Public School Halloween Party, Shenzhen, China

We all have to suffer for beauty, no? At least it’s not footbinding. Who knew that Halloween, even Halloween in China, could be so painful?

Captured: October 29, 2008.

Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) in Shenzhen, China has opened a location in the east of the mega-city. Near the beach and deep in the mountains, the tea-themed holiday park offers visitors a number of interesting escapes from the daily grind.

The daily gala show at OTC East, on the history of tea and tea zen, is something to behold. Grand costumes, dancing, and a giant multi-media screen make the trek across the city worthwhile.

Captured: October 23, 2008, OCT East, Shenzhen, China.

Two friends, watching the Pearl River at dawn, in Guangzhou, China. Even while the city sleeps the river thrums with life. The Pearl River has been a major transportation route in southern China for thousands of years.

Captured: August 14, 2008, Canon EOS 40D.

Ya, I haven’t posted a self-portrait in a while, a Saturday night ritual I engage in when extremely bored. I was bored last Saturday, hence the photo. Thanks for reminding me, Ron.

I hauled all my stuff to the roof and set up with a flashlight, thinking I would be relatively safe from interlopers. I was wrong. Just as I started to get the image I was after a random guy walks across the roof, at 9 pm on a Saturday night. What was he doing on the roof? I have no idea. It was obvious what I was doing: Engaging in vanity photography out of boredom. He decided to stay and watch.

I packed up, took my lovely Phottix Cleon Remote Shutter Release back to my apartment, and drank a can of Shandy (I can longer seem to stomach beer. Ya, call me a girl. I wish China had Beer Gift Baskets.)

Captured: September 23, 2008.

The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, the the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, was celebrated last week.  Here’s a before and after from my ‘hood.

Shenzhen, China, Boomtown: By day.

Looking skyward after dark, the city of 12 million would seem no different than a village on the Amazon.

Captured: September 14, 2008.

The streets of Mongkok are a little slow as the sun rises on the east, from the east. Mongkok, the area of Kowloon known for retail deals and entertainment, rise as late as it stays up. The backpackers, huddled in cheap guest houses, get a late start on the day, the karaoke bars and lounges the main culprits. Street cleaners banish the mess left by the merrymakers while newsstands and hole-in-the-wall restaurants wait for the rush that will come as the district wakes.

Mongkok is listed by the Guiness Book of World Records as having the highest population density in the world: An estimated 130,000 people per square kilometer. A walk down Argyle Street or Nathan Road on a balmy summer evening is testament to the record. The streets are a seething sea of bodies, returning home, shopping, or out for a stroll. It’s an experience, one many people, even big city veterans, don’t try twice.

The Mongkok area is home to numerous markets, slaking the commerical thirst of travelers and tourists. The Temple Street Night Market, the Goldfish Market, the Flower Market, and Fa Yuen Street (translated: Sport Shoes Street) all do brisk trade - when they eventually open.

Captured: July 11, 2008, too early in the morning.