Category Archives: COUNTRIES

Tiananmen Square (Beijing, People’s Republic of China)

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From the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Tiananmen Square was just a short leisurely walk.  This 440,000 sq. m., 880 m. by 500 m. city square, the largest  in the world (it can accommodate 600,000 people), lies between 2 ancient, massive gates: the Tian’anmen Gate (after whom the square was named) to the north (it separates it from the Forbidden City) and the Zhengyangmen, (better known as Qianmen) Gate to the south.  Designed and built in 1651, the square has since been enlarged 4 times its original size in the 1950s.

Tiananmen Square

The square has great cultural significance as it was the site of several key events in Chinese history such as the May Fourth Movement (1919); the proclamation of the People’ Republic of China by Mao Zedong (October 1, 1949); the annual mass military displays on all subsequent National Days until October 1, 1959; the military parades for the 35th (1984), 50th (1999) and 60th (2009) anniversaries of the People’s Republic of China, and the Tiananmen Protests in 1976 (after the death of premier Zhou Enlai) and 1989.

National Museum of China

The square is flanked by the National Museum of China (dedicated to Chinese history predating 1919) on the east and the Great Hall of the People on the west.   On the main north-south axis of the square is the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, built near the site of the former Gate of China (demolished in the 1950s) upon Mao’s death in 1976.

Monument to the People’s Heroes

On its southern edge is the 38 m. (125-ft.) high Monument to the People’s Heroes, built in memory of the martyrs who laid down their lives for the revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people during the 19th and 20th centuries. The monument, constructed from August 1952 to May 1958, was designed by Architect Liang Sicheng, with some elements designed by his wife, Lin Huiyin.  The monument weighs over 10,000 metric tons and contains about 17,000 pieces of marble and granite from Qingdao, Shandong Province and Fangshan District outside Beijing.

Tiananmen Square is open, with no trees or benches.  However, trees line its east and west edges. The square is lit with large lampposts which are fitted with video cameras.

Great Hall of the People

Tiananmen Square and 6 other places in Beijing were selected  as “red tourist” sites by the State Tourism Administration as part of a “red tourism” program aimed at boosting tourism in former revolutionary bases. Being a regular tourist destination, the square was filled with tourists and the occasional columns of precision-marching soldiers in their familiar green uniforms.

A Column of Precision-Marching Soldiers

National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing, People’s Republic of China)

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The next day, after breakfast at the hotel’s Amazing Thailand Coffee Shop, we now proceeded with our walking tour of nearby Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City.  Along the way, we made short photo ops stops at the futuristic 12,000 sq. m. National Centre for the Performing Arts, a recognizable opera house colloquially described as “The Egg.” It’s iconic, titanium-accented and 46 m. high ellipsoid glass dome is completely surrounded by a man-made lake, said to look like an egg floating on water.

National Centre for the Performing Arts

Started in December 2001, it was finished on July 2007 and its inaugural concert was held in December that same year.  The glass dome measures 212 m. in the east-west direction and 144 m. in the north-south direction.  Its main entrance is at the north side and visitors can walk through a hallway that goes underneath the lake.  The titanium shell is broken by a glass curtain in the north-south direction that gradually widens from top to bottom.

The Man-made Lake

French architect Paul Andreau designed the center with large open space, water and trees.  It was specially designed to complement the red walls of ancient buildings and the nearby Great Hall of the People in order to melt into the surroundings as opposed to standing out against them. The center seats 5,452 people; 2,416 at the Opera Hall (used for operas, ballet, and dances), 2,017 at the Music Hall and  1,040 at the Theater Hall (used for plays and the Beijing Opera).

Entrance of National Center for the Performing Arts

National Centre for the Performing Arts: No.2 West Chang’an Ave.,Xicheng District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Red Theatre: The Legend of Kung Fu – Chun Yi (Beijing, People’s Republic of China)

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After our tour of the Temple of Heaven, we again boarded our coach and proceeded to the nearby Beijing Red Theater which specializes in traditional Chinese performances.  Here, we were to watch the 5:15 PM (the next was 7:30 PM), 1 hour and 20 min. showing of “The Legend of Kung Fu,” a unique and spectacular fusion of modern dance with Chinese traditional arts performed here since 2006. The Red Theater, originally known as the Chongwen Worker’s Cultural Palace Theater, was renovated and its stage facilities has been dramatically improved.

Beijing Red Theater

This show is all kung fu, dance and acrobatics and the actors, the best kung fu practitioners from all over China, do not speak (English subtitles shown above the stage keep you informed of the story line).  Their average age is 17 years.  The costumes, set design and special effects (complete with requisite lights, fog and bombastic music), all up to international standards, were created by some of the best stage directors and designers in China.

Beijing Red Theater Lobby

This Las Vegas-style show, produced by China Heaven Creation International Performing Arts, China’s leading performance art production company, follows the story of a young boy named Chun Yi who, like every boy in China, dreams of becoming a kung fu master.  He was brought by his mother to an ancient Buddhist temple to train to become a monk in the kung fu tradition. On the road to enlightenment, the young monk slowly grows, through kung fu training and encounters with difficulties and temptations, into the next leader of the temple.

