Shang Dong is a prosperous province in China. There are large Korean ex-pat communities. Also, it was the site of the famous Sino-Japanese Naval war.
There is a nice museum discuss the conflict on the Liugong_Island.
Monthly Archives: April 2010
Tai Mountain
Mount Tai is among one of the most famous cultural heritages in China. While it is not very tall, because of its geographic proximity to imperial capitals of China, Beijing, etc, many Chinese emperors and leading literally figures had made pilgrimages to it. On the top of the mountain, there is a Daoist temple, with over 2,000 years of history. Viewing the sunrise on the top of the mountain is one of the favorite activities for tourists.
While one can climb the mountain by foot, we took the easy way and rode the cable car to the top.
Confucius Temple
Confucius Temple, China
Confucius is regarded the moral leader of the ancient china. He philosophy centers around the ‘middle path’ to ‘harmonizing the society’. He was born in 479 BC. He was a very tall man during his era. While he is considered one of the leading philosophers of China, during his lifetime, he had a lot of difficulties with life. Around age 55, he wandered around different countries for over 10 years.
Tsing Dao, China
TsingDao, China
This week, I visited the Tsing Dao city, which is located in the Shang Dong province in China. It is next to the Yellow Sea. For a period of time, it was colonized by Germans and later by the Japanese. In the older section of the city, the historical mansions (mainly European styles) remain protected. During the 2008 Olympic Games, the city also hosted the sailing games. In the Chung Shan Park, the Japanese cherry tree started to blossom with brilliant white color when we arrived in late April, 2010. We also met my dad’s old friend from college. Together, we had a wonderful meal of seafood delicacies.
A day in San Francisco
I explored San Francisco today. After breakfast, I walked up the Powell street and paced through the China Town. Then, I walked up the hill and got a good panoramic view of SF from the Coit Tower. The climb was strenuous. But, it felt good to get some fresh air and much needed exercise. After lunch at Neptune’s Lounge at Pier 39, I walked back home. The sun was bright. The sky was cloudless and blue. But, the SF weather is always amazingly comfortable, never too warm or humid. It was just perfect. Then, ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Then, I took the bus to see the Gold Gate Park. Saw some nice geeselings. They are not afraid of the people at all.
On my way back, purely by chance I met Bharati Mukherjee and Clark Blaise, the famed authors of the “Days and Nights in Calcutta”. Very nice people, Clark saw me reading the map and asked if I needed help for direction. Really warm people. I am going to read their novels.
SF is an amazing place. In the last days, I met Mark Zuckerberg and now these really awesome authors. It is truly a place of great minds.
