A Few Scenes from Gudesi Road in Wuhan

Unlike Qingfen Road in Wuhan, Gudesi Road (古德寺路) is labeled on both Google Maps and Baidu Map. However, both maps are missing sections of the street and Baidu Map mistakenly labels a connecting street with the name. In any case, there aren't as many shops on Gudesi Road as there are on Qingfen Road, but plenty of life can still be found there.

And if you are lucky, you may meet a rather friendly dog.

While Gudesi Road wouldn't seem remarkable to most people in China, the temple it is named after is another story. More about that later.

Five Scenes From Qingfen Road in Wuhan

Qingfen Road (清芬路) in Wuhan doesn't appear on Baidu's or Google's online maps, but it definitely exists. A few scenes from a street densely packed with life:

A Thanksgiving in Wuhan

I didn't have any rats running up my leg like I did in Changsha five years ago, but Thanksgiving this year was still a success. Although a holiday-special pulled turkey breast burger with cranberry BBQ sauce took way too long to arrive at lunch, the delay led to a free slice of dark chocolate cake (thank you, Sunny). The cake was more impressive than the burger, so it felt like a net win. For dinner I chose a Western upscale hotel with a buffet that I figured would be serving turkey today. Not only was I correct, but I arrived in time to score a leg. It took a little extra effort to communicate that, yes, I really wanted the whole leg. Early bird scores the worm and all that.

I won't be sharing any photos of the pricey food since none of it would be remarkable for Thanksgiving fare. Part of the reason for my choice in dining location tonight was that it would offer the opportunity for a late walk somewhere I hadn't visited before. So in that spirit, for a photo here is a scene from tonight in Wuhan's Hanyang District including the Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge (鹦鹉洲长江大桥):

Happy Thanksgiving.

"Integration: Fusion and Adaptation" at the Wuhan Art Museum

"Integration: Fusion and Adaptation" is the fourth and current exhibition for the Wuhan Ink Art Biennale at the Wuhan Art Museum. As described at the museum:

The preceding three exhibitions present a chronological sequence of perpetuation and development, transformation and innovation, in Chinese ink painting since Ming and Qing periods. "Integration" showcases the richness of contemporary ink art through works that are rooted in tradition yet present new ideas, pieces that are more avant-garde in creative concept and method, as well as pieces by foreign artists working in ink.

One piece on display features Chinese calligraphy, common at art museums in China.

Less common is the calligrapher's home country — the U.S. — and the topic of the writing, which is captured in Michael Cherney's title for the work: Excerpt from Thoreau's A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (2012).

South Korean Shin Young Ho's piece Liquid Drawing_4207 (2015) doesn't include calligraphy, but it does have ants.

Li Huichang's Groan No. 66 (2015) has neither calligraphy nor ants, but there is still much going on.

One of the more colorful pieces at the exhibition is Paradise (2008) by Huang Min.

Finally, the piece I pondered most was Stop! (2015) by Liu Qinghe.

Like many others on display, the large piece of art is worth a closer look.

The Wuhan Art Museum has much more. One sign indicates this exhibition was supposed to have already ended over a week ago, so I am not sure how much longer it will be around. In any case, the Wuhan Art Museum is free. You just have to scan your Chinese ID card to open an entrance gate. If you are a foreigner, don't worry. You can walk around the gate — no need to stop.

Horses Frozen in Time in Wuhan

Eight Fine Horses (八骏马), 1984, by Xie Congshi (谢从诗) at Jiefang Park in Wuhan

Two Metro Trains Arriving in Wuhan

Arriving at Xunlimen Station

Arriving at Dazhi Road Station

The first photo was taken from the metro station. The second photo was taken from a pedestrian bridge while facing towards the metro station.

Perspective on a Old Tower in Wuhan

In 1291 somebody climbed many steep, narrow, and irregular stone steps to reach the highest level of the Hongshan Pagoda in Wuhan, China. More than 700 years later somebody else did the same.

But only one of us is still alive today.

