Guangzhou Railway Museum

Today is my day off from work and what better way to spend it than go across the border and visit the Guangzhou Railway museum.  Getting there is quite easy as it is close to a metro station.  As an added bonus it is free to get in.

There were a few engines and carriages on display outside, including an impressive looking black steam engine.  As today is a weekday there were just a handful of other visitors.  The first thing which struck me was the lack of English text on the artefacts, the only English text available were as summaries on each section of the exhibition.

The exhibition was done in chronological order and Guangzhou was the birthplace of China’s railways with the first railway opened in 1908 and the (still operating) Kowloon Canton(Guangzhou) railway opening two years later. 

As a railway enthusiast myself, I was expecting a bit more, even though the floorspace was huge, the number of exhibits and artefacts was disappointingly low.  This was especially true with the number of trains on actual display. The museum focused on history and especially the achievements post 1949 rather than on railways, the trains and how they changed China.  It didn’t help that the carriages on display didn’t let visitors inside them.

I left after about two hours and unless it changes radically I would not be making a repeat visit.

England vs New Zealand 2nd test day 5

This test match proves that England currently cannot live without Ben Stokes, but at least England managed to limp into the last day, leaving the door open for an unthinkable miracle. 

England vs New Zealand 2nd test day 4

I'm listening to Test Match Special again on my BBC Sounds app. It's the start of day four, England have it all to do, and I'm looking forward to an exciting day. C'mon England.

Scotland vs Morocco Fifa 2027

I woke up this morning to find out the Scotland Morocco game was at half time. Managed to catch the second half commentary thanks to the BBC Sounds app. Scotland, so unlucky, good luck against Brazil. 

Scotland vs Haiti Fifa 2026

From here in Hong Kong, I have just listened to Scotland defeating Haiti one nil at the Fifa world cup 2026. John McGinn on Aston Villa scored the winning goal.  Hard to believe the previous last goal scored by a Scot at the world cup was by Craig Burley against Norway in France 1998 and the last Scotland win in the finals was against Sweden in Italia 1990. I remember both matches.

Thanks to excellent radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live via BBC Sounds app and it was a pretty good game.

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.