China travel

Fala Chen talks about hometown Chengdu

August 29, 2017 by Yein Jee

Video of Chinese actress Fala Chen who shares some views about her hometown, Chengdu. Decent film but a bit long-winded, could have cramped more information in a three minutes video.

I always thought that she was born in America. Apparently she was born and raised in China instead, until she was 14 years old when she emigrated to the United States with her family.

Chen entered the show business after earning a place as 1st runner-up in the 2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant. She worked primarily with TVB in Hong Kong and starred in numerous TV drama series until her contract ended in 2013. She did quite well during that period.

The actress settled some personal matters and went back to school after that. She’s currently studying in Juilliard in New York; it’s one of the world’s leading drama, music, and dance school. She’s expected to graduate next year (with a postgraduate or master degree.)

Not sure when the video was made but it looks recent. I visited the city over two decades ago when China was still at early stage of its economic boom. A lot of things have changed, obviously. I’m thinking of revisiting the place for comparison sake, but there are other priorities at the moment.

Chinese tourists told to behave

May 20, 2013 by Yein Jee

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on Sunday reaffirmed his earlier statement that Chinese tourists should learn better manners, that “uncivilised behaviour” (talking loudly, spitting etc.) of some Chinese tourists is harming the country’s image.

China is now the number one tourism source market in the world. Many countries, especially its neighbours, are in a love-hate relationship with Chinese tourists. They brought good money, but their behaviour can be a headache lots of the times.

The fact that they usually travel in groups means that it can get really chaotic wherever they go. To be fair to the tour guides I’ve seen many trying their best to maintain order, but the Chinese tourists often seem disinterested to follow the guidelines.

It’s not that these people deliberate behaved badly abroad, it probably never crossed their mind that it’s wrong to do certain things (that they usually do) in public.

The younger generation (I’ve met quite a few) are a lot more accustomed to global culture, so they should be able to shake off the tag after a decade or two. I just don’t see it happening sooner despite the leaders’ intention, there will be too many hyper middle-age Chinese making their first trip overseas in the next few years.

Snow-covered Great Wall in Tianjin

March 21, 2013 by Yein Jee

The Great Wall after a snowfall in Tianjin, northern China, on March 19-20.

Great Wall of China snow

Clay sculpture park in China

June 9, 2011 by Yein Jee

A clay sculpture park built to simulate the scene of renowned Chinese scroll painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河图) was officially opened in Changzhuang Township, Tangshan City of north China’s Hebei Province last Friday.

Clay sculpture park in Hebei, China

China’s Mount Emei in snow

January 16, 2011 by Yein Jee

Photos of Mount Emei in snow. Located in China’s Sichuan Province, Mt Emei is one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism; and it’s designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural significance. Seems like it’s turning into a winter resort too in in recent years. Image by Chinanews [Cn]…

Mount Emei in snow, Sichuan, China

Top 10 Chinese Tourist Cities

December 30, 2010 by Yein Jee

China Radio International, with support from the National Tourism Administration, has organised an online poll to pick the Top 10 Chinese Tourist Cities. More than five million votes were cast, and the winning cities were announced in early December. Below are some intros of the 10 destinations in none particular order…

Luoyang, Henan Province

Massive Boddhisatvas in the Longmen Grottoes. Image by Ishai Bar

Luoyang lies in the west of Henan, crossing two banks of the middle reach of Yellow River and is one of China’s Four Great Ancient Capitals. Its famous heritage sites include the Longmen Grottoes and the White Horse Temple. The city is also famous as a cultivation centre for peony, one of China’s famous emblems.