In China - 2

Another one from my trip.  This is from Wednesday.  Spent the afternoon doing the tourist spots in Xiamen,  which I haven't done in a few years actually.  It was fun.

中国の福建からの第２番ブログです。水曜日の旅行です。今日アモイ(廈門)に居た。午後時観光の事でした：グランユウ（鼓浪屿）へ行った。行くの前一番綺麗な景色のピザー・ハットで食べた。24回からグランユウを見える：

First I enjoyed lunch Pizza Hut,  but not just any pizza hut,  the pizza hut with perhaps the best view of any in the world... 24 stories high and looking down on Xiamen's Gulang Island (鼓浪屿 - wikipedia):

Actually that was the objective for this day's sight seeing.

On the ferry there we saw some interesting advertisements on these plastic handles you can grab to keep your balance (like they have on the bus, except in this case on a ferry boat).

A view back to downtown Xiamen.  The Pizza hut is at the top of the white building.  it USED to be the tallest building around by far,  but these new buildings are getting taller and taller...  doh. :-P　アモイの町中。

I noticed during my first visit here back in 2000, that Gulangyu has some interesting signage,  its nice to see that they're keeping up with new ones:　ここで面白い看板一杯有る：

Maybe I have a dirty mind,  but I can't help but be think about a poor construction working releasing his bowels in terror as he falls head first from a great height...　高いから降ったら、怖過ぎから、うんこを出る！

Sometimes when they make a mistake on a sign, its cause they were just using a dictionary and somehow got the wrong usage of a word or a synonym that isn't quite right... but I have no idea how this one came about...

In chinese it says 'non-recyclable'...  somehow that became 'Organism'

(....maybe from 'organic [waste]'? )

Here's the famous statue of Zheng Chenggong,  aka Koxinga...

For those who don't know ( wikipedia),  he is a historical figured used by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as a propaganda symbol against the other side....

コシンガーです。

Gulang Yu used to be the part of Xiamen (aka Amoy) that the foreign traders lived in before the Revolution. There are still a lot of pretty old (70-100 year old) western style homes on the island that are interesting to see... 

グランユウにたくさん古洋風な家が在る。70年ー100年前からです。

some of them are vacant and in a state of disrepair...

Between the missing windows, broken shutters and dead vines,  this one was just creepy. :-P

たくさん家は人ないから、一寸怖くなりました。

As you can see, this one is very much still in use today (either that or that laundry belongs to the ghosts...)  Notice the cool design of the front gate!

ここで人に住んでいる（服が乾いていた）この家のデサインかっこい。アート・デーコーです。大好き！

I love art deco design...  some of the houses were obviously cutting edge when they were built. This was one of the better examples.

Even better than the gate was above the front entrance,  you can barely make it out, but it says '1937'... when was the last time anyone put the year of construction on their own house (in masonry!)  　1937年で建てましたと言います。

Closer to the pier the streets and building facades have been spruced up for tourists:

Maybe I should try staying at one of these places next time... 　埠頭近のビルの法が綺麗、観光人為にのお店一杯。。。

Stopping off to get some overpriced tea:

Tea is the only thing I ever buy for anyone from China as a gift anymore... especially when i come to Fujian (arguably the tea capital of the world?)　お茶買った時。。。福建のお茶が世界一番ですよ。

Back on Xiamen Island...  its been a few years since  I came down to the downtown area, I was surprised to see that Zhongshan Lu has been turned into a nice pedestrian walking area:

A really good idea...   I'm sure on a weekend its packed.　　今アモイのマインストリートが歩行者通りになりました。

Yes, I like my coke in a wine glass, thank you very much!

ワイングラスにコラかビールを飲めませんか？