Scenes from Chaotianmen in Chongqing

Chaotianmen is at the northeastern tip of Chongqing's Yuzhong district where the Jialing River merges with the Yangtze River. With views of the city which have changed significantly in recent years, it is an especially popular destination for tourists, including those who board boats for cruises. Below are photos which capture some of the people there and what they were doing, in addition to the outdoor karaoke I mentioned before, one afternoon. I share these in part because Chaotianmen itself will undergo significant change — a topic for a later post.

Gate leading from the docks up to Chaotianmen Square

Chaotiamen Square was not exactly full of people.

But people photographing others could be seen.

As could people photographing themselves

Taking in the view was a popular choice.

Some were more occupied with their phones.

Looking down at the tip of Chaotianmen one could see more activity around the steps down to the docks.

Vendors sold a variety of items.

Bikes made out of wire was one option.

Electric bikes were another option.

Bargaining skills could be useful.

Games were also available.

Or you could have your portrait drawn.

Mobile vendors were one source of food.

Other options for outdoor dining could be found as well.

Like the square, some people took in the view.

And others were more focused on their mobile phone.

Few seemed interested in these no-longer-in-use inclined lifts at the docks.

Three-wheeled taxi cars were one way to depart.

Most left by foot on a road along the Yangtze River.

A Hazy Chongqing Evening

Yesterday, I shared a photo taken at sunrise of two buildings in Chongqing. For some imperfect balance, here is a photo taken 16 minutes after sunset on the same day.

The Chongqing World Financial Center (WFC) is easily identifiable in the previous photo. Chongqing's tallest skyscraper also appears, near the center, in the above photo. More buildings in Chongqing's Yuzhong district, the Huanhuayuan Bridge with two trains on it, a giant video screen, and the Jialing River can also be seen. Based on the view, I thought air pollution conditions had significantly improved from the morning, but online figures indicated otherwise.

A Hazy Chongqing Morning

7:49 am, supposedly sunrise, today in Chongqing:

Another Smoggy View in Chongqing

Perhaps I shouldn't have left the previous post, which was about a coat's timely message and Chongqing's temperatures, somewhat hanging with a comment about bad air pollution.

I have mentioned Chongqing's air quality before, and probably will do so again, but, to bring a little more closure to the earlier post, here was a view this afternoon from the SML Central Square shopping mall:

The buildings barely visible in the distance are located across the Yangtze River. I can't say to what degree fog may have played a role in the haze, but, even though Chongqing's air quality improved over previous days, it was definitely bad today.

Maybe someday soon I will see a "Make it Fresh" coat.

Make It Hot

Indeed, Chongqing was a bit chilly today . . .

On another note related to the phrase on the jacket I saw today, this evening I ate at a comfortably toasty restaurant. The temperature was quite a change of pace from the many other colder places I've eaten at recently. I could now write a long post about the common lack of (or use of) heat in more southern regions in China, but I will save that for another day.

On the whole, I am not complaining about the weather here, especially since Chongqing is known as one of China's "three furnaces" for its sweltering summer heat, as I enjoy walking around in cool temperatures. Unfortunately, air pollution has negated some of their pleasant effects.

Activities At Scenic Chaotianmen: Outdoor Karaoke

At the scenic Chaotianmen docks in Chongqing yesterday, I saw two men setting up a portable karaoke system in front of a scene which has changed significantly during the past 6 years.

Elsewhere at the docks, I saw another man showcasing his karaoke offerings as well.

Nearby on the steps, I spoke to two college students visiting from Xi'an, China, wearing newly purchased flower headbands.

When I later walked by the same area again, the students were the first paying customers I saw at the temporary karaoke stations.

For singing two songs, they paid 10 RMB (about US $1.60).

Activity at the outdoor karaoke stations may have picked in the evening when people come for river cruises to take in more of the city's rapidly evolving skyline lit up at night.

Dramatic Change in Chongqing

A scene I saw today captures some key aspects of what has and has not changed in Chongqing, China, between my first visit here in 2009 and my return six years later.

In January, 2009, when I visited the docks at Chaotianmen I took a photo of the nearly-completed Chongqing Grand Theatre across the Jialing River.

Today I took a photo of the now open Chongqing Grand Theatre from a similar location.

The photos show how Chongqing's reputation for its fog and smog, both likely playing a role today based on weather and pollution reports, has been long standing and well deserved. They also both show some of the many boats popular with tourists.

But the differences between the two photos are even more striking to me. Not only are numerous new tall buildings readily apparent in the 2015 photo, but a portion of a new double-decker bridge crossing the Jialing River with levels for cars and trains can be seen as well. And if you look closely at an enlarged version of the 2009 photo (click it), you may be able to spot the cable car, now no longer in existence, crossing the river.

Most incredible, what is captured in these photos represents only a small portion of the change I have noticed in Chongqing. More to come on this theme.

