Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

Shanghai Nights

August 9th 2008 13:10
While there is much to see in Shanghai, these night time shots of the city’s lights, including from helicopter, rooftops and restricted locations, are particularly spectacular. Shanghai has grown from a small fishing and textiles town, to become one of the largest cities on Earth, with a population of over 20 million people.

China Shanghai Lujiazui Financial Trade Zone
Lujiazui Financial Trade Zone

This important financial district is located on the eastern bank of the Huangpo River, in the Pudong New District, directly across the river from the Bund (the old financial and business district of Shanghai). Until the 1980s, Lujiazui was a was a lower scale area of residential houses, warehouses and factories.

China Shanghai Huaihai Road
Huaihai Road

Huaihai Road is lined with classical and elegant architecture, as well as modern buildings. The fashionable department stores are well-known for exquisite works, modern design and fine material of dressing and accessories. It symbolises taste, style and fashion.

China Shanghai Looking From Pudong At Bund
Looking From Pudong At Bund

An area of Huangpu District, within the former Shanghai International Settlement, The Bund is the old financial and business district. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai, with 52 buildings of various architectural style. These include the Shanghai Club, which was the principal social club for British nationals in Shanghai. It runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, across the river from Pudong. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of Zhongshan Road, and some adjacent areas.

China Shanghai Jin Mao Tower
Jin Mao Tower

Jin Mao means “Golden Prosperity”. It is an 88 story skyscraper in the Lujiazui area of Pudong. Until 2007, it was the tallest building in Shanghai and China, and the fifth tallest in the world, until it was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center. It contains the Shanghai Hyatt Hotel, and offices.

China Shanghai City Hall
City Hall

The City Hall (Municipal Building) is located in Huangpu District, along with other major administration units. Huangpu is also a commercial area, and includes the famous Nanjing Road, near Huaihai Road.

China Shanghai Grand Theatre
Grand Theatre

Located in People’s Square and occupying 2.1 hectares, the building faces the People’s Boulevard in the south, along the Huangpi Beilu in the west, and is nest to the Shanghai City Hall in the east. This makes the People’s Square the centre of politics and culture in the city. It has 10 stories (including two underground) and is 40 metres high.

China Shanghai Pudong Century Avenue Sundial
Pudong Century Avenue Sundial

Century Avenue traverses the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, the Bamboo Garden Business and Trade Area and the landscaped Administrative and Cultural Centre, and is 4.2 km long and 100 metres wide. The “Oriental Light” sculpture, a large sundial, is an interweaving network of stainless steel pipes. The oval sundial disk represents the Earth, and it functions as a clock.

China Shanghai Circus World
Circus World

A popular tourist attraction covering 2.25 square km in Gonghe Xin Lu Road. It is a permanent circus, with an Acrobatics Field, an Animal House and a Cultural and Commercial City. It is home to the world renowned Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, and is known as China’s No 1 Circus World. It first opened to the public in 1999.

[
China Shanghai Nanpu Bridge
Nanpu Bridge

The total length of the bridge is 8346 metres, with a centre span of 423 metres, and a tower height of 150 metres. It ranks as third among cable-stayed bridges in the world.

China Shanghai Waibaidu Bridge
Waibaidu Bridge

In English, the Garden Bridge, is one of the symbols of Shanghai’s modern and industrial image, and is regarded as the city’s trademark bridge. It is located on the Suzhou Creek in central Shanghai, and connects the Huangpu and Hongkou districts where the Suzhou River flows into the Huang Pu. The bridge is 106.7 metres long and spans 52.16 metres. The bridge was built in 1907, replacing an earlier wooden bridge built in 1856.
15
Vote
Shared on
   


Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

July 31st 2008 15:03
Rockhampton is the unofficial capital of Central Queensland, and proudly declares itself the 'Beef Cattle Capital of Australia'. Yet it is also a proudly independent city, and, since the 1860’s, has had a strong secessionist movement thriving in the city.

It is located 638 km north of Brisbane, 8 metres above sea-level and just a few kilometres north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The view from Mt Archer is certainly worthwhile.

Rockhampton Queensland Australia Mount Archer
Rockhampton From Mount Archer


It is one of the finest cities in Queensland, and is renowned for elegance and style. The city centre, particularly Quay Street and East Street, is one of Australia’s most elegant streetscapes.

