When you picture old China, what comes to mind? If you want to feel more of old Chinese-style Shanghai you need to move away from the colonial areas and the modern skyscrapers and venture onto the water towns surrounding Shanghai City. While there are quite a few water town options, the closest one to central [...]

  Taking the net by a storm are videos of the Chinese Red Army lipsynced to popular modern, and many of them western, songs. Scenes taken from the Long March Song Cycle movie (长征组歌) from back in 1976 are edited to create terrific parodies that give new meanings to the songs.     Of all [...]

Fairly Lake is a beautiful scenic nature spot in Shenzhen, well worth a day out of exploration. Aside from the Hongfa Temple, there are endless attractions for the family, museums, botanical gardens, a lake, pagodas and much more. You can easily wonder around for hours. Here’s from their official website : The Fairy Lake Botanical [...]

Every now and again, I’m surprised with what I find in Shenzhen. In one of my recent visits to Shenzhen, I went to visit the Fairy Lake area and found it be an absolutely gorgeous place and a real nature jewel. One of the many attractions in that area is the Hong Fa Temple [弘法寺], [...]

CCTV, China’s national TV channel(s), produced a documentary TV series about Israel called “Walk into Israel – The Land of Milk and Honey” (走近以色列, zou jin yiselie). There was a recent launch event , and the episodes are already screening in China and available on the web.   Israeli TV station Channel 2 had an [...]

There is one shop in Shanghai’s Duolun cultural street that’s worth a special mention – Dashanghai. As you stroll down the street it’s very hard to miss – a little shop that takes you back in time with all sorts of everyday historical artifacts – records, posters, appliances. A terrific little place. Lonely Planet recommends [...]

It’s interesting to see how the different colonial styles blended in with the local Shanghai Chinese style. Duolun is one of those recently renovated streets that captures some of the magic of that special blend. Having served as a cultural hub in Shanghai during the 30s, Duolun still hosts some interesting buildings and cultural centers. [...]

Chinese sure know how to pull off quirky tourist traps, and The Bund Tourist Sightseeing Tunnel is the perfect example. Why anyone would think that an attraction of crossing from The Bund side of the Huangpo river to the new Pudong area through an underwater tunnel of epileptic lights a good idea is beyond me.  [...]