses to let us extradite Falen Gong folk - who basically just want to do a particular type of Tai Chi - back to China where they will be tortured and killed, we must then also accept these Monsters in our midsts; folks who themselves tortured and killed. Can anyone explain this to me?

Anyway, 500 former-Zimbabweans have begged Hong Kong to forbid the Mugabes entry saying that it's a nightmare for them that they were driven out of their country, and now he's following them. They also say HK will regret giving them santuary because their foul corruption and vicious bullying will travel with them. We've already seen that, what with Grace's mega-rage last week in Tsim Sha Tsui.

And that's brings me to the next point: police are now saying that because Grace's diamond rings tore through skin and made folks bleed, it constitutes "actual bodily harm" and that carries an automatic sentence of incarceration, so Grace must be charged and must go to jail. The question of whether she should be allowed to claim Diplomatic Immunity - and what we will do if she does - is now before the Justice Commission so we all wait on that ruling with bated breath.

The best possible outcome will be they say she must be arrested because what will happen then is that she will do a runner, so we will then have an outstanding warrant for her arrest for when she returns, which means she can't and won't return! Yayyy!

Oh yeah! You go, Hong Kong!

The other and final piece of news on the subject is that we've discovered Grace has been up in China, organising herself a diamond cutting and polishing factory. Seems she has millions of raw diamond. Possibly Zimbabwe's entire stockpile! Which, yeah, yeah, could well be the real reason China wants her? She has blood diamonds!

It's all so creepy and dirty, isn't it! So, please, be behind HK. We're the Good Guys in all this, so please support us in our Righteous Attempt to NOT SUPPORT MONSTERS!

Yeah, go Hong Kong, go Hong Kong, go Hong Kong!

Testing Google Translator

Have recently discovered Google Translator and was using it bigtime to send stuff around to people, except I've had a Korean friend and a Cantonese friend both, individually, says my notes to them in their language are weird and don't understand what I'm trying to say.

On those grounds, I want to try an experiment:

ENGLISH

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
One for the master, one for the dame
and one for the little boy who lives down the lane.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE

BAA的BAA的害群之馬，你有沒有任何羊毛？
是的，先生，是的，先生，三包充分。
一個是主，一個用於聖母院
和一個小男孩的生命了誰巷。

ENGLISH AGAIN Baa baa black sheep some waves? Yes, sir, yes sir, three bag is full. She is a teacher, was one of Notre Dame Many small children to stay in Lynn

Bao Mo Gardens, Guangzhou, China.

You thought I couldn't do it, didn't you! You thought I'd over-reached myself with this foolish ambition to find a place everyone said didn't exist when I didn't know this 8000+ square mile city and couldn't even speak the language to ask anyone?

But I've done it before. Recall how I tracked down the Artists' Village of Dafen; another place that everyone said didn't exist?

And now folks are telling me that someplace else doesn't exist?! Pshaw! Like I'd let that stop me.

Bao Mo Gardens. I've blogged about them before; about how these mythical gardens were supposedly created 600 years ago by the artist ...

...whose name I've forgotten ...

... who invented that now-traditional style of Chinese painting involving black inks and wet rice paper; how these gardens had been on the "100 Great Treasures of China" list every century since they were first created; how they were supposedly destroyed during the Revolution but resurrected in 1995. With such a history, how could I not attempt to hunt them down? To be in Guangzhou and not do so would be like ignoring the Loch Ness Monster while it's eating your picnic!

Well, all you nay-sayers out there, let me show you what I accomplished on this latest visit to Guangzhou:

Dah dah!
The Loch Ness Monster
eating my picnic!

Sorry the picture is so grossly over-exposed. I had my camera on Automatic and it appears to make really bad choices. But I guess there should be an element of bad photography when you're snapping Mythical Beasts!

And this Mythical Beast is huge. Here's a map showing you the overview of the place:

Acres of it,
divided into different sections,
featuring different things.

