GOELIA Concept 225

China is full of surprises and this is one of them. GOELIA Concept 225 is housed in a traditional Qilou building that was transformed in 1948 into its current form. It has five floors including a flower shop, art gallery and cafe. It is located on Beijing Lu in Guangzhou. Images are from the gallery section.

Outside of the building

Staircase with mural

Inside looking out

Scooter

Quirky building-scape

How photography was done

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom - Zhuhai

Just when you think you cannot see anything new you find something where you say WOW! Such is the case with this theme park featuring marine animals and those from polar regions.

Very large aquarium with whale sharks, rays and assorted fish

Arctic wolves in the polar exhibition

Fun for everyone

Outdoor performance on the lake

Night parade

Kengkou Village, Jiangmen

Traditional villages in China have been progressively replaced by growing cities. But remnants remain such as this one. An irony is that the villages live in nearby high rise apartments and rent out their homes in the village to workers from outside the province employed on infrastructure projects in the city.

A rather toxic looking pool with reflections of the surrounding high rise apartments

Father and son working their garden

Every bit of space is used

Shelter and storage area

Children playing under a watchful eye

Kaiping

Kaiping County in Guangdong province has many diaolous mainly built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Dialous are watchtowers that were used for protection against roving bandits. Thousands of people from Kaiping travelled to and lived in other countries and bringing back with them ideas about western building styles, and then melded these with local architectural styles, both as dialous and residences. See UNESCO site and this detailed article

This post show examples of the villages, diaolous, and residences in this part of China.

Jinjianli

I like the complex outline of this building which is so different from traditional Chinese architecture.

Li Garden

This magnificent set of buildings and garden was built in in 1936 by Mr. Xie Weili, a Chinese emigrant to the United States.

Zili Village

A village set in rice fields - very picturesque 

Liang's Garden, Foshan, Quangdong Province, China

This was built by the Liang family built in the first half of the 19th century and is a good example of landscaping and gardens in southern China. At the time It would have been a marvellous place to grow up.

High Rise Living

High rise developments at Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories, Hong Kong, taken from the Tang Clan Gallery, Ping Shan Heritage Trail.

The Tang clan moved to this area of China in the early part of the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127). They have lived here ever since. At that time it was a beautiful valley with rivers flowing through it, surrounded by mountains - somewhat different now.

Looking at this scene I wondered about the people that live in these buildings - their beginnings, their families, their hopes and dreams, the dramas and moments of celebration in their lives, and their deaths.

At regular intervals trains go by. Where are the travellers going to, coming from - what are they thinking, feeling, reading?

How many stories can be told and are untold?

Baomo Garden, Zili Village, Guangdong Province, China

Baomo Garden has a diverse range of sculptures, stone and wood carvings, water features, bridges, extensive gardens and architecture in the style of south China gardens. It was originally built as part of a temple in praise of Lord Bao Zheng, a government official during the Song Dynasty. He is remembered as a symbol of justice and supporter of peasants’ rights.