[35-Days Trip 2010] HuangShan, a trip late for nine years

Nine years ago, I was so close to HuangShan, one of the most famous and legendary mountain in China, but I missed it. I did think about going back some day, though after near a decade and flying all the way back from the other side of the world was not exactly what I planned then.

This was the third day since my flight landed on Shanghai Pudong International Airport after one week travel in west coast, and this was the first working day after Labor Day long weekend, when I scheduled the whole morning in General Consulate for a new visa stamp.
But neither of the reasons seemed giving me a second thought about booking the train ticket for that same night. When I lay in the middle-level bed, listening the "click, click" from the rail, that summer in 2001 felt like not long time ago.

It's a really nice day after a sweet dream (ok, that sounds a little dramatic, a tight sleep probably enough to cover my good mood), but like lots of other transportation hub towns in China, blue sky and fresh air wasn't around until miles away from downtown and the huge billboard of "Welcome to 5-star National Tourist Destination - UNESCO World Heritage Site" started to show up along the highway.
Again, like most of the other buses picking up tourists from train station, we have a conductor/guide on board. Aparently according to her, "today is a lucky day for tourists", because the aniversary celebration for "awarded as UNESCO WHS" offered half-price ticket for the main scenic site (North Sea area). However, due to this incredible deal once a year, all three lines of tram car will be packed with tourists in one-day tour, so she suggested those who plan to spend night in the mountain start the trip from "East Sea area", which I never heard of before.
Let's say she did a very good promoting job (or more likely I was just not used to their marketing strategy anymore plus I secretly held that good feeling - I was on vacation with dollars coming, not much, but enough to transform from that poor student nine years ago), because by the time we got off the bus, half of the people had decided to take her advice.

Not as famous as the main site, this morning as warm-up did provide remarkable peace, which was proved later so valuable but hard to achieve. We didn't make complete routes in any of the three scenic spots, considering the tight schedule to catch the last tram up the moutain.

Relax, was the theme here before real climbing work.

[Chinese philosophy and calligraphy melted into nature, so different from all wild in the New Land]

Another nine years, I'll still remember the best part of this morning was a nap, laying on the stone by this stream

(to be continued)

[35-Days Trip 2010] "Good bye, San Francisco, I will come back!"

This is probably the "n"th time I express my love to the city with hills. Still, it's not enough for San Francisco.

With the car running up and down the hills, the whole city was stretching and extending gradually. What's more amazing was that it kept going and going..., like it would never get to an end. I was so impressed by the layers in front of me that I even forgot to raise my camera. However, I believe those scenes will stay in my head for a very long time without any reminder from pictures.

Walking down along the narrow path, by all those elegant mansions, brought me to familiar scenes from movies, or maybe fragments from a sweet dream.

One of the biggest charm during the trip is the unexpected tends to impress you more than the long expected.

San Francisco Art Institute was on the way from  Lombard Street  (this famous landscape was hidden in the shadow of sunset and I didn't bother to take a shoot, considering it may even be less attactive than the popular pages in calendars) to Coit Tower. 

Unlike Art Institute of Chicago I visited last year, San Francisco Art Institute is a small private non-profit art school. The architect for its 1968 addition was Paffard Keatinge-Clay, who apprenticed with major architectural figures like Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

We swung by the art studio and wandered between different balconies. It would really have been an regret if we had missed such a fantastic angle to experience the city... 

 

[Cable car can be one of my excuse to come back. Can you believe I missed that?!]





It was almost to the end of my SF trip. Of course, I would never leave without trying crabs at Fisherman's Wharf, but...

This is a city hard to say "good bye",
so all I'm saying here is - "I will come back!"

[35-Days Trip 2010] San Francisco _ Architecture 5+1 (continued)

San Francisco MoMa by Mario Botta
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/sets/72157625235682810/
Botta was the first and also one of the very few star architects I actually met in face before got in GSAPP.
Once upon a time, a fresh architectural student held a special issue of "Time + Architecture" magazine with Botta's iconic dark red facade and ellipse skylight on the cover page, waiting on the line after his lecture in school auditorium to get his signature. That was like, 10 years ago... can't believe it! I don't remember a single word he said during that lecture (can I pretend lost in translation was the reason?), and honestly I could barely be counted as fan, at least a fan should have known their idol's most famous works. I don't recall any of the articles about him in that issue either, because when I saw his churches in Switzerland many years later, I was pretty impressed as I never saw them before.
Anyway, SFMoMa is not one of those. It only sparkled twice during my visit. First was having its familiar unique ellipse popping up all the sudden from downtown SF's busy skyline. The second was standing right underneath that ellipse, facing the stairway.

