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I've Come From a Plane That Crashed in the Mountains.
Art+Culture / Cinema
Written by : Han Mingjie
Nov 1, 2008
Tags :
Mountains
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Nov 2nd ★★★★★
The scourge of both the big and small silver
screens at present is that dreaded, toe-curling
combination: the docu-drama. These are
documentaries about historical events told
through period-dress reenactments which
are neither believable nor dramatic. Stranded:
I've Come From a Plane That Crashed in the
Mountains is one such docu-drama, but it is
so deftly wrought, so chillingly accurate and
so emotionally pulverizing that it flees the constraints
of the docu-drama format to emerge
as a cinematic tour de force.
The historical event in question is, of course,
known to all. Three days before Christmas in
1972, Chilean shepherds found two frost-bitten
young men who had crawled out the Andes
after surviving a horrifying plane crash. They
were part of Montevideo's Old Christian rugby
team, and their plane had been downed
by a vicious snowstorm two months earlier.
Miraculously, there were more survivors awaiting
rescue b ... ... |
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Who's up for some wet and wild?
Feature / Features
Written by : Lena Gidwani
Jul 13, 2008
Tags :
wild
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While most people don't associate water sports with Guangdong, there are a surprising number of places up north that provide decent aquatic thrills and chills.
A mere 90-minute drive north of Guangzhou (about 70kms) will bring you to the scenic town of Qingyuan, strategically positioned on the Beijiang River at the North tip of the PRD. A very popular tourist area (and commonly referred to as the "green backyard" of the province), Qingyuan boasts a breathtaking combination of mountains and water, reminiscent of the scenery in Guilin. Trek further north towards the clear rivers nestled among the lush peaks and you'll find an action-packed whitewater rafting escapade. Coool.
Ok, so The Colorado River it ain't, and the true adventurer at heart might be a tad disappointed at the 'trickling' speed of the rapids, but it's certainly an activity to get your hear-rate pumping. Expect never-ending torrents of swirling downstream eddies towards ... ... |
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Paradise on the Beach
Feature / Cover Story
Written by :
Jun 5, 2008
Tags :
beach
holiday
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| Macau
by Jia Wei Tan
Best beach for black sand
Hác-Sá Beach
Just beyond Cheoc Van Beach is Hác-Sá Beach, where your eyes will be deceived by a long curving stretch of unique black-tinged sand. Hác-Sá means 'black sand', and it is indeed an intriguing colour of deep silvery grey. Longer than Cheoc Van, this beach is also Macau's most popular beach with swimmers and sunbathers.
Not only is Hác-Sá pretty long (around 1,300m), it also boasts some incredibly smooth sand, which has been well known as one of the "Eight Scenes in Macau". It's also the perfect place for stargazing at night, by the way...
Hác-Sá used to be the best natural beach in Macau, yet it has been beaten by erosion somewhat over the years. However, due to the lovely texture of the sand, you'll feel comfortable sunbathing (warning: the color of the sand means it gets extremely hot during these long hot summer day ... ... |
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Climb every mountain...
Lifestyle / Local Customs
Written by : Lena Gidwani
May 9, 2008
Tags :
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| Those who aspire to ascend the 29,028-foot peak of Qomolangma (Mt Everest) this month will have to scupper their plans - at least till 10 May. Its temporary "closure" (for obvious reasons) means that adventurers will have to set their sights on something a little less, um, steep, yet closer to home.
For some two thousand years, the grassy peaks of Guangdong have always inspired scholars, scribes, poets and painters. Yet for the rest of us, who want to see havens of beauty undisturbed by pollution and noise, these glorious natural wonders are only a short drive away. Guangzhou leans against the Jiulian Mountains in the north, Luofu Mountain in the west, Qingyun Mountain in the east, and the Jiulian-Nankun Mountain range in the middle, giving the city extraordinary aesthetic mountainous features. Here's our guide to a walk on the high side…
Lotus Mountain
Escape the daily grind with a visit to Lotus Mountain (Lianhua S ... ... |
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Fear ye not the forbidden kingdom
Travel / Regional Travel
Written by : Matthew Niederhauser
Feb 4, 2008
Tags :
travel
valley
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| The remote beauty of a hidden Himalayan valley.
Spending a few weeks amid the vaulted peaks of the Himalayas is a requisitepilgrimage for any serious travel trekker or nature enthusiast. Isolated valleys girdled by snowcapped mountains engender a sublime trepidation, as if one were trespassing upon an inhuman landscape fit only for the gods and demons adorning the walls of local temples. Each time one returns one feels humbled by the sheer immensity of these natural marvels. Here, heaven touches the earth and gives the Himalayas its undisputed title as the roof of the world.
The heart of the Himalayas straddles the border between Tibet and Nepal. An extended string of massifs – including Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu, Cho Oyo, Qomolangma (Mount Everest), Makalu, and Kochenjunga – form an
imposing wall of 8,000-meters-plus peaks that draw some of the most intrepid (and some say slightly insane) climbing teams in the world.
The best views of a mountain ... ... |
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24 hours in . . . Qiannian Yaozhai
Travel / Local Travel
Written by : texts and pictures by Tom Carter
Jan 28, 2008
Tags :
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| A long day's journey into Liannan Yao Autonomous County
Eclipsed by the neon blaze of Guangzhou and lost in the lovely limestone peaks of northern Guangdong is the 1,000-year-old Qiannian Yaozhai, the oldest Yao minority village in China.
Over 7,000 Yao people once occupied the mountain community but harsh poverty has dramatically thinned the population, leaving Qiannian Yaozhai in its perfectly preserved state. Here's what to do when you get there:
6am: Rise and shine in Liannan County for a long day of exploring bucolic North Guangdong. Unlike steel-and-glass PRD, the north is a poem-inspiring swath of farmland and karst summits.
7am: Ask the locals for directions, but expect each person to point in a different direction. Them's the brakes.
8am: Well-informed bengbeng taxi drivers will take you about 20-25kms southwest up a lush green mountainside to "Nangang Thousand Year Yao Zu Village." Crowning the 800m crest y ... ... |
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