Chun Yi

During the show, we weren’t allowed to take photographs or do videotaping during the performance as the theater makes most of its money selling DVDs and trinkets after the show.

Red Theater: No. 44 Xingfu Da Jie., Chongwen District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.  Tel: 86-10-67103671. Ticket Prices: RMB180 (Yellow Zone), 280 (Blue Zone), 380 (Green Zone) and 680 (Red VIP Zone). E-mail: thebeijingtickets@gmail.com

The Temple of Heaven (Beijing, People’s Republic of China)

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After our buffet lunch at the Sunshine Café at He Ping Li Hotel, we all returned to our airconditioned coach and proceeded, to the Temple of Heaven (literally the Altar of Heaven).  This 273-hectare, magnificent, grand and colorful complex of sacrificial buildings (the largest in the world), a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1998), was built from 1406-1420 AD and is situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing.  During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the complex was visited by the emperor for annual ceremonies of prayer to the God of Heaven for good harvest.

The Temple of Heaven

Upon alighting our coach, we entered the complex via the South Gate then walked along the Long Corridor (Chang Lang).  Walking along this covered walkway, with its 72 bays, took us past the Sacred Kitchen, Butcher House (Zaisheng Ting) and the Sacred Warehouse (ShenKu), where sacrificial animals (slaughtered at least 200 steps away from the altar) were kept and prepared before the rituals.

The Long Corridor

The temple’s most recognizable building, at the north end, was the majestic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, an impressive 38-m. high and 30-m. diameter wooden building that sits on a large, circular 3-tiered white marble plinth (called the Altar for Grain Prayers). Its cone-shaped, blue roof is crowned with a gilded knob.  The magnificently decorated hall itself was built without using a single nail, truly a feat that required a high level of craftsmanship.

The Magnificent Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Inside the hall, with its large south facing ceremonial throne, are 28 tall pillars, each made from a single tree trunk.  The 4 pillars along the inner circle represent the 4 seasons, the 12 pillars along the middle circle the 12 months, and the other 12 pillars along the outer circle represent the 12 shichen, the ancient Chinese counting standard (1 shichen equals 2 hours, 1 day being divided into 12 shichen). The black, yellow and green colors of the inner roof represent, like everything in the altar, the Earth and the Heaven.

Interior of Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

We exited the park via the East Gate.

Summer in Beijing (People’s Republic of China)

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Summer was about to end (and classes soon to begin) and I didn’t want to end this window of opportunity without satisfying my yearning to visit some place new and far away. It just so happened that my billiard pals Alexander “Alex” Ong and Gilberto “Gil” Bilog were planning a trip to Beijing (People’s Republic of China) and I decided to join them. Joining us were my son Jandy and Ms. Corazon “Azon” Varias (Gil’s sister-in-law) with her son Gibson Santos. Alex was accompanied by his wife Chona and his mother Carmen but Gil was all by his lonesome.

L-R: Chona, Alex, Carmen, Gil, Gibson, Azon, Jandy and the author

Our trip required us to get a one-time visa (processed by our travel agent after submission of requirements, no interview needed) and NBI clearance (a first for me and Jandy).  Our tour package included, aside from plane fare and hotel accommodation, all our tours and meals.  Weather in Beijing, according to internet weather reports, was now sunny and bright, Beijing’s very cold winter just having ended.

Arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport

We all left Manila’s NAIA Terminal II very early in the morning via the 7:20 AM Philippine Airlines flight. The trip from Manila to Beijing took all of 4.5 hours and we arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA), the world’s second busiest airport (in terms of passenger throughput), by noon. At the airport, we were welcomed by our Chinese tour guide, the diminutive but affable Ms. Brittany Jiang.

Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal Building

Instead of checking ourselves into our hotels as was usually the case,  we were, instead, slated to start our first tour: the Temple of Heaven (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).  But, before anything else, we had a late buffet lunch of authentic Chinese and Cantonese delicacies at the Sunshine Café at the ground floor of the 9-storey, 3-star He Ping Li Hotel Beijing near the Beijing International Exhibition Center.  The 23-km. trip from the airport to the hotel, via our tourist shuttle, took all of 35 mins.

Buffet Lunch at Sunshine Cafe

He Ping Li Hotel Beijing: No. 16 He Ping Li North Street,Dongcheng District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

Winchsurfing at Virgin Beach Resort (San Juan, Batangas)

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Joey winchsurfing

Mr. Joey Cuerdo of Powerup Gym invited me and fellow travel writer Joselito”Lito” Cinco to join him and his kids (daughters Frankie and Kitkat and son Kobe) as guests of Mr. Butch Campos, owner of Virgin Beach Resort along Laiya Beach in San Juan, Batangas.  To record the moment, I brought along my daughter Cheska, a photography buff.   Laiya Beach is located along the coast of Sigayan Bay (one of the cleanest bays in the country) and Verde Island Passage.

