Zhuhai museum

A few days ago I had an unexpected day off from work so I decided to go to Zhuhai straight from work, crossing the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau bridge and then checking into a hotel for the night. After a difficult sleep I made my way to the Zhuhai museum after breakfast. 

Once there, I was overwhelmed by a gigantic white, windowless concrete building, which gave me the impression I will do alot of walking that day.  Once inside, there were two exhibition spaces, the Zhuhai museum itself and the other an exhibition dedicated to the recent urban development of Zhuhai.  I opted for the former and entry to both parts was free.

The ground floor was dedicated to the 1980s post opening up of the city, which grew from fishing port to an industrial city on the mouth of the Pearl River.  As someone who has lived and worked in Zhuhai I already knew a bit about this.  It primarily thanks to former general secretary Deng Xiao Peng who established the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone which was the catalyst for this.

The first floor was about some of local folk customs and recent history, which is similar to the permanent display at Hong Kong history museum.  If featured some notable clans and their history in the area.  Just like Hong Kong, Zhuhai also had a salt making industry. 

The top floor displayed the history going back to the imperial dynasties and even stone age settlers in the area.  I wasn't as interested in this, so I made my way back downstairs.

My impressions was that the museum was impressive for anyone interested in history although it could do with more English text, especially on the artifacts. 

Next up, I went to the other wing to look at the urban development exhibition which to me felt more like a corporate presentation of the development work in the Greater Bay Area that happened in the last decade and a half. It was all to do with the building of impressive skyscrapers and how that equals development.  After about half an hour wandering up and down seven floors, I decided I had enough and went home. 

All in all, the Zhuhai museum is worth a day out but I would skip the urban development exhibition unless you are into pictures and videos of high tech buildings.

 

Civilisation : the west and the rest by Niall Ferguson

I recently finished reading "Civilisation: the west and the rest" by Niall Ferguson, which accompanied the 2011 Channel Four TV series "Civilization: Is the West history?". It's an absorbing and thought provoking book on how the west, that is Europe and later the United States dominated the world from 1500 onwards. 

Most people, on both sides of politics, would argue that the western dominance came through military might in the last five centuries, however Ferguson presents a more complicated picture.  He explains in great detail that five 'killer apps' were responsible - science, property rights, rule of law, democracy and consumerism.  

It's a thoroughly readable book and I recommend it to anyone wanting to understand how the west became dominant. 

In praise of sudoku

 As my years advance, I have become more aware of my declining mental health and cognitive abilities. I can see the effects of this on my own mother who is in the middle stages of Alzheimers.

I have tried various methods to counter this and one of these is doing the Japanese mathematical puzzle sudoku. I found it has improved my memory and analytical skills. And its quite enjoyable to do. It also works well with the modern tablet and Ipad age. On my chosen sudoku app, I’m on the hardest level already with less than twenty clues in a nine by nine grid.

In praise of going to museums

Throughout my adult life, I have always been fascinated by museums, I have my favourites (Imperial war museum London and the Louvre, Paris) which I been to many times and will continue to visit whenever I get the chance.

As well as learning something and being entertained, I have found them to be places where I can relax as well. Some are expensive, some cheap and some free.  Plus the museum restaurant is a good place to find a hearty budget lunch.

Today I paid another visit to the Hong Kong Palace Museum to see the ancient Egypt exhibition. It was smaller than I expected and well presented.  There were no mummies available but plenty of coffins and statues. One thing I learnt was that mummification of the dead in Egypt continued into the Hellenic and Roman periods.  Also the entrails of the deceased were removed, stored in jars and entombed with the body, very unpleasant work for the unlucky one.

Since I have already seen the other galleries I left after not long afterwards.

Lunar New Year

It's that time of year again, the new lunar year is upon us, today is lunar new years eve and tomorrow its the year of the horse. Here in Hong Kong its a time for family get togethers, sharing presents and putting up decorations. As a Chinese person, it helps gets through the depressing months of January and February, especially when I lived in the UK. All I can say is happy new year everyone.

In praise of…………. watching live sport

Yesterday I went to Reading to see some friends for dinner, in order to maximise my time there, i went to watch the local football team play at extravagantly named Select-A-Car stadium.  Reading FC played Barnsley in a third tier match. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and it was good way to spend an afternoon.  Obviously the skill levels were below the levels of the EPL, however it was the excitement, frustration, joys and the sense of shared community spirit which caught my mind. Here you can let out your emotions alongside your fellow fans and spectators.  This cannot replicated in a pub or watching it via television at home. Despite advances in technology, nothing matches the thrill of watching something live.

Jerusalem string quartet

Last night I attended a concert performed by the Jerusalem String Quartet at the Wigmore Hall in London. This combo from Israel has been attracting the pro-Palestine/antisemite crowd over the years so I decided to see and listen to them for myself.

The pieces performed included one from Mozart, Shulamit Ran and Ravel in that order. I have been to a few classical concerts in the past few years including a number of BBC Proms concerts.  The pieces were delivered with passion to a polite crowd that included several chinese concert goers. It was what I expected. Wigmore Hall being a rather small venue was perfect for this, as it gave me a cosy in ones’ living room experience.