Category Archives: Travel & Mobility

A Walking Tour of the Hankow Bund, Wuhan

This gallery contains 38 photos.

Aside from the Shanghai Bund, Wuhan probably possesses the best-preserved colonial-era Bund, or waterfront, in all of East Asia.  I refer to the Hankow Bund, which, at 4 km long, is twice the size of the Shanghai Bund; and, paying … Continue reading

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The Grand Tour II-6: Mouth of the Han River… Hankow (漢口 – part of present day Wuhan 武漢)

This gallery contains 17 photos.

In considering the major colonial treaty port cities of China, Hankow 漢口is often forgotten. Understandably so, as it simply isn’t as famous today as the likes of Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen. Also, Hankow itself is subsumed into the city of … Continue reading

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The Cathay Hotel, Shanghai… today’s Fairmont Peace Hotel

This gallery contains 23 photos.

The Cathay Hotel is a dream of a hotel. An art deco mirage in concrete and cast iron, floating impossibly on the once-swampy banks of the Shanghai Bund – Britain’s city-monument to Imperial Might. The grande dame de jure of … Continue reading

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The Old City of Shanghai, 上海古城

This gallery contains 38 photos.

The city of Shanghai – as mentioned in my earlier post – consisted, actually, of three different municipalities with their own legal systems: the International Settlement, the French Concession, and the Chinese Old City. The Old City is ancient, having … Continue reading

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The French Concession, Shanghai

This gallery contains 35 photos.

The French Concession in Shanghai was established in 1849 – the final concession to be established in the city – and it lasted till 1946, one year after the surrender of the Japanese in the aftermath of World War II. … Continue reading

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Nanjing Road and the International Settlement, Shanghai

This gallery contains 28 photos.

In the beginning, there was only the British Concession – or the British settlement, as it was known in 1842, when, under the auspices of the Treaty of Nanking, Shanghai was established as a Treaty Port. The settlement was built on … Continue reading

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A Tour of the Shanghai Bund (上海外灘)

This gallery contains 42 photos.

The Shanghai Bund is the centerpiece of its namesake city, Shanghai – that most quintessential of all Treaty Ports in China, and one of the greatest city’s in recent history. It takes pride of place in the International Settlement, jointly … Continue reading

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The Grand Tour II-5: On the Sea… Shanghai (上海)

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Shanghai is one of those epic cities that once you get to know, you will find impossible to forget.  It lingers on in the mind like an ex-lover, suggesting drama and romance. It is also one of the six cities … Continue reading

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The Ariel Generation Part II – Debunking the myth of “I Want More”

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A couple of months ago, in my post “The Grass is Green enough Here, wherever Here is,” I introduced the idea that a whole generation of my friends, including myself, belonged to “the Ariel Generation”, “Ariel referring to the name … Continue reading

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Tan Kah Kee’s Legacy: Xiamen University and the Lujiang Hotel

This gallery contains 27 photos.

Amoy’s links to Singapore (and the Nanyang 南洋 Region) extend beyond cultural ties of the Hokkien peoples that populate both islands today to specific members of the Overseas Chinese community.  And one of the most important members of this community was … Continue reading

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