Hong Kong and Shenzhen: The Rewind

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Since we have returned to China we have been keeping very busy. After a couple of days of relaxing and doing nothing back in Shenzhen we decided to check out another touristy thing. Splendid China and the China Folk Center were next on the list. Splendid China was just like Window of the World only it pertained only to significant places in China. We spent a couple of hours checking out most of the models before moving onto the Folk Center. The Folk Center contained traditional style dwellings from different villages in China and gave some insight into how people lived in different conditions. This place was kind of disappointing as most of the attractions inside had closed for the day already. At the end of the day we were lucky to catch two shows with some traditional dance, acrobatics, and special effects.

We have been eating tons of food since we have gotten back- going out for dim sum, hot pot, and other delicious meals. The five of us also took a night to go out karaoke-ing on this street in Shenzhen that only has huge karaoke bars everywhere you look. We had lots of fun and ended up staying for a couple of hours. Definitely need to locate a karaoke house like that somewhere in Calgary when we get back!! Other things that we have been doing in Shenzhen include going down the beach area where approximately every person in China crams onto this one piece of sand. We didn’t go to go swimming or relax on the beach, luckily! We also had the chance to take a tour of one of the product testing factories, Intertek. They showed us how everything goes through rigorous testing and trails and about how the testing varies according to certain countries regulations. 99% of all exports from China go through this company, therefore, so basically 99% of all products in Canada go through this company as well!

We’ve been commuting back and forth to Hong Kong every couple of days to explore around there more. One day we went and checked out the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Statue Square, Bank Street, a war memorial, and the world’s largest outdoor escalator. We started off from the metro and stopped to take some pictures at Statue Square and Bank Street - not much to see there but it was on the way so we decided we would stop by. On Bank Street there were protests going on outside of HSBC with funny signs saying “HSBC: Hongkong Savage Bestial Crooks”, not really sure what was going on. The Zoological and Botanical Garden was cool, they had tons of different kinds of monkeys, birds, and of course plants. Later that night we were walking around when we came across signs for the world’s largest outdoor escalator and figured we might as well check it out! Yup, it was pretty big.

The next time that we went back to HK, Binns ran into a Chinese actor that he is a fan of. They chatted and he got his picture taken with him while we rode together on the train, it was a good start to the day. That day we checked out the Bank of China tower, the Hong Kong Park, and the Wan Chai area. At the Bank of China tower you can sign in as a visitor and be granted access to their 43rd floor observation area where you are able to take some pictures of the Kowloon side. HK Park was really big with a waterfall, man made lake, tai chi garden, fountains, a big aviary, etc. We took time to vote on a schools 4-9 yr old art contest being held as a special exhibit at the art gallery in the park. It’s kind of sad that most of them can draw about 1000 times better than I can. We started off our tour of the Wan Chai area on this tiny little street full of people selling live fish, fresh veggies, and other such goods. After we headed to Pak Tai Temple, which was open later than usual because of the current Hungry Ghost Festival. There are huge offerings, tons of incense, and people burning buckets of paper and other things all over the city during this lunar month. After checking out the temple we went on a search for a haunted house that Binnson had read about in Lonely Planet. Despite having directions, we aren’t exactly sure if we found it - so it wasn’t that scary.

Lonely Planet recommended that we go and check out the museums in HK on a Wednesday as they are all free. So we decided to go to the History Museum as well as the Science Center and the Space Museum. The History Museum was pretty interesting with lots of exhibits and videos. I was most excited for the Science Center which was right across from the History Museum, however, when we arrived the place was wall to wall with screaming children who all wanted to play with the same things. After being bullied out of all of the fun things by the children we had finally had enough of the place. It’s pretty big as well and would likely be more interesting on a day that you have to pay admission as you might actually get to see something! The Space Museum was the least interesting, it’s kind of old and there really isn’t much too see. They had rides and games and stuff but.... I wouldn’t go back.

Today we headed back to Hong Kong to go to Ocean Park. It’s a big amusement park with many exhibits on sea life. There were also rides, shows, games, and the usual. We did a couple rides and then checked out the sea lions, dolphin show, this giant aquarium full of sting rays, sharks, turtles, and other big fish, and the jelly fish exhibit before breaking for dinner. After dinner, we took the cable car down to the lower level. The cable car went a really long distance and Binnson was terrified of it, so that plus the stunning views kept me entertained for the duration of the ride! On the lower level we were able to catch another show and then go to visit the panda exhibits. They had a couple of giant panda’s and these odd red mini pandas that looked like raccoons. About 8 hours and a few hundred pictures later, we were ready to go back to Shenzhen. Tomorrow morning we are headed to Macau for a couple days, the Vegas of China.

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Comments

[Irene Bartel]

Awesome!
I'm really glad that Bettyanne gave me this website, being coworkers we enjoy sharing our children's adventures and bragging or complaining about their accomplishments. I must say this is an awesome way of recording and sharing your journey. I have learned so much about the culture, scenery, food, customs and traditions about China, even feel like I have gotten to know Cheryl better and although have never met Binn I've gathered he has a sense of humor and adventure. Great photos! Thanks for letting me be a creeper on your blog and sharing your adventures. Irene