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Monday, April 30, 2018

Pingfeng Hill Park in Yunfu

At Pingfeng Hill in Yunfu, there is a park. Unsurprisingly, it is named Pingfeng Hill Park. According to an informational sign there, the park opened last July. At the moment it consists of a single path which connects an entrance from a a road, unsurprisingly named Pingfeng Road, on the southeast side of the hill with an entrance on the south side of the hill.  According to a posted map, the current path will apparently be extended to another entrance and an alternate route will be created as well.

The park includes a small simple Chinese pavilion. And the path goes by several tombs.

Chinese-style tomb on Pingfeng Hill in Yunfu, Guangdong


The path doesn't reach very high — nowhere near the top of the hill. So the views are somewhat limited.



While this park may be appreciated by locals, it probably isn't one which would make the itinerary for a several-day visit to Yunfu. Another of Yunfu's hills which is also part of its karst topography, though, has a path all the way to its top that doesn't require advanced rock climbing skills. This one would likely appeal to somebody seeking views in central Yunfu from a height much higher than available at Pingfeng Hill Park or even the top of Qilin Hill. More about that hill later.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Two Urban Views of Pingfeng Hill in Yunfu

The previous post featured a view from Qilin Hill in Yunfu with Pingfeng Hill visible in the distance. For today's dose of urban karst topography, I will share two photos of Pingfeng Hill taken from a much closer vantage point. As a bonus, the second photo includes a water truck watering things.

Pingfeng Hill (屏峰山) in Yunfu


Pingfeng Hill (屏峰山) and water truck spraying water onto the road in Yunfu


This is also an opportunity to correct a mistake. I previously identified this fine example of karst topography as Bingfeng Hill. However, I now believe its proper name is Pingfeng Hill.

The first Chinese character in the hill's name, 屏, can be read as either "bing" or "ping" in Mandarin Chinese, and those two pronunciations have distinctly different meanings. It's one of the many homographs in Chinese language.

Today, as I looked for photos of Pingfeng Hill I noticed I had taken a photo of sign for a street which runs along the hill's south side. The street uses the hill for its name, and the sign went with Pingfeng.

Pingfeng Hill (屏峰山) in Yunfu


Additionally, given their respective meanings, "ping" seems more fitting than "bing".

So Pingfeng Hill it is. Enjoy the views.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

An Urban & Karsty View from the Top of Qilin Hill in Yunfu

The Revolutionary Martyrs Monument at Yunfu's Martyrs Park stands about halfway up Qilin Hill (麒麟山), also known as Shilin Hill (石麟山).* The top of the hill affords a view of some of the urban environment surrounding the park as well as an example of Yunfu's karst topography.

View of Yunfu from Qilin Mountain (麒麟山)


Pingfeng Hill (屏峰山) can be seen in the left half of the photo. To its right slightly farther in the distance are apartment buildings under construction. The relative locations of Qilin Hill and Bingfeng hill can be seen in this satellite view taken from Baidu Maps:

satellite view of Yunfu including Qilin Hill and Pingfeng Hill


The Martyr's Park, including its lake, is in the upper right. Pingfeng Hill is the green area in the lower left. The newer apartment buildings are to the left (west) of it. Oddly, Baidu's label for Bingfeng Hill is misplaced slightly to its west. The label for the Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall is perfectly placed though.

Later, I will share some street-level scenes from a road with some historical architecture that nearly connects these two hills.




*Reference in Chinese here.

Updated April 27, 2018, to correct Pingfeng Hill's name in Pinyin.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A Park, Memorial Hall, and Cemetery for Revolutionary Martyrs in Yunfu

Yunfu Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall (革命烈士纪念馆) in Martyrs Park
Yunfu Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall in Martyrs Park

Tucked away in the center of Yunfu's most urban district is the city's Martyrs Park (烈士公园). The park includes the city's Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall (革命烈士纪念馆), with a cemetery and monument on the hill behind it. I stumbled upon the park during a meandering walk after first arriving in Yunfu and passed through several times on following days. Below are some photos taken on two quiet days at the park, some of which also capture the urban environment surrounding it.

Park gate leading from Jiefang Road


Yunfu Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall (云浮革命烈士纪念馆)
Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall


sculpted bust of Deng Fa (邓发)
Deng Fa (邓发)


Revolutionary Martyr's Monument in Yunfu (云浮革命烈士纪念碑)
Revolutionary Martyrs Monument




Martyr's Cemetery (烈士陵园)
Martyrs Cemetery


Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall from above
Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall from above


Martyrs Park in Yunfu (云浮烈士公园)
Martyrs Park


Martyrs Park in Yunfu (云浮烈士公园)


Martyrs Park in Yunfu (云浮烈士公园)


Martyrs Park in Yunfu (云浮烈士公园)


Martyrs Park in Yunfu (云浮烈士公园)

Monday, April 23, 2018

Gongbei-Ball Lives on in Zhuhai

In response to a post with a series of photos showing what happened to some blocks of ice left on the sidewalk in Yunfu, Guangdong, reader J P Hays commented:
Not what I expected in the slightest. I was expecting it to end sadly, with reports of people slipping on the ice and injuring themselves, not two kids having a fun time with it.
In fact, a couple other children were involved as well, but I didn't get any good photos including them. Fortunately, I indeed didn't witness any injuries, whether due to slipping or being hit by thrown pieces of ice. I don't know if that changed after I left though.