Rockhampton Queensland Australia Quay Street
Quay Street, Rockhampton


In 1853, the brothers Charles and William Archer were the first explorers to discover and name the Fitzroy River, which Rockhampton now straddles. The name Rockhampton refers to the rocks in the river which prevented ships navigating further inland along the river.

The city’s early agriculture was wool, which quickly gave way to beef cattle because of the city’s climate. The life sized statues of bulls at the northern and southern entrances to the city emind everybody of this. But it was the gold rushes, starting in the 1860s, which created the wealth out of which the stately buildings in the city were constructed.

Today, with a population of over 60,000, Rockhampton is largely a centre for the nearby coal mining towns which lie beyond the Great Dividing Range.

Buildings of note to see in the CBD include: the Post Office; Customs House; the Criterion Hotel; the Supreme Court; the Union Trustee Chambers; the Heritage Tavern; and the ABC Studios. However, the entire CBD is crammed with notable architecture, and two-three hours can easily be enjoyed walking through the city centre, enjoying the building heritage.

Rockhampton Queensland Australia Old Customs House
Old Customs House, Rockhampton


Beyond the city centre are no less than 20 buildings which are considered of great historical interest. These include: the Ward Street Buildings (Mater Hospital and others); Archer Park Railway Station (which still runs steam trains); St Paul’s Cathedral; St Joseph’s Cathedral; Botanic Gardens and Japanese Gardens; Rockhampton Historical Society Museum; and the Dreamtime Cultural Centre.

Rockhampton Queensland Australia Steam Train Archer Park
Steam Trains Still Run From Archer Park Railway Station Museum


Rockhampton Queensland Australia Botanic Gardens Koala
A Koala In A Tree In The Botanic Gardens, Rockhampton


Probably the most famous person to come out of Rockhampton is Rod Laver, who is reputed to be the greatest tennis player ever.

Rockhampton is a favourite destination in Australia, with buses, planes and trains departing frequently from Brisbane.

Rockhampton Queensland Australia Commercial Hotel
The Commercial Hotel In The CBD

23
Vote
Shared on
   


Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA

July 31st 2008 13:28
Of all the places I've ever been, few are as inspiring as Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. We all know the story, and we've seen the movie, but it is not until one visits the place that the enormity of what happened there really sinks in.

What happened in this place changed the course of World War II, and the history of the world. Looking at the harbour itself, I could almost see and hear the Japanese planes roaring above the water, at 7.55 am on that terrible December 7th, 1941.

On the tour of the USS Arizona Memorial, I was even more awestruck. The tour began with a film that showed the leadup to the Japanese attack, and the actual bombing of Pearl Harbor. There were even film clips taken from Japanese planes, as well as from civilian and military photographers and filmmakers who were actually there.

Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA USS Arizona Memorial
Entrance To USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


The film tells us that five ships and 188 aircraft were destroyed. But the worst statistics were the 2,388 killed. Of these, 1,177 were on one ship alone, the USS Arizona. After the film, we sailed on a navy ferry to the memorial itself. This is an imposing structure, built directly over the sunken battleship, whch is still visible beneath the water.

Most of the dead are still in the wreckage of the massive ship, which is essentially a war cemetery. Looking at the huge marble plaque at the far end of the memorial, with the thousand plus names, the enormity of the colossal losses becomes even more intense.

Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA USS Arizona Memorial
Sunken Remains Of USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA USS Arizona Memorial
Sunken Remains Of USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


During my six months living in Honolulu, I became good friends with an ex-Navy Lieutenant Commander fighter pilot and his wife. This lady, I found, had been in Pearl Harbor as a child, and witnessed the attack first hand. I sat enthralled on December 7th, 2007, as she recounted her memories of the terrible day it happened.

Then she told me something that made the entire futility and horror of it sink in. Her father was one of the 1,177 men who died on the USS Arizona.

Also at the Pearl Harbor Memorial are other reminders of war, such as special memorial stones for each ship that was destroyed during the Japanese attack.

Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA Memorial Stones
Memorial Stones At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


There is a war museum, and a tour of the USS Missouri. There are relics of the war, including a Japanese torpedo used during the attack. There is the submarine USS Bowfin.

Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA USS Missouri
USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


Pearl Harbor Hawaii USA USS Bowfin
USS Bowfin, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii


I have visited many war memorials and war sites throughout Australia and the world, just as I have attended many ANZAC Day Dawn Services in Australia, and other war remembrances in different countries. All these have stirred the emotions. There is respect for the brave men and women who took part, some giving their lives. There is also a disapproval for those that started the war, and the war itself, that took so many lives.