Chongqing Lion

At Arhat Temple (罗汉寺) in Chongqing, China

A Day's Journey by Air, Bus, and Rail in China

Similar to the recent dinner I had on an overnight train, the meal I consumed on a plane today will not enter my top ten list of meals I have enjoyed in China.

The flight attendant told me the meat was chicken, but it didn't seem like a poultry substance. I am not sure what it was, but it reminded me of yak meat. The wet wipes had a nice smell and were made in Xinjiang.

I feel fortunate that my nearly three hour flight did not feature anything similar to one of the "flying China-style" problems which seem to often make the news these days. In other words, the flight was not delayed, no flight attendants were violently attacked, and no passengers attempted to open the emergency exit door for fresh air. Way to go, team.

The end of the flight did feature something I commonly experience when flying in China and which does not thrill me. Despite numerous open gates at the airport, the plane did not park at any of them, and instead we had to take a bus from the plane to the airport terminal.

Once off the jam-packed bus, I considered the architectural style of the airport concourse.




After that, I was excited to be back in a city I hadn't set foot in for almost exactly 6 years. Rail was not an option for traveling from the airport before, but it was now.



Since the monorail train, which soon filled, traveled above ground most of the time during my hour-plus trip, there was ample opportunity to look around at the city and marvel at its size.

I paused to soak in one scene when I was switching train lines.

Not long after that, I was able to put the plane's mystery meat behind me by diving into some appropriately numbing and spicy local food.

That was definitely fish.

Some savvy readers may have figured out my current location in China, which is far from Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing. For others, I will provide one last clue: the beer which accompanied my outdoor dinner.

More soon about a fascinating hilly city where I have already noticed a tremendous amount of change since my last visit.

Very Unhealthy Whatever the Floor

What "Very Unhealthy" air looked like today from the 35th floor of a building in Shanghai's Xujiahui district:

"Hazardous" levels were reached a few hours later.

A few people wore face masks. Most did not. Some had a smoke.

One Gas Station Under God, Indivisible

After I wrote about a church with a movie theater underneath it in Zhangzhou, China, a reader in the Washington, D.C., area brought my attention to a building with a similar unconventional mix in the U.S. Instead of a movie theater, though, the "Our Lady of Exxon" church has a gas station underneath it.

Photo by mj*laflaca on flickr (original and copyright information)

As The New York Times reported over 20 years ago:

It's a place of worship. It's a gas station. It's Arlington Temple United Methodist Church. Newcomers to Rosslyn, Va., a suburb of Washington, often gawk at the odd structure. But locals breezily refer to it as "Our Lady of Exxon."

The Rev. Jack Sawyer, the church's pastor, doesn't mind at all. "People can call us whatever they want," he says. "We're happy to have them here. We're happy with Exxon too."

A more recent independent report on "this architectural magnificence" indicates the gas station changed from Exxon to Chevron. Whatever the case, according to UMTV, the mix of religion and capitalism was no accident:

This ministry has existed in the middle of the marketplace for more than 30 years. Founder Dr. James Robertson wanted an urban church, but land was expensive. And Dr. Robertson rightly predicted that its value would continue rising.

The Rev. Jean McDonald-Walker: “He said that if we have a gas station underneath the church, the church will never be at a loss for funds. They’ll always have some income, even if there aren’t many members.”

Despite its uniqueness, like the church in Zhangzhou, the church in Rosslyn could be seen as symbolic of broader issues in its country. The environmentally-concerned Christian group who once ran an advertising campaign asking "What would Jesus drive?" to "gas-guzzling Americans" might have some suggestions.

A Church Higher than Movies in "Godless Communist" China

Last month a friend's acquaintance referred to Chinese people as "Godless Communists" in a privately shared comment about Yiwu, "the town in China that makes the world's Christmas decorations". I replied:

It's hard to call China's system these days "communist", whatever the name of the controlling political party. On that note, "The total number of Christians in China is approaching the number of Communist Party members". Yiwu also happens to be in a province with an especially large number of churches, even after a number were recently demolished.

The comment also brought to mind a large church I had recently seen in Zhangzhou, Fujian province.

It is not Zhangzhou's only church and just one of many I have seen across China, including a church in nearby Quanzhou. However, one aspect of this church was rather unusual. A commercial movie theater operated underneath it.

Although some may consider this a great mix of religion and capitalism, the story behind churches and movies theaters in China is complex. While numerous active churches (usually without movie theaters underneath them) openly exist, the Chinese government tightly regulates religion, as suggested by the demolished churches near Yiwu. And while China's many movie theaters (usually without churches above them) care about profits and "a market-based Chinese film industry has started to emerge from the shadows of the older, centralized and state-funded model", the Chinese "government controls which films are made and has a hand in every aspect of the film business, from production to exhibition".

In this sense, the unconventional church & movie theater building in Zhangzhou is symbolic of both how "Godless Communists" isn't often a useful phrase for talking about today's China and how it is challenging to come up with a similarly concise way to accurately describe China other than, of course, as "Chinese".