The resort’s white sand beach

Normally, the trip, via South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and Star Tollway, even on a Saturday (the day we left) was just 2.5 to 3 hrs. but hey it was the eve of the May 10 elections and last-ditch efforts by candidates to woo voters, via rallies and miting de avance, was the rule and not the exception, causing long traffic waits.  We left early in the morning but only arrived at the resort just in time for lunch.  Still, we were lucky.  Other invited guests, skim boarders from Nasugbu who left after lunch, arrived at the resort at 7 PM.

The Balinese-style restaurant

It being noon, the more than 7 km,. long, slightly coarse sand beach at the resort was at its whitest and, as lunch was still being prepared, we took time to explore the place. Very noticeable was its high level of cleanliness which sets it apart from the others. Mr. Campos, our host, sees to it that it remains such, personally picking up trash and cigarette butts and depositing them at ashtrays and trash receptacles provided specifically for food, and non-food items.  This 40-hectare (6 hectares developed) Class “A” resort, opened in 2005, is also noted for the oversized proportions and sprawled layout of its facilities.  The majestic Mt. Lobo serves as a tranquil backdrop to its beautiful beachfront area, truly a combination of land, sea and sky.

The Parasols

After this guided tour by Mr. Campos, we all walked back to the huge Balinese-style restaurant/pavilion were a scrumptious set lunch of salad, soup, main course (with a choice of chicken, beef or pork and seafood) and dessert awaited us.

After lunch, Joey then proceeded to set up the resort’s newest attraction: winchskating.  This is not new to the country as Camarines Watersports (Naga City, Camarines Sur) and Lago de Oro (Calatagan, Batangas)  offer cable wakeboarding, wake skating and water skiing in manmade, freshwater lakes.  However, this will the first time that that cable wakeboarding and wake skating is being done along a seashore and this resort will be the first to offer such.
Joey instructing Cheska

This recent concept is simpler but safer and more affordable, using a U.S. made, 9 HP, 4-stroke portable, lightweight wakeboard winch (manufactured by Ridiculous Winches and distributed here in the country by Outward Bound Gear), anchored and held stationary by stakes on a sand spit, to pull, using variable speeds, a wakeboarder via a sturdy, 200-ft. long rope along the shallow seashore.  Joey, a professional surfer, took first crack at it initially using his own surf board and, finally, a wakeboard (more suitable because of its shorter fins).  Soon, he riding the waves of the shore like the professional that he is.  Mr. Campos, Frankie and Cheska took unsuccessful cracks at it.  Joey hopes, that with the introduction of this winch, the wakeboarding domain will be revolutionized to some extent and more venues will be opened as wakeboard winches have made wake skating accessible to a large number of spectators as one can fix them anywhere.

Virgin Beach Resort: Brgy. Hugom, San Juan, Batangas.  Tel: (632) 815-2584, 815-2587, 759-2020 and 759-2828. Fax: (632)817-6334 Mobile number: (0917) 813-1301. Email: sunkisd@pldtdsl.net.  Website: www.virginbeachresort.com.

Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Quezon City, Metro Manila)

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Bantayog ng mga Bayani

The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (“Monument of Heroes”) is a monument, museum, and historical research center designed to honor the martyrs and heroes who struggled against the 21-year dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos, regardless of their affiliations, who live before and, later, beyond the 1986 People Power Revolution.

The granite “Wall of Remembrance,” the central element of the Bantayog memorial, is inscribed with the names of the martyrs and heroes who fought abuses of the Marcos dictatorship.

Nominated by victims’ families, civic organization members or the general public, individuals to be honored on the wall were reviewed under a set of criteria by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Foundation’s Research and Documentation Committee.

The committee makes recommendations to its Executive Committee for further review then the foundation’s Board of Trustees gives the final approval.

In 1992, the first batch of 65 names were enshrined on the wall. They include:

As of 2018, 305 names have been enshrined on the Wall of Remembrance.  Francisco “Soc” A. Rodrigo (former senator) and Jose Mari U. Velez (journalist) were added on November 28, 1998; Jaime L. Sin (Cardinal) and Haydee B. Yorac (law professor) on December 9, 2005;  Catalino “Lino” O. Brocka (movie director) and Cecilia Munoz-Palma (Supreme Court justice) on November 30, 2006); and Corazon “Cory” C. Aquino (Philippine president) on November 30, 2009. 

The 35-ft. high “Inang Bayan” Monument, depicting a woman reaching out to the sky for freedom and holding the body of a fallen young man, is another prominent element of the memorial.

Prominently located near the roadside frontage of the memorial (so that it can be seen by vehicles along Quezon Avenue near its corner with EDSA), the woman is a metaphorical depiction of the Philippine “motherland” (inang bayan in Filipino) while the man represents self-sacrifice and heroism, alluding to the martyrs who gave their life for the freedom of the Philippine people.

Inang Bayan

At the monument’s base are tree plaques containing the last stanza of