Discover China

The story and photos from my trip to Shenzhen and Guangzhou in February 2010 are now available:

• Read the story.
• View the photos.

In my week in Shenzhen I visited the Splendid China and China Folk Culture Villages theme parks, the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government building, the Shenzhen Museum of History (where I took the photo at left), the Shenzhen Museum of Ancient Art, and Lychee Park. We also took a day trip to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, where we visited a few of the city’s major attractions – Yuexiu Park, Beijing Road, Ersha Island and the Pearl River.

See the China Central Television (CCTV) website for these very interesting features which include video links:

• China’s top ten liveable cities
• China’s top eight most attractive towns

Watch the online videos from the China Central Television (CCTV) Travelogue program for a 30-minute experience of fascinating places throughout China (and catch a glimpse of other countries as well). The latest episode features the historic city of Kaifeng in Henan Province which I visited in February 2008.

Once again I have the privilege of  experiencing Lunar New Year and the Chinese Spring festival in China, this time in Shenzhen. The New Year was welcomed last night with the annual New Year Gala which has a massive nation-wide audience. You can watch video from the spectacular gala on the CCTV website.

Shenzhen saw a spectacular fireworks display at midnight, and city streets, shops and buildings are adorned with lanterns and other New Year decorations (as shown at left).

The heaviest snow falls for around 100 years have fallen in Henan province. These pictures on Sina show the heavy snowfalls – around half of the pictures show the capital Zhengzhou which we visited in August. It was very hot when we visited, and just four months later it is an amazingly different scene. Contrast the pictures of Zhengzhou’s tree-lined streets in snow now and when we visited in August.