SAKURA DREAMS

Spring has finally sprung upon us here in Dalian and the best thing about it is witnessing the amazing array of flowers and foliage suddenly appearing all around you. The city just blooms with greenery and colors as far as the eye can see. It is an ideal time to go hiking at the many city parks or go out of town to the nearby districts like Lushunkou to see the many spring flowers such as sakura, peach blossoms, winter jasmines, azalea, magnolia and butterfly orchids.

I, however, just cannot ignore the powerful beauty of the cherry blossoms, also popularly known as “sakura” from the Japanese. They are simply breathtaking when seen up close and here are some close-up pics I took on a recent trip to Lushunkou District, Dalian.

A WALK INSIDE THE FORBIDDEN GATE

A trip to Beijing just isn't the same without a visit to The Fobidden City - the Chinese Imperial Palace and home to past emperors and their households for almost 500 years, from the Ming Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Its massive and amazing presence sits right at the heart and center of Beijing.

The palace complex was built in 1406 until 1420 and consists of 980 buildings. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and has the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The throne in the Hall of Preserving Harmony
surrounded by ancient red wooden columns

Many interesting structures and symbols are found all throughout the Forbidden City. The ceremonial ramps at the center of the northern and southern ramp leading up to the terraces feature intricate and elaborate bas-relief carvings. The ramp behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony is carved from a single piece of stone - 16.57 meters long and weighing 200 tons.

The ceremonial ramp and its elaborate
bas-relief carvings

The Hall of Supreme Harmony's rooftop featuring ten
lined up statuettes of animals - the only building
at the time allowed to have this many - a symbol of
supreme status.

Many ridges of the building roofs feature a line of statuettes of various animals including a phoenix and a dragon. Minor buildings only have three to five, but The Hall of Supreme Harmony has ten, a unique feature in the Forbidden City, symbolizing the building as a very important one during Imperial times.

A gilded lion in front of the
Palace of Tranquil Longevity

Walking through this massive complex of Chinese ancient architecture, secrets, ancient stories and symbols was an amazing peep into China's imperial past and its many mysteries....some of which we may never discover from a time gone by.

SEASIDE PROMENADE

One of the best sights to see in Dalian is Xinghai Square, a city square known as the biggest in Asia and with a total area of 1.1 million square meters! Its sheer space and perfectly manicured greenery is impressive to say the least! But even better yet and by far my favorite is the natural beauty that awaits you right at the end of the square…the ocean promenade overlooking the waters of Heishi Reef Bay meeting the Bohai Sea. The smell of the ocean, the salt in the air, the breeze and the calm waters remind me of home in the Philippines and this has quickly become my favorite place in Dalian.

Here are a few photos from my seaside walks…

BLAST FROM A RUSSIAN PAST

Lately, I have found that walking around China’s modern, cosmopolitan city of Dalian is ironically like taking a peek into the past. The old and the new both exist in beautiful harmony. Dalian came under Russian territorial control from 1898 until 1905. Back then, the city was known as Dalny. Within those short seven years, the influence of Russian culture is still so amazingly seen and felt in the city today, especially along Dalian’s oldest street, now simply called “Russian Street.” Eight of the existing Russian buildings here have been renovated including the Russian Dalny City Hall, which is more than 100 years old.

I decided to take a look myself and walk back to the past…

The tops of two Russian buildings
Russian Street, Dalian

A building converted into an inn

The street has become a tourist destination
with lots of stalls selling Russian trinkets and souvenirs.

Russian Street stretches around 300 meters.

At the far end of the street lies the former Russian City Hall of Dalny

built in 1900.
This photo: Wikipedia Public Domain

My street souvenir: Dark Russian chocolate...yum!!!

THE BIG MOVE

Hi everyone! I apologize for not updating for quite sometime. The last two weeks have been quite hectic and crazy filled with packing and arrangements as Marc and I prepared for our big move to the coastal city of Dalian in northeast China. Marc got a new post in the city and last week we said goodbye to the city we've been living in for the past year, Hefei. We are now about to embark on new adventures, new food trips, and take a closer look at the culture and landscape of northern China. I am excited to explore new discoveries and hope you will continue to follow me as I continue my amazing journey in and around China. 

For now, here are two snapshots I'd like to share with all of you from my walk around the city yesterday. The weather in the city was a wonderful 18 degrees Celsius, sunny and filled with blue skies. These are some old early 20th century buildings taken in Zhongshan Square, Dalian.

Huangshan City's Old Town Magic

Last weekend, Marc and I decided to get away from the city for awhile and breathe some fresh mountain air. So, we hopped on a bus which took us four hours south of Hefei to wonderful Huangshan City (locals also call it Tunxi, its original name). This quaint and beautiful mountain city which is located in the southernmost point of Anhui province is known for two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Mount Huangshan (which means “Yellow Mountain” in English) and Hongcun and Xidi, the ancient villages of Southern Anhui.

View from the my window on the bus as we near Huangshan City

A photo of Mount Huangshan

Ink painting showing Huangshan by painter Shitao circa 1670

Ironically, we actually didn’t get to go to any of these sites because we found out a little too late that although both sites surround the geographic expanse of the city, getting to them would take another 1-2 hour bus ride being 50-80 kilometers away from the city proper. The mountain is also best explored for at least 2-3 days because of its immensity and it is best to book tour packages or stay in one of the hotels located on the mountain. Since we were only staying 2 nights in Huangshan City and didn’t book any tour or tour guide for any of these sites, we decided to leave them for another trip and to just relax and enjoy the beautiful city of Huangshan and its one other famous attraction located right in the heart of its downtown area: The Old Town, also known as Tunxi Ancient Street or Song Street.