I only spent two hours in here, so I doubt I saw all, but let me take you through only a small sample of the places I did see:

There is so much more I'm not showing you. Like, I haven't included a single shot of the gorgeous bridges that link these different areas. But, overall, I think I've given you a fair representation of what is there to be seen.

However, the actual gardening aspect of it? The greenery? Mmmm, I think I'll leave that for a different post, undoubtedly called "Guangzhou City Council, Get Yourself a Decent Horticulturalist!" Honestly, the crimes against Botany that are being committed in this entire city! And Bao Mo Gardens is no exception!

But that's for a different post, so I'll give you just one example here:

Love that mix of colours!

It's all very pretty, yes?, until it suddenly dawns on you ... those vines ... there, in the background. Can you see what they are? And the moment you recognise them it's all "Oh no! You fools! You idiots! You stupid, stupid people!" Really, if they had anyone in the City Council who knew plants, these sorts of "Let's plant a curse for future generations!" mistakes just wouldn't happen.

But ignore the botany. It's the material-culture things that make this place so special. Like, the Pleasure Area where you listen to Chinese Opera.

This family hired out the entire facility.
Grandma's birthday wish?

And there's a museum dedicated to the Artist who created these gardens and whose name I've forgotten.

The walls of the Museum.
Gorgeous, huh!

Display cases of his possessions.

Only some are the actual objects
he used to paint with.

And there's the room I've chosen as the Most Beautiful on the Planet that houses Our Artist's collection of blue and white china:

Enormous Vases!

NEED! NEED!

I collect blue and white china. Yes, I know, people have told me - often! - that it's a very Lesbian-chic thing to do, but I can't help myself. However, there's nothing in my collection that comes near to the preciousness of the ones in here.

And the place has passageways-to-die-for. These link the different areas and are all so special, I think I'll do a separate post on them, so here's just one for now:

OK, a second one:

You'll have to wait for the others.

And there's an area devoted to Bonsai:


And several areas devoted to koi:

Way too many!
I think they sell them.

And they have lots and lots of those objects Lady R. thinks are "the most beautiful on the planet." Moon-gates! I took lots of photos of different ones for her, but I'll do a special post on them just for her, so here's just one for now:

Although there are so many other areas devoted to other things, I think I'll stop. It's becoming unwieldy and difficult inserting more photographs, so I'll end now with telling you that there are several areas simply devoted to solitude and prayer, all featuring the Goddess of Mercy, Kwan Yin. Here's just one:

So, that's Bao Mo Gardens for you. I'm sure I'll be showing you more photographs in the future, but this is all for the moment.

Summing up? What did I think of my amazing discovery? Since I went to so much trouble to find the place, I would like to say I was swept away by the beauty of it all. However, I have a confession to make: there is something in the Chinese aesthetic that makes me really appreciate the Japanese. In Japan, they edit. They know "Less is More". They believe in Wabi - the perfect object in the perfect place - and Sabi - creating tiny moments that make you stop and pause and reflect on the meaning of your life and actions etc - which the Chinese don't do. Perfect objects? Yes indeed! China has these in abundance! In the perfect place? Maybe!

But ...

... Chinese do everything so exquisitely that everything says "look at me!" None of these great artisans want to back down and take second place to another great artisan so every piece demands your full attention and admiration and, in the end, I hate to say it, your head is spinning and it all becomes a little too much. In Bao Mo Gardens there is too much that is beautiful, too much to be admired, too much to take your breath away that by the end you feel exactly like this girl looks:

Ho hum!

But that's just me. You may LOVE nothing better than a surfeit of riches! And if that's the case, I can recommend Bao Mo Gardens highly.

How to get there? The city of Guangzhou is over 8000 square miles in size and even knowing Bao Mo Gardens is in the Panyu district won't really get you there easily. In the end I'm afraid I cheated. I hired a car and driver and made it his problem to find out where the Gardens were. And he, apparently, had no idea so went looking for it on the Internet ... and voila! Problem solved. I had discovered Bao Mo Gardens.

I recommend that, until Guangzhou discovers this treasure in their midsts for themselves, that this is the way you do it too.