After the opening of trade with Japan in the mid 19th century, a number of western businessmen established themselves in the Nagasaki area to conduct trade and other industrial activities. The family names of Alt, Ringer and especially Glover (a Scot) are closely tied to the history of this region in the late 19th and…
Tag: featured
Point of impact
Nagasaki peace park in the district of Urakami. On the 9th of August 1945, the A-bomb missed the target and exploded several kms. north of the city centre over this district. Parc de la bombe atomique de Nagasaki dans le district d’Urakami. Le 9 août 1945, la bombe a raté sa cible et a explosé…
Dejima
At first a peninsula, then an artificial island and now almost lost in the modern city of Nagasaki. Dejima was a European trading post in Japan from the 1630’s until 1853. The island was built by local merchants, initially for the Portuguese, but soon dominated by the Dutch, who were never-the-less kept at arms length…
The market
Fresh stuff in the market. How about some live silkworms for an appetizer ? Produits frais au marché. Des vers à soie comme apéro ?
Three guys on a fishing trip
There used to be fish in this bay. Autrefois, le poisson était au rendez-vous.
Boats in the bay
Riddle : How many boats make too many boats ?? Une seule question : quand est-ce que cela fait trop de bateaux ??
Nanxiang oldtown and the Tan Garden
A classical Chinese garden in Shanghai, dating from the late Ming dynasty, nicely restored, beautiful to visit and very peaceful with almost no tourists. Notes on the entrance ticket : “Tan garden was the private garden of Li Liufang, the scholar and artist in Ming Dynasty. During that time, it was the place for poets…
River(side) scenes
The karst topography was only part of the show. Les montagnettes de karst avaient de la concurrence.
A farm in Yangshuo county
In the Guilin area of Quangxi province, the town of Yangshuo is a very popular stopping point for the boats that cruise down the Li river through the strange and fascinating karst hill formations. Apart from the river tourist trade, many people make a living by farming. This village near Yangshuo has many osmanthus tree…
Qingdao waterfront
Qingdao : A former German trading post and concession on the northeast China coast, famous for beer, now a huge city, one of the ten largest in China. People still dig for shellfish at low tide on the seafront. Qingdao : Sur la côte nord-est de la Chine, autrefois un comptoir commercial allemand , renommée…
Kagoshima Bay
Kagoshima : a city with a volcano on it’s doorstep, just a couple kilometers out in the bay. Smoke and ash are a daily diet here. Kagoshima : La vie en face du volcan, 2 ou 3 km au loin dans la baie. Fumée et cendres sont au menu quotidien de cette région.
Flora in the steam room
In Beppu, the hot springs and steam serve many purposes. One of them is to heat floral pools and greenhouses. A Beppu, la vapeur et les sources chaudes servent à de multiples fins y compris à chauffer des serres permettant de cultiver une flore tropicale.
Boiling mud and steam
The Hells of Beppu: Hot water, steam, boiling mud, everywhere. Steam used for cooking, hot water used for bath houses, many pools too dangerous to get too close. This is Beppu, a small city on the north east coast of Kyushu island, southern Japan. Hard to believe the pressure cooker underground has not blown its…
National Palace Museum
This museum in Taipei contains some of the very best pieces from the art collection of the former Chinese imperial family. The pieces in this museum were moved many times during the turbulent period between the Mukden incident in 1931 and the evacuation to Taiwan in late 1948. To prevent them falling into the hands…
The view from 101
Taipei 101. The world’s tallest tower from it’s completion in 2004 until the opening of a taller building in Dubai in 2010 and first building to exceed 1/2 km in height. The view from the top is stunning and equally hard to photograph due to barriers, glass, etc. Taipei 101. Le plus grand gratte-ciel au…
Road to Wuling
Public transportation to the Wuling Farm recreation area (located in the Shei-Pa National Park) in Taiwan is by bus. It leaves from the east coast city of Ilan and follows the Lanyang river. For 30 to 40 km it’s a diet of stunning views, steep hillsides and cabbage farms !! La vallée de Wuling est…
Taroko
On the east coast of Taiwan, away from the bigger cities, the mountains plunge steeply into the Pacific. Near Hualien, the Liwu river reaches the sea after passing through deep gorges cut through black and white marble, This is one of the country’s finest natural attractions. Sur la côte est de Taiwan, près de la…
Yingge – ceramics in Taiwan
Yingge district, Taipei County, specialises in ceramics and porcelain. …many shops with outstanding pieces on the old street (鶯歌老街) and a remarkable ceramics museum to visit too. Le district de Yingge, près de Taipei, se spécialise en la fabrication de porcelaines et céramiques. Dans la ville, une rue commerçante (鶯歌老街) propose des produits de grand…
