Chaozhou City, China (Part 3) UPDATED

Updated 24th February 2005


A majestic pagoda in the middle of a public park


Hanjiang Bridge


Tien Hou Temple


Entrance of Tien Hou temple


Walkway of a public park


Roadside stall selling cigarettes


A typical narrow street in the old part of Chaozhou


One morning beside the lake


Serene condition


Old colonial building (The English were here back in Chaozhou glorious days)


Full of lush trees


Trees that grows on wall


Brief history


Fotress protecting the Langxilou building


Light beacon


Another view of the Hanjiang River from Langxilou building


The Langxilou building (ancient well on the left)


The well, now dry and full of notes and coins..a dry wishing well

Chaozhou City, China (Part 2)

Night scene at Chaozhou Square

Entertainment for the mass public comes in the form of a spectacular water and light display at Chaozhou Square which is free of charge and starts from 8pm everyday. It seems ridiculous that some of us have to pay to watch similar display back home (Mines Theme Park comes to mind). Tourists and Chaozhou residents throngs to the square in numbers without fail every night as the square doubles as a public park with many variety of flora.


Evening at Chaozhou Square


Pretty fountains lined up for your viewing pleasure


A huge square cum park for a city smaller than KL


Clock tower on the left, bank on centre & city's only 4-star hotel on the right


Clever use of water spray which doubles as a huge video screen (not visible through camera lens)


Let the light show begins!


Water display at all four corners of the square

to be continued...

Chaozhou City, China (Part 1)

The city of Chaozhou, 40km from the port city of Shantou in the north east Guangdong province, is a classic tourist city as stated in the brochures and many other references. I had a brief glimpse during my last visit but this trip is rather different as I managed to explore a bit more.”A classic tourist city” not in the sense that it provides a lot of amenities but rather in the historical sense as this city seems to be full of it. Chaozhou is the Mandarin name for Teochew. 2 things springs to mind by the mere mention of Teochew namely the mandarin oranges and porridge. This city is developing (which China’s city isn’t?) judging by the number of new buildings coming up. There’s no shortage of hotels here ranging from 4 stars to budget. Getting around the city is a breeze as it is full of trishaw of the manual and motorized type. RMB3 to 5 is enough to get you to your destination. Don’t expect though to get anywhere if you don’t know at least the Mandarin language. Best if you know the Teochew dialect. Besides the famed Teochew porridge, the city serves the usual Chinese cuisines though special mention must be given to the abundance of Sichuan cuisines here. Other than that, there’s a grand total of 2 KFC and 1 McDonald’s here. Which is a blessing!


Aboard a trishaw on a narrow street of Chaozhou


Chaozhou Square (more of this in the next part)


Hanjiang Wall, dating back from the Ming Dynasty


Tiny entrance across the wall


The wall stretches to about 5km now and used to protect the city of Chaozhou from invaders


View from the top part of the wall


Hanjiang River, much of it dry now due to the declining rainfall


The ancient Hanjiang bridge, now under restoration


Drawing of Chaozhou during the Ming Dynasty


The new Hanjiang bridge, another ultra modern one is going to be constructed soon.

to be continued...

SMS scam - the saga continues

I've highlighted about this in a previous post entitled "SMS chat". I've even posted the link of that post to Maxis (my cell operator) and Evo22 (company responsible for these SMSes). Apparently, nothing has been done yet as evidenced by these messages I receives regularly and from the same nickname! Look at these messages carefully and pay attention in particular to the dates. Of course this time I didn't reply to any of these messages but this "WK" is one persistent fella I tell you. Either that or this proves my theory correct about random automated messaging created by the company which provides this service itself in order to gain more dough generated from replies to the number. By the way, as you might have guessed, Evo22 and this 36322 thingy operates a supposedly SMS chat program. Much like the internet instant messaging but the difference is this is done between mobiles. Each reply to the number will be charged 30 sen.

Most people I'm sure wouldn't mind if this service is genuine and messages are from real people. But I don't think this is the case and this is indeed sad because in a way, it's a scam. It seems more and more of these 5 digit SMS number thingy are springing up in the country and something must be done to regulate the services. The cellular companies are not doing much OR are not willing to do anything (they do receive a portion of the monies from the SMSes), so I guess it's about time the government steps in before this blows out of proportion. What's stopping them from in future provides pornos?


Innocent question and greeting initially from this mysterious person


OK...this is getting annoying...happy countdown at the 3rd of January?


I'm beginning to feel lonely if this goes on

Tsunami Aftermath

It's the year 2005 already and most people around the world entered it with sombre mood. 8 days after the tragedy struck, millions of people around the affected areas are still suffering from it. Threat of starvation and disease is looming even as international aid begins to trickles in. The grim task of recovering the bodies, some of which may never be found, falls upon the shoulders of all relief and rescue workers. It's heartening to know that people from all over the world are chipping in to help in what experts call "the greatest natural disaster". Flags are flying at half-mast even at places half way around the world.

In Malaysia, scores of organization are helping to either collect cash donations or contributions (clothings, food etc). It's the same scene all over the world. No consoling words can relief the victims but it's heartening to know that some political barriers have been breached. Tamil rebels and Aceh insurgents are laying down arms. Cross section of people from different religions are working together. This is perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel which is much needed as countries affected tries to re-build.


Paradise lost, destructions, weeping men & women, the grim aftermath.


All the affected countries

Sources : AP/AFP