Esta foto fue tomada por Paticas cuando estuvieron visitándome en Japón. La siguiente foto, de una calidad de iluminación que es la envidia de muchos profesionales, tiene muchos elementos curiosos… Estos amigos, que los tengo bien ilustrados en Alcoy y sus tradiciones, me hicieron llegar la foto con carácter de urgencia… ¿Véis por qué?
Aunque no lo averigüéis, sigue siendo una foto muy curiosa en conjunto…
A bit of Japan among the posts about the trip to China. This is the famous Shibuya Crossing. Shibuya is one of the centers of Tokyo, and is a very common place to meet, as there are lots of restaurants, shops, and pubs and discos in that area. But one thing it is quite famous for is its crossing. There are 5 streets with heavy traffic getting to this point, and a lot of human traffic around. One of the particularities, is that the green light for the pedestrians is for all directions. So, all cars stop, and for a few seconds the street is for the people…
Another main characteristic of this place is the huge screens and all the advertisements surrounding this area. The screens have not also advertisements, but also some music clips.
And I wrote a few lines before, this was a common place to meet, and at least for me it is the case. There is a specific point in the square, where all kind of people gather. It is called Hachiko and it is a dog which everyday waited for his owner in front of his office, and after the death of him, remained going there everyday until it died after a couple of years.
That is the story (it can be improved, but this is not my point). My point is that it is such a common place to gather, that it is not strange to meet people you know there, which is especially surprising if we remember we are talking about one of the biggest cities in the world.
Sooooo… Here I am, in Beijing. Also known by many (foreign) people as Peking. I got a very good located hostel, very nice atmosphere… but freezing in Winter, because it was not that well neither isolated nor heated, and the temperature was slightly low: my first day we had a windy day with -16ºC. The second coldest temperature in my life (the other one was in… out of the scope of this post).
Well, as I was saying, the hostel was really well located, in the middle of Beijing, next to Tiananmen Square. Probably, most of you have heard about this square, famous for the protests which took place here in 1989 (with a great picture of a student stopping a lane of tanks) and for holding a record: the biggest square in the world.
Well, this is the geographical center of Beijing, and they also pretend to place it as the center of China, but it is too eastern… But it does not matter, they have the zero point of the chinese highways there.
In the south of the square, you can see one of the old gates of the city, the Front Gate. Next to this gate to the north, you can find Mao Zedong‘s mausoleum, which I did not visit… because I would have had to queue! And because I am not eager to see dead bodies for free… or even worse, paying!
In the north side, you can find the Forbidden City, but before getting there, the National Flag flutters in front of Mao Zedong’s portrait, guarding the Gate of Heavenly Peace leading to the Forbidden City. To both sides, two stands wait for a crowd ready to see a parade, for example (1, 2, 3, repita otra vez), a militar parade. Anyway, this square was built with political purposes…
And they are doing great, with the combination of flags, Mao’s images, the well preserved doors, the Great Hall of the People, one of the main buildings for the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party.
I went through this square everyday… and I was always thinking the impression it must cause to see that square full… either with people or with other stuff… Is it possible at all?
I will start the trip from the beginning, so I also refresh my mind and do not miss anything… I will try not to to bore you… 😉
I already wrote part of my first impressions of China in this post. I flew to Hong Kong and crossed the border to Shenzen to benefit from the cheap internal flights in China. Hong Kong area is full of islands, and the ferries are a common transport there. So, I found the fastest way for my purposes to reach an airport in Mainland China using the Turbo Jet Sea Express ferry linking Hong Kong International Airport and Shenzen Airport. Really easy way to go to Mainland. Just remember that you have to pick up your luggage before the customs, and that there is a free bus from the pier to the airport (just 2 km).
The first image I got when I jumped off from the boat was this one:
Nice sunset, isn’t it? It is a pity that it was cloudy… Cloudy? No. China is the most polluted country I have ever been (ok, I have only been within Europe, Canada and Japan, but anyway…) and that could be seen at simple sight. The “cloud” is always present: in Shenzen, in Beijing, in Xi’an and even in Shanghai. But, of course, this was just the beginning, in one of the most industrialized areas of China, also called Special Economic Zones, where more factories are placed, and where tougher controls are carried out to avoid an overpopulation around it.
So, after this shock and the issue with the taxis, I took one of the last flights to Beijing, where it was snowing during the night… Nice image, but bad omen for the rest of the days there regarding the climate… Thanks to God, I was prepared. 🙂
I am back in Tokyo. I am getting used again to the silence of this country, to the big smiles even though they do not understand you, and to the fact of the paying what the price tag says,.reunion with real sushi, plenty of pending housework… :S