While putting together the ice post, the throwing aspect of it reminded me of a game I called Gongbei-ball that I saw played on Gaosha Middle Street in Zhuhai's Gongbei subdistrict two years ago. I was briefly back in Zhuhai yet again in February. One evening shortly after 8 p.m. I returned to the same street, which like Baisha Road in Jiangmen can be tricky to locate using online interactive maps. I wondered if the game was still played and whether I could be lucky enough to catch a match.

I am happy to belatedly report the game continues to thrive.

two boys and a man playing Gongbei-ball in Zhuhai


At least one of the boys playing appeared to be one of the same boys as before. And this time a man was playing as well. I'm still unsure of the precise rules, and like before sometimes suspected they were adjusted on the fly by the one boy. But it seemed to be the same game. There was one clear difference though. Instead of using a ball made from crumpled-up paper wrapped in tape, they used a regular tennis ball. Apparently the equipment change was authorized by the Gongbei-Ball Premier League.

If I have the opportunity to come across the game sometime again in the future, I will see if they will teach me the rules. I thought the paper ball had a special charm to it, but some things change. Maybe there'll be a different ball next time.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Forms of Ice in Yunfu

The science of what happens when a small restaurant dumps large chunks of ice out onto the sidewalk at a street intersection in Yunfu, Guangdong:

Ice I

chunks of ice on a sidewalk in Yunfu, Guangdong


Ice II

chunks of ice on a sidewalk in Yunfu, Guangdong


Ice Fun

kids throwing chunks of ice in Yunfu, Guangdong

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Another View from a Window in Yunfu

Good news. We have a winner for the latest "name this city in China" post.


Indeed, the scene which includes Xingyun East Road (兴云东路) is from Yunfu (云浮), a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province. Yunfu borders the prefecture-level city Jiangmen, my previous location. Despite the shared border of the two cities, my bus ride, which lasted slightly less than two hours, followed a route which cuts through Zhaoqing, another prefecture-level city in Guangdong, presumably because it is shorter / faster than highway routes which don't enter Zhaoqing. In addition to Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, Yunfu is also bordered by the Guangdong prefecture-level cities Foshan, Maoming, and Yangjiang and by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region prefecture-level city Wuzhou.

I had considered sharing another photo taken from my room window that in addition to an urban setting amidst karst topography also included a portion of the Yunfu Intercity Bus Station. I decided against it, though, after noticing Yunfu's name in Chinese could be seen on one of the signs near the bottom. So here it is now:

Yunfu Intercity Bus Station, buildings, and karst topography in Yunfu, Guangdong


Almost all of the people in Yunfu who have questioned me about why I came here responded with comments like "There's nothing interesting in Yunfu." and "Yunfu isn't a pretty city." However, I have already come across much that either interested me or I found visually attractive. More about some of that later.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

From Jiangmen to Elsewhere

Today I was going to take an early morning intercity bus. But it was raining and my stomach felt unsettled so . . .

Today I took an early afternoon intercity bus. It was warm and humid inside at first. At my seat towards the back of the bus, I considered shouting my feelings to the driver, who was loudly playing radio music for us all to hear. But I saw a better hope — a man who was both much closer to the driver and fiddling with the air conditioning vents above him.

The man, such a wise man, kindly suggested to the driver that air conditioning would be grand. He exquisitely expressed this in a way so that all were able to laugh it off without much loss of face. Well done, sir.

At the end of the bus ride, I did something I don't usually get to do. I left the bus station and walked directly across the street to a hotel. It was sufficient, convenient, and well located for my purposes. And as a bonus, cheap.

The kind receptionist at the hotel checked me in. After signing a receipt, I pointed out that both my name and passport number had been entered into their computer incorrectly. Small details it seems.

No matter, they gave me a room with a fine view. And I mean that. I didn't know this was in store:

karst topography in an urban setting


Urban landscape with karst topography? Overcast skies or not, sign me up.

Some readers may be thinking "Guilin?"

Nope. Guilin isn't the only place where one can find such joys. So, it's time to play "Guess this city" again. This is one I would have likely failed before today. I could have even gotten the province wrong. You have some time to figure this out. I will return, I think, to a few Jiangmen-related posts before the big reveal.

The temperature on the bus was perfect the rest of the way.



Update: The answer is here.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Shirts for Sale in China: Still Supporting Jesse Jackson

Admittedly, I didn't predict any presidential political campaigns in the U.S. would inspire a little bit of fashion in China 30 years later.