*   *   *

Now that I've confirmed my continued existence, at least up until the time I post this, I will add that, yes, I am now in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. There is an immense backlog of posts I have been wanting to write, but I have been heavily preoccupied with the exploration / collection side of things lately. Also, the amount of change I have seen in Wuhan, Changsha, and elsewhere has left me wanting to digest things more fully.

So on that note, here is a photo of the Hongshan Pagoda taken by Frederick G. Clapp sometime between 1913-1915:

And here is a recent view from the tower including the Baotong Temple:

Showtime in Wuhan

Windows on Changsha

Sometimes things don't go as planned.

At Huangxing Square in Changsha

More soon.

Cleaning Bofo

At the Bofo International Plaza in Changsha

Changsha Nap

Alongside Xiangya Road (湘雅路) in Changsha

Still There in Changsha: Yanjiatang Lane

Shortly after I took the above photo, a man approached me and asked what I was photographing. I answered, "This road!"

Feeling he might still have concerns about my intentions, I added "It feels comfortable."

He smiled, and that was that.

Yanjiatang Lane (晏家塘巷) was one of the areas that I wouldn't have been surprised to have found greatly transformed during this most recent return to Changsha, but most seemed basically the same as I remembered. However, there were signs, specifically the red circled "征" character I have seen previously in other soon-to-be-demolished neighborhoods in Changsha, that this will be the last time I see the lane as I did today.

Another time, I will share scenes from the street with the same name from which this lane directly extends and other nearby streets where the demolishing is already far more advanced. For today, below are some more scenes from comfortable Yanjiatang Lane.

Waiting to Cross in Changsha

Crossing Huangxing North Road at the intersection with Kaifusi Road

Looking Down at an Intersection Near the Changsha Railway Station

Today I spent some time observing street traffic in Changsha. So instead of anything Halloween-related below are some photos taken from a pedestrian bridge spanning an intersection just north of the Changsha Railway Station.

Chezhan North Road (车站北路)

Bayi Road (八一路)

Facing Chezhan North Road

Vehicles entering Yuanda 1st Road (远大一路), most from Chezhan Middle Road (车站中路)

Vehicles and a pedestrian headed toward Yuanda 1st Road

In addition to roads, I also observed some of the traffic on sidewalks.

Along Chezhan Middle Road.

That's all the traffic here for today.*



*Hmm, this could be an unintended pun.

Another View of the Juzizhou Bridge in Changsha

A followup to yesterday's Halloween-themed post is taking longer than expected and won't be finished today. So I will do a different (and simpler) followup.

Recently I shared photos of Changsha's Juzizhou Bridge viewed from the east side of the Xiang River north of the bridge as the sun lowered in the sky. For a variation, here is a photo taken from the west side of the Xiang River south of the bridge as the sun was close to going behind Yuelu Mountain, which is out of view.

Of note are the two men fishing on the left side of the photo, the numerous buses on the bridge, and the taller buildings on the right side, three of which stand out more flashily in a photo I took at night four years ago from the same side of the river north of the bridge. Similar to the previous photo, the trees in the far distance are all on Tangerine Island in the middle of the river. The scene is less orangish than the previous photo probably due to facing away from the sun and a clearer sky, though the air quality was still bad — hovering around the border between the Unhealthy and Very Unhealthy categories for just a 24-hour exposure. The full size of the uploaded photo is slightly larger than usual and should be viewable by clicking (or whatever it is you do) on the photo above.

Halloween Night in Changsha, China

Five years ago I shared photos from Changsha, Hunan, indicating Halloween's growing popularity in China, and two years ago I shared a similar set of photos from Shaoguan in Guangdong province.

This year I was in Changsha yet again for the holiday. Later I will post more about the business/marketing side of Halloween. But first, below are some Halloween night photos from an area covering Hualongchi to Taiping Street which has several pedestrian streets and many shopping centers, restaurants, and bars. The photos range from children in costumes to people selling Halloween-related items to a dance club's spruced-up entrance. The last photo reflects that most people who were out weren't dressed up for Halloween. It didn't necessarily stop them from having a good time though.