[I haven't quite understood why that lady checking tickets chose to sit in that location, was that part of the exhibition? Seemed "yes" to me.]
 

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts by Fumihiko Maki
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/sets/72157625328031502/with/5112504274/
If I knew this building was designed by Fumihiko Maki, I would have at least walked around instead of just sitting in the lobby, unfortunately I was too tired to find out then.
But for the record, I did feel it special. Otherwise, who takes pictures when they almost fall in sleep.
Although, it was quite a peaceful nap in the chair there. I even got a rainbow dream :) ok, this's a joke.

 

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption by Pier Luigi Nervi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/5111906953/

My friend told me the designer of this church was a not very famous engineer, even though this is definitely an incredible masterpiece. So I checked it up in Google later on,  Pier Luigi Nervi, my memory from ARE structure study came back right away. He was one of the masters leading "reinforced concrete era".

I visited the cathedral twice. I'm not a catholic, but even by a peek in the first day, I could still feel God was there in the way structure married architecture. 

[35-Days Trip 2010] San Francisco _ Architecture 5+1

Thank the city planners in San Francisco for putting big public buildings together, I visited works by 5 star architects (3 of them won Pritzker) plus a famous structure engineer in 24 hours. Can't be more efficient, right?

California Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/sets/72157625058029165/
I have visited both Morgan Library Addition and Art Institute of Chicago before. It's like watching the evolution of one origin in three context. They all share the same gene but grow up in different environment with their respective personalities.
All of them have history as companion, but in very different way. Here, history was "swallowed".
All of them enjoy concept of courtyard, small or large. Here, the yard is more like a playground.
All of them develop layers of details for shading/skylight. Here, details are getting "crazy".

 

de Young Museum by Herzog de Meuron
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8499133@N02/sets/72157625235705838/
The day before in Napa valley, I was standing on my toes, trying very hard to get a look at Dominus Winery. But because of those harvest trees, a shiny wall with sun penetrating through gaps of stones only got to exist in my imagination. Anyway, I missed the real one, which made this museum the first work of Herzog I visited.



[Texture is forever theme. If not for this little creature, I may not notice the detail here on surface.]

I'm not sure if it's architect's design intent or it's just me changing my way of visiting a museum.

I barely got any impression on the exhibition, most of my pictures are about people
walking through lobby,
along corridors,
up and down the stairs,
in the courtyard...

Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco by Daniel Libeskind
I didn't know this building was designed by Libeskind when I was there and it's after open hour by the time I arrived. So instead of visiting in, I spent quite a while outside, looking at it and relaxing... 

(to be continued)

[35-Days Trip 2010] Day 05 _ "California Sun" and "Fog City"

I have this California sunshine image in my head since.. I don't know how long ago, guess it's all from that song named after it. But it turns out that there are two songs sharing the same name regardless of tiny loss in translation. Anyway, enough to prove a global common sense that "it's always sunny in California", and whatever you went through before, come here, the sun will shine you from hair to toes...





Go back to my trip. I, however, landed in "Fog City"- the only exception, in my first visit to the sunny California, until the car crossed Bay Bridge and left the city with its spreading fog behind.

I only took a glance at #1 public college in US when passing through its main streets. Students were filling into this small town for a new semester and their faces were shining in Berkeley's sun. Something seems different from those Ivy schools along east coast,  I just don't know what it is...

Soon I were brought back to truly summer, which I hadn't felt ever since left New York. And then, it came with rows and rows of grapes - Napa Valley, home of famous California wine!

 

I had never been in a winery before. Listening to the story about how grapes grow in different grounds and provide different senses of taste to wine, I did feel out of myself for a while. Yes, that's after a small tasting, but I'm sure alcohol was not all it's about. I felt out there drunk in a scene of a movie - can't tell which one is richer and stronger, taste from the wine or story from the old winery...

"treasure digging"
on the way back to the city
 

That classical piece of fog hang right there above or may say in the middle of Golden Gate Bridge when we headed back to catch the sunset. I had chased sun once in Atlantic City, running under piers and piers along the beach to witness the moment when it jumped out of the sea, that was amazing!

Here again,
running towards the falling sun
against wind
wrapping around San Francisco Bay,
I chased sun all the way
to keep this moment for Golden Gate,

This night ended on the highest viewpoint in San Francisco near Sutro TV Tower. It was one of those moments beyond a camera could record, therefore, I decided to focus it with my eyes and saved it in my "memory".

*Sun and Fog, I love you both!