"Jesse Jackson '88" shirt for sale in Jiangmen, China
For sale on the 2nd floor of Wuyi Plaza in Jiangmen, Guangdong

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Errors and Insufficient Information in Google's, Bing's, Baidu's, and Sogou's Online Map Services: Confusion Over the Name of a Road in China

For a variety of reasons, on a number of occasions I have found it challenging to figure out the name of a road in China. Two of those reasons are that online maps often lack relevant details and are sometimes incorrect. For example, based on some online maps people could question whether all of the photos in an earlier post were really from Baisha Road as I claimed and weren't instead from Dongguan Road.

Here is how Google Maps depicts the meeting of Baisha Road and Dongguan Road.

Google Maps for the intersection of Baisha Road and Dongguan Road in Jiangmen


Google Maps China, which unlike other versions of Google Maps is accessible in China, similarly labels the roads.

Google Maps China for the intersection of Baisha Road and Dongguan Road in Jiangmen


Starting from the upper right the maps indicate that Dongguan Road continues around the bend in the road. However, the first four photos in the earlier post were all taken at the bend or close to it on either side.

Part of my claim that the photos do indeed capture Baisha Road is based on something quite simple, the streets address signs on the buildings there. For example, here is a sign for 1 Baisha Road.

sign for 1 Baisha Road in Jiangmen


The location of this building neatly matches with the result to a search for the address on China-based Baidu Maps.

Baidu Maps for 1 Baisha Road in Jiangmen


As reflected above, even at the highest zoom levels, Baidu Maps doesn't display a name on the portion of road at and south of the bend (in all the maps south is "down").

Google Maps fails in a search for addresses on Baisha Road. It only returns a result for Baisha Road in general.

Google Maps failed attempt to indicate 1 Baisha Road in Jiangmen


While the marked location is indeed on Baisha Road, it is far from 1 Baisha Road as indicated on Baidu Maps. Unfortunately, any time I have searched for Baisha Road or 1 Baisha Road in Chinese on Google Maps China I get the message "服务器错误. 请稍后重试." indicating there was a server error and suggesting to try again later. I've tried over a span of more than a week and have always had the same result.*

Like Baidu Map, the labels on China-based Sogou Maps at its highest zoom are also ambiguous on the issue, though a Dongguan Road label is closer to the bend.

Sogou Maps for the intersection of Baisha Road and Dongguan Road in Jiangmen


But Sogou indicates a location for 1 Baisha Road similar to Baidu's result.

Sogou Maps for 1 Baisha Road in Jiangmen


Like Google Maps, Bing Maps China** shows Dongguan Road continuing around the bend.

Bing Maps China for the intersection of Baisha Road and Dongguan Road in Jiangmen


The roads are identified similarly with English language settings and for the U.S. version of Bing Maps. Also like Google Maps, the best Bing Maps China can do for a search of 1 Baisha Road is just a general indication for Baisha Road without indicating a specific address.

Bing Maps China failed attempt to indicate 1 Baisha Road in Jiangmen


Bing Maps and Google Maps also can't locate specific addresses for Dongguan Road.

To sum things up . . .

According to Google's or Bing's online map services, the scenes from the one portion of road I photographed are at Dongguan Road and not Baisha Road. They can't locate specific addresses for these two roads though.

The road labels for Baidu Maps and Sogou Maps aren't definitive one way or the other, though Sogou Maps make it look like at least a small part of the area is Dongguan Road. However, the search results for specific addresses indicate this portion of road is Baisha Road. These results match up quite well with the address signs I saw posted on buildings there.

Additionally and finally, there was one other step I took to sort things out. I asked a person working in a shop there. Without hesitation she identified this section of road as Baisha Road.

So while I wouldn't completely rule out a more complicated story indicating otherwise, the overall evidence suggests Google and Bing have it wrong and Baisha Road begins just slightly east of where Baidu Maps and Sogou Maps indicate 1 Baisha Road. While a small portion (the closest 5 meters or so of road) in the first photo might include the western end of Dongguan Road, I feel fine saying that the earlier photos capture Baisha Road.

For added evidence and color, I will later share photos of some buildings from this section of road with posted street addresses. And in another post or two farther down the road (pun unintended), I will examine other limitations and problems, some quite disastrous, with online map services for China. Similar to this post, it will in part serve as a follow-up to a comparison of online map services I did seven years ago. A lot has changed since then . . .





*I get the error message regardless of whether I use a VPN or not. I get the same error message for many other searches I've tried as well, though I have had success at times with some types of searches. It seems searches for specific addresses are especially unlikely to succeed, but at this point I'm not sure of the scope of the problem.

**I tested Bing Maps China at cn.bing.com/maps while in China, using a clean browser, and without using a VPN. However if Bing identifies you as outside of China, you may be taken to another web address without the "cn". And you may need to change Bing's settings for country/region or language to achieve a similar, though perhaps not identical, experience.


Disclosure: In the past I worked at Microsoft China. My work did not cover Bing Maps.