Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment
The world’s tallest tent has opened to the public in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan. Designed by British architects Foster & Partners, the Khan Shatyr (lit. Royal Marquee) Entertainment Centre in the capital Astana is 150m high.
[Read more…] about The world’s tallest tent opens in Kazakhstan
Video of a burning gas crater in Darvaza, Turkmenistan. Locals call it Door to Hell or Gates of Hell.
The diameter of the crater is about 60 metres, and its depth around 20 metres. It has been burning continuously for the past few decades.
The phenomenon is not all natural though. There are a few versions of the event, but in general a failed gas exploration caused the ground to collapse in the 1960’s or 1970’s. The engineers set the place on fire to prevent poisonous gas from leaking to nearby towns, which was a logical decision at that point.
They probably expected the gas to burn out within a few weeks, but it’s been on fire after all these years. Thanks to the accidental “effort”, the place becomes a spectacular attraction for travellers nowadays.
Umida Akhmedova, a prominent photographer and film-maker in Uzbekistan has been found guilty of slandering the nation through her work which portrays people in Uzbekistan as backward and poor [more on BBC].
Akhmedova could face up to three years in prison, but the judge said she would automatically be pardoned under an amnesty. Below are some of her photography works in question…
[Read more…] about Uzbek photographer guilty for ‘negative’ images
I Don’t Believe (Не верю), a Kazakh music video by singer Madu. Couldn’t find any English resource about the star; bumped into the MV by chance and thought that it’s something different that’s worth sharing…
Preview of a Chinese documentary The Herdsmen, made in 2000, about the nomadic Kazakhs in China. Most Kazakhs are residing in Kazakhstan; but there are still a large portion which spread across Central Asia and other places.
There are about 1.5 million Kazakhs in China. They are one of the 56 minority ethnics officially recognized by the Chinese government. Only a few of them are still living the nomadic lifestyle though, as shown in the below video…
It’s an ironic thing; on one hand we might envy the freedom of the herdsmen, on another we might feel sorry for the lack of basic development for these folks.
I mean, I would love to stay with these people and enjoy their culture and nature for perhaps a few days, but it’s a different story if it’s for weeks or months.