Picture of the Day: Nature Overtakes the Great Wall

Nature Overtakes the Great Wall

Photograph by Trey Ratlcliff @ StuckInCustoms.com

Travel photographer Trey Ratcliff took this incredible photograph that shows nature slowly overgrowing a section of the Great Wall of China. Trey says it was in the northern part of the wall, about a half-mile hike from a resort called ‘Commune by the Great Wall‘.

The resort is accessible from The Great Wall Exit at Shuiguan, off Beijing’s Badaling Expressway. It is nestled in the Shuiguan Mountains amidst 8 square kilometers of private land and is about 75 minutes from Beijing International Airport and Beijing’s city center.

via Trey Ratcliff @ StuckInCustoms.com

Picture of the Day: Dreaming of the Tiger

DREAMING OF THE TIGER

Photograph by Sh1019 on Wikimedia Commons

This beautiful sculpture entitled, Dreaming of the Tiger, is located in Hupao Spring (Tiger Spring) in Hangzhou, China. Located in the mountains between West Lake and Qiantang River, Hupao can be found at the foot of Daci Hill about 5km southwest of Hangzhou. The spring is well known in China for its water quality and visitors travel there to taste the Longjing tea made from the water of Hupao Spring.

The popularity of the spring has led to the expansion of the surrounding area which includes a forest park with streams, trees, pagodas and pavilions. Memorials and other cultural buildings and sculptures can also be found on the premises. For more travel information visit Tour-Beijing and China Travel Guide.

via Sh1019 on Wikimedia Commons

Awesome Grandpa Models for Granddaughters Clothing Line

72-year-old grandfather Liu Xianping has gone viral, modelling clothes for his granddaughter’s clothing line Yuekou. The online fashion store was started by Liu’s granddaughter Ms. LV and four other graduates from her college. According to Offbeat China, Ms. LV says it all started one day when her grandpa came to help with unpacking: “he picked up one piece and tried to give some advice on how to mix and match. We thought it was fun so we started shooting.” According to Ms. Lv, many of the looks in the pictures were her grandpa’s ideas.

Design and Photography by Yuekou

“Why unacceptable (for someone like me to wear women’s clothes? Modelling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy” – Liu Xianping to China Newsweek

Design and Photography by Yuekou

Since the pictures were released sales have increased five fold. Yuekou has since created a special ‘Grandpa promotion style’ section on their digital storefront. Even Liu’s skinny legs have become a popular discussion point.

Design and Photography by Yuekou

For more information visit Offbeat China.
To see the original article in Chinese, visit China Newsweek.
The Sifter first saw this on Kottke.org

Design and Photography by Yuekou

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China Builds Highway Around House That Refuses to Move

Photograph by China Daily (via National Post)

In the city of Wenling, located in China’s eastern province of Zheijang, a highway has been built around a residential building that refuses to relocate. Luo Baogen, unsatisfied with the relocation compensation offered by the government decided to remain in the half-demolished building with his wife. According to China Daily, the road, which leads to the Wenling Railway Station, hasn’t been put into use yet.

Even though all of the other residents have moved out, the government has not demolished the other rooms for sake of the remaining couple’s safety.

Photograph by China Daily (via National Post)

According to the National Post (where you can find more picture and detailed information), these buildings that refuse to move for new developments are called ‘nail houses’ in reference to old, gnarled nails that cannot be easily removed.

Every couple years, these defiant ‘nail houses’ make the rounds online. They serve as a symbolic testament to the ‘little guy’ standing up against the government and pushy developers.

Photograph by Robert Saiget (via National Post)

According to Wikipedia: In the People’s Republic of China, during most of the Communist era, private ownership of real property was abolished. The central government officially owned all real estate, and could in theory dictate who was entitled to control any piece of property according to national interests. Private citizens, therefore, did not have a legal right to keep their property if the government decided they should leave (although in practice, entitlements arose for various reasons).

With a strengthening economy and the rise of free markets beginning in the late 1990s, private developers began building shopping malls, hotels, and other private developments in densely populated urban centers, which required displacing residents who lived on the land. Developers would typically offer relatively low compensation to the residents, reflecting the pre-development value of their properties or the cost of obtaining alternate housing elsewhere. Should residents resist, or try to take advantage of their bargaining position, powerful developers could persuade local officials and courts to order residents off the land. In other cases, residents would be arrested on false charges or thugs would be hired to scare away the residents. [Source]

Photograph via National Post)

See the Complete Story with More Pics on National Post

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The Skywalkers of Shanghai

Recently featured on Behance’s Photography Served, an artist by the name of Blackstation posted an incredible series of images entitled, ‘The Sky City: The Jin Mao Tower and SWFC‘.

Featured are two of Shanghai’s most iconic skyscrapers, the Jin Mao Tower (421 meters/1380 ft tall) and Shanghai World Financial Center (492 meters/1614 ft tall). A graphic-designer by trade, Blackstation has taken incredible photographs of the skyscrapers as they stand amidst the clouds in Shanghai. The shots really give you an amazing sense of the immense size of these buildings.

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Photograph by Blackstation

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Crescent Lake: A Desert Oasis in China

Photograph via UrinalCakes on Reddit

Located approximately 6 km (3.73 miles) from the outskirts of the city of Dunhuang in Western China, lies Crescent Lake, an incredible oasis in the Gobi desert. Known as Yueyaquan in Chinese, the crescent-shaped lake is a major tourist attraction where one of the world’s great shrines to Buddhism resides.

Designated a World Heritage Site, the lake has been shrinking since the 1970s and is now about a third of its original size. In the last three decades alone, the lake has dropped more than 25 feet. However, it has been reported that the government has recently taken steps to preserve the site and restore the depth of the lake to previous levels (unsure how well that initiative is going though).

An ancient city that once served as China’s gateway to the West, Dunhuang is now threatened by very modern demands. A dam built three decades ago to help local farming, combined with a doubling of the population, have overstressed a fragile desert hydrology that had been stable for thousands of years. As more people arrived, the underground water table that is the city’s main source of drinking water started dropping. [Source: New York Times, Wikipedia]

In the photographs below you will see both aerials and closeups of this incredible desert jewel. Let’s hope the lake doesn’t dry up and can be enjoyed by many future generations to come.