Journey to the West - Part I Gallery

Two months of long tour (>10,000km) in China West has covered Qinghai province, Gansu province, part of Sichuan north, Shaanxi province, Ningxia and Xinjiang autonomous region. The first batch of photos are now online at http://weng.zenfolio.com/journey2west

The beautiful old towns of Dali, Shuhe and Lijiang

Many who visited Yunnan province, southwest of China will mostly put Dali and Lijiang into their itinerary. Here are some photos which I took during my trip to Yunnan in May. I will, in particular, recommend the small old town of Shuhe 束河 to anyone who wish to have a relaxing and quiet vacation in a beautiful and serene place.

For more photos on Shuhe

For more photos on Lijiang

For more photos on Dali

The long tour ended

The long tour finally ended. Two months of long tour (>10,000km) has covered Qinghai province, Gansu province, part of Sichuan north, Shaanxi province, Ningxia and Xinjiang autonomous region. Tiring but is no doubt a fruitful trip.

Below was the route/path taken in the two months journey.
Started at Xining, Qinghai, the trip followed some part of the Silk Road and has the final end at Urumqi, Xinjiang, after completed the Northern Xinjiang tour.

The long tour begins 西部之旅

We have always looked forward to explore the western side of Mainland China which requires longer time to tour. We are glad the opportunity has finally come. Destinations will include Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang or Tibet, and Northwest of Sichuan.

My first compact digicam - Olympus XZ-1

After playing with DSLR for a couple of years, I finally decided that I do need a smaller and lighter digital camera that allows me to carry around easily and for short vacation trip. Me and my wife shortlisted three cameras in the same range, ie. Canon S95, Panasonic LX5 and Olympus XZ-1. We picked XZ-1 for its image quality, fast lens (F1.8) and stylish finishing. For detailed review on XZ-1, click here.

Lugu Lake — The Kingdom of Women 美丽的女儿国—泸沽湖

Lugu Lake is located in the North West Yunnan plateau in the centre of Ningliang Yi Autonomous County. The middle of the lake forms the border between Yunnan Province and the Sichuan province. It is an alpine lake at an elevation of 2,685 metres and is the highest lake in the Yunnan Province. Lugu Lake is a popular side excursion from Lijiang. It usually takes around 7-8 hours bus ride(including a lunch stop), from Lijiang to Lugu Lake due to poor road condition. A highway to Lugu Lake is almost completed and will shorten the distance to 3-4 hours. And an airport in Lugu Lake will be completed in 2 years time. Soon, this place will be swamped with tourists. Lugu Lake has an admission fee of RMB78. More photos here.

The Amazing Red Soil of Dongchuan 东川红土地—上帝的调色板

Dongchuan, literally means River East, is located 180km north of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, China. It is famous for its massive land of red soil. The soil contains such components as oxidized Iron, after a long period of oxidation, gradually added and mixed in the soil that produced this extra-ordinary reddish brown soil. Every inch of land are cultivated and planted to the maximum by the inhabitants, consequently causing unwanted damage to the place... erosion. Dongchuan mainly attacts photographers and not the mass tourist crowd, due to its remote location and poor infrastructure. Because of this, it stays relatively quiet and still a heaven for photographers. The scale of red soil in Dongchuan is second only to the one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dongchuan is one of the remaining few places in China that are yet to collect any admission fee.

More photos here.

Shangri-La 香格里拉—心中的日月

Recently came back from a 16-days trip to Northwestern part of Yunnan Province, China. Shangri-La (Zhongdian) was part of my itinerary, a place so popular among travelers and backpackers.

Shangri-La County is a primarily Tibetan county in northwestern Yunnan province, Southwest China. The county is very close to Sichuan Province and Tibet Autonomous Region. The county was formerly called Zhongdian County but was renamed in 2001 after the fictional land of Shangri-La in the 1933 James Hilton novel Lost Horizon, in an effort to promote tourism in the area. Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia — a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. More photos.

Marina Bay Sands - ArtScience Museum

Final work on Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum, 10 days before 18 Feb 2011, the grand opening.

Zoo and Bird Park (Singapore)

Singapore Zoo and Bird Park are two popular tourist attractions.
For more please visit http://weng.zenfolio.com/p486277171