But nowhere have I experienced such incredibly strong emotions as those inspired in me by Pearl Harbor, and the story that incredible lady told me.
24
Vote
Shared on
   


Goulburn, Australia

July 30th 2008 12:35
Goulburn today is a world renowned fine wool area, symbolised in the city by a three story high concrete castrated sheep, but it also has a secret in it’s grand old buildings and magnificent cathedrals, which look like they were transported stone by stone from Britain. But Goulburn also holds the secrets of the settling of Australia, a secret of lawlessness and heritage which goes right back to the First Fleet.

Big Merino Goulburn
Big Merino, Goulburn

[ Click here to read more ]
19
Vote
Shared on
   


Bangkok, Thailand

May 27th 2008 05:30
Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of not only Thailand, but much of South East Asia and Indochina as well. It is also the city that produced the most special woman I have ever met in the world (her name is Angie, and she now lives in Hawaii).

Chao Phraya River Bangkok
Chao Phraya River is Bangkok's Main Geographical Feature

[ Click here to read more ]
56
Vote
Shared on
   


Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia

April 16th 2008 22:47
Whenever I visit the city of Sydney, the first thing I do is walk from Central station down to Circular Quay, and around the city’s CBD. The area around Circular Quay is my favourite.

Sydney was the site of Australia’s first established European settlement, in 1788, when the First Fleet. This consisted of soldiers and convicts, the latter having been deported from England for atrocious crimes such as stealing a loaf of bread (seven years deportation). Australia was seen as an alternative to the prisons, which were grossly overcrowded


[ Click here to read more ]
58
Vote
Shared on
   


Seattle's Underground City

April 2nd 2008 06:02
Seattle is best known for the Space Needle, which offers breath-taking views of the city. However, beneath the sidewalks and city of Seattle, another world exists - a city which was burnt down, then rebuilt on top of itself.

It is the world of the pioneers, the original settlers of Seattle. The subterranean passageways under the city show the unknown history of Seattle. Above ground, Seattle is a thriving metropolis, a modern city, the gateway to Alaska. But it hasn’t always been this way


[ Click here to read more ]
80
Vote
Shared on
   


Bad Times In Huai'an, China

March 31st 2008 20:25
Not all travel adventures are pleasant experiences. On my first trip to China, I met with some young Australians having horrendous experiences. These young people had gone to China, on their first overseas trip, to teach English, and instead, were virtually kept captive by unscrupulous Australian school managers.

Caroline was already in Huai'an (pronounced Why-an) when I arrived there, along with five other Australian and two Canadian teachers. All had been approached by an Australian company to teach English in China. All told the same story, of having been duped into believing that things were different than they were


[ Click here to read more ]
49
Vote
Shared on
   


Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia

March 28th 2008 05:46
Australia is home to some of the best holiday spots and beaches in Australia. Amongst the top spots, few surpass Airlie Beach, in the Whitsunday Islands. I was fortunate enough to live there for three months in the summer of 2002, and enjoyed the warmth of the water, and the warmth of the people.

Airlie Beach is a totally tourist town. It exists only for that purpose. It is located about 20° South on the north east coast of tropical Australia, about 1,100 km north of Brisbane. It is in the heartland of the world famous Whitsunday Islands, a chain of 74 islands, mostly holiday resorts, on the Great Barrier Reef


[ Click here to read more ]
51
Vote
Shared on
   


The Borobudur, Indonesia

March 26th 2008 09:20
My first overseas travel was two weeks to Indonesia, in 1977. The two most memorable events of the trip were losing my virginity, and seeing the Borobudur (both on the same day). Actually, I think the Borobudur was better..

I was only 16, and it was also the first time I hadn't travelled with my family, or to visit other family members. I got to travel on my own, with just a group of school friends and not a parent in sight. We flew from Australia with Garuda Airlines


[ Click here to read more ]
54
Vote
Shared on
   


More Posts
1 Posts
3 Posts
1 Posts
13 Posts dating from March 2008
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:

Ken Hill's Blogs

80 Vote(s)
0 Comment(s)
3 Post(s)
137 Vote(s)
1 Comment(s)
4 Post(s)
161 Vote(s)
0 Comment(s)
6 Post(s)
Moderated by Ken Hill
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]