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Vacation in Macau - How to Go from Hong Kong to Macau and What to See in Macau Peninsula

During the Easter holidays I went with two friends of mine to Macau, a former Portuguese colony and now a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. Macau is known for its mix of Eastern and Western culture, and as a gambling and tourist destination. In recent years Macau's gambling revenue has surpassed that of Las Vegas, making it the world's top casino market ( note ). But if you expect a vibrant, glistening city you might be disappointed. Macau is a quiet place, with huge modern casino and hotel buildings that, in a clumsy attempt to appear luxurious and elegant, actually look ostentatious and colossal, giving the impression of a surreal capitalist version of former Soviet-style cities. That is not meant to suggest that Macau is charmless, on the contrary. The most gracious, appealing and interesting part of Macau are the numerous historic areas, with Portuguese buildings that make it look like a European enclave in the middle of A

From Chater Garden to Government House - A Walk in Hong Kong

From Chater Garden it is easy to reach Queen's Road, which is connected to Battery Path via a stone staircase.  View Larger Map When you get to Battery Path you will see on the left the red-brick building of the former French mission (below), which is now the seat of the Court of Final Appeal. It was originally built in 1868 for the Russian Consul in Hong Kong. Later it was used by the American trading company Heard and Co., which subsequently went bankrupt (Wordie 2002, p. 22). In 1915 it was bought by the French Mission Etrangere which renovated it and added a chapel and a dome (Vines 2002, pp. 38-39).     The Court of Final Appeal. Apparently this is a nice spot where to take wedding pictures The Court of Final Appeal as seen from Chater Garden Facade of the Court of Final Appeal opposite St John's Cathedral Court of Final Appeal with the grave of Roy Maxwell's, a Eurasian serving in the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps who was killed

Legislative Council, Statue Square and Waterfront - A Walk in Hong Kong's Central District

Legislative Council Though many of its old buildings have gone forever, demolished to give way for futuristic skyscrapers, Hong Kong's colonial heritage is still visible. Surrounded, or hidden behind, fancy modern buildings, one can find many historic treasures. Central District is the best place to explore Hong Kong's past. It is in this area, formerly known as Victoria, that the British began to develop their newly acquired colony from 1843 onwards. It was the centre of power and finance, and it still partly retains this function. Exit K of Central MTR station leads to the Legislative Council and Statue Square. The Legislative Council (often called LegCo) is the seat of Hong Kong's Legislature. Designed by Ingress Bell and Aston Webb, who also designed the Victoria and Albert Museum and Buckingham Palace in London (Lung, p. 45/ Ingham 2007, p. 30) and completed in 1912, it was the seat of the Supreme Court until the late 1980s, when it moved to Queensway. Dur

A Walk in Hong Kong: From Wan Chai to Central

On Friday I had nothing special to do, so I decided to go to visit the Legislative Council. I went from Hang Hau to North Point, and then took the tram. But the tram was so slow, hot and crowded that I got off and went on foot. Then I realized how small Hong Kong Island actually is. I basically walked from North Point to Central, which seems a quite huge distance if you look at the map below, but it didn't take that long.    You can download a clearer Hong Kong MTR map here I will write a few small posts about the things one can see in Central District, because there are many interesting sites, most of which are from the colonial era. As a matter of fact, among the modern skyscrapers it is possible to find many old buildings. They are, truth be told, just a small part of what was once the "pre-economic miracle" Hong Kong. The boom of the 1970s, the influx of immigrants from mainland China and the lack of space made  it necessary to tear down a lot of old buildin

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall - Taipei Highlights

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall ( source: AngMoKio ) Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is one of Taipei's most famous and characteristic landmarks. The white structure with the blue roof may look like an edifice from old times, but in fact, it was built in 1980, five years after the death of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Guomindang and of the Republic of China from 1928 until 1975, which makes him one of the most important figures in Chinese history and longest-serving statesmen in the world. Chiang's son and successor, Chiang Ching-kuo, ordered the construction of the the memorial hall to honour his father. The hall is 70 metres tall and was built in Ming palace style. It is surrounded by a large park and by entry gates, and its architecture is full of classical symbols and inscriptions. This makes it one of the best examples of the neoclassical style of the Chiang era. It cost around 25 million US dollars  ( Logan / Hsu , p. 132). Chiang is a controve

Hong Kong's Struggle For Universal Suffrage

As the South China Morning Post reported today, Qiao Xiaoyang (å–¬ę›‰é™½), chairman of the Law Committee under the National People's Congress, said that discussions about a possible electoral reform in Hong Kong, which could lead to the establishment of a fully elected government, should not begin until the people of Hong Kong agree that those who confront the Beijing government cannot and shall not be allowed to govern the city (the Chinese text of Qiao Xiaoyang's speech can be found on the website of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R. ). Pro-democracy forces within Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), are pushing for a reform of the electoral system before the coming chief executive elections in 2017. According to Qiao Xiaoyang, Beijing would be willing to begin consultations over the election reforms only if two prerequisites were fulfilled: first, the reforms would have to be in line with Hong Kong's Basic La