Autumn Colours in North-East China

This is the time of year when it seems the whole of Beijing goes to the Fragrant Hills to see the maple leaves turn red. My friend Franky was lucky enough to escape the city crowds (and pollution) and travel to the Tianhuashan mountains in the North-East. A long trip but well worth the effort. He wrote the following:

"Tianhuashan, 200 km from the border (with North Korea) city of Dandong in the north-east of China, is said is to have the most beautiful maple leaves in China . It has an average elevation of about 1100m.

Besides beautiful maple leaves, Tianhuashan is also a good mountain to climb, with falls, brooks, forest, valleys and long gorges. One of the mountains even looks like Chairman Mao and has been named Maogong Mountain .

The best time to view the maple leaves is mid-October. This season is also the best time to eat crab in Dandong . Dandong has many people from North Korea , and some Korean restaurants have even opened there."

Let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Fireworks Galore!

We are in the 'golden' period' for Beijing, where the weather is dry and sunny by day. Following the Oct 1st 60th birthday celebrations, the festive spirit has continued with the China Open 2009 (tennis), the Beijing International Marathon, the 12th Beijing Music Festival, Ditan Book Fair and Fragrant Hills Autumn Leaves Festival. No wonder the airport these days is unusually busy as more tourists come and go.

There have been a couple of wonderful fireworks displays this month: the October 1st celebrations and the 11th National Games which opened recently in Jinan. They reminded  me of the much grander 2008 Olympics, when I was lucky enough to go to the closing ceremony. (But I didn't get in to the opening ceremony where the fireworks alone cost over 1 million USD).

Fireworks are an old Chinese invention. However, the technology continues to develop, with compressed air launching and computerised ignition. They have even become green with minimal smoke emission. The displays get more and more sophisticated, coming in multiple colours and in 3D. We can even see more complicated designs such as smileys and dragons.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. The next chance for you to see fireworks may not be until Chinese New Year next February. Got any plans for Valentine's Day yet?