Me in front of The Old Gate at Tunxi Ancient Street

Tunxi Ancient Street in a way, kind of reminds me of Yu Yuan (Yu Gardens) in Shanghai, though the main difference is that it is much older and instead of a network of streets, this one consists of one main 1.2 kilometer street. Walking this street is truly like going through a portal back in time.

The street’s centuries-old history goes back all the way to the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279). At that time, many architects and workmen from Tunxi lived in the city of Hangzhou (the Song Dynasty capital), and upon returning home copied the structural style and architecture in the big city, and so Tunxi Ancient Street was built. 

By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Tunxi Ancient Street street had 47 stores with shops on both sides of the street featuring the local Anhui style of stone base, brick construction and tile roof. Nowadays,  the street is also used as a natural studio for films and period TV series in China. 

An ancient Chinese medicine store where you can buy herbs
for any ailment

Paint brushes and paintings on scrolls depicting Huangshan mountain

I loved this awesome stationery store
with cute cards and notebooks.

After walking for some time, this cute coffee shop
called Sweet Time Coffee enticed us to stop by.

The perfect shopping ender
which for sure they never made back then:
a great Banana Mango Milkshake!

TERMINAL BLISS

If there is one airport terminal anyone wouldn’t mind being stuck in for awhile, it would be Hong Kong International Airport. It is the 10^th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic, and in my opinion, one of the best transit stops for shopping, dining and relaxing before your next connecting flight around Asia or to Europe.

I recently found myself once again on a three hour layover before my next connecting flight back to China after a really nice visit back home in the Philippines, and just like many times before, the hours just seemed to pass me by.

One of the things I love about Hong Kong airport is
that it is surrounded by blue skies, mountains and the sea.

The view of the mountains is usually so clear that
you can see the green grass on them. 

Getting from gate to gate can be less tiring on the
convenient horizontal escalators (also called walkalators).  

Here are three big tips I’ve learned in surviving and navigating an airport as big and fantastic as Hong Kong International which I believe is essential for every traveler:

• Make sure you check the gate of your next flight right away (this is the first thing I do) and estimate how long you have to just wander around and how long it’s going take you to get there on foot. Running last minute from Gate 3 to Gate 98 is no fun! Trust me!
• If you have more than an hour to wait, eat a snack at any of the many restaurants/cafes before shopping at Hong Kong terminal, which resembles that of two very large shopping malls (one on each side). You’ll need some energy as you navigate the array of goods available from perfumes, cosmetics, make-up, clothing, bookstores, electronics, pharmacies and spas…whew!
• BE AWARE OF THE TIME, at all times. It is so easy to get lost in a shopping trance at Hong Kong terminal. The fact that all the cosmetic products, creams and perfumes have testers doesn’t help! You’re free to try anything you want as many times as you want without the sales girls glaring at you. It’s truly great! But not so much if you miss your flight while putting Crème de la Mer on your hands. I’m guilty of doing this! But thankfully, didn’t miss my flight.

Aside from the huge duty-free shopping area, before every gate,
you'll find more shops, cafes and convenience stores.

You can take your pick from the airport's many restaurants.
Here's my view while having a snack at Pizza Express.

My favorite stores are definitely the bookstores where you
can browse for hours and grab a magazine while waiting.



HERE'S WHAT WENT IN MY SHOPPING BAG AFTER THREE HOURS:

When I saw Charlize Theron on the cover of InStyle’s June issue, I grabbed it right away. She’s one of my favorite actresses and is starring in two big summer movies this year: Snow White and the Huntsman and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Can’t wait!

Hoe Hin White Flower Embrocation Oil (5ml.) (US$2)

Since I was already in Hong Kong airport, I ran to the pharmacy and just had to get myself a tiny bottle of one of Hong Kong’s most renowned brands, Hoe Hin White Flower Embrocation Oil. This oil is a really, really great product. It has been around for years and is fantastic in relieving colds, flu, headaches, minor aches and pains, bruises and sprains, muscular aches, motion sickness, insect bites etc. It can also be used as an antiseptic. Ingredients consist of wintergreen oil, menthol, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil and camphor. It’s a great product to have in your home cabinet.

DKNY Women Eau de Toilette (50ml.) (US$50)

I sprayed DKNY Women Eau de Toilette on my wrist in the perfume section early on and for the next hour; I couldn’t stop smelling myself or putting my wrist repeatedly on my face while walking around. I’m hoping nobody thought I was crazy. It smelled so good that I ran back and bought a 50ml. bottle of the eau de toilette. Top notes are citrus mandarin oranges, chilled vodka and violet leaf with middle notes of narcissus, lotus and orchid; base notes of woods and white birch. Other notes are tomato leaves, water lily, yellow daffodils and tulip tree bark. I’d describe the scent as perfect for summer…light, fresh, modern and intoxicating. Great for everyday!

Milka Mix Chocolates (380grams)

I love Milka chocolates and this is the perfect bag to buy for sharing with loved ones. This bag holds 82 individually wrapped pieces of Milka chocolates in three flavors: Alpine Milk, Crunchy Caramel and Strawberry. All are simply delicious! So happy I found it as the mix bags are not usually as available as the chocolate bars.

View from my window upon landing back in Hefei, China

All in all, I had a great trip back home even for a short two-week visit. It was great seeing my parents, siblings, in-laws and friends. But it’s back to my home for now in Hefei, and as for Hong Kong airport, till we meet again!

Hong Kong International Airport

Lantau, Hong Kong

Telephone: +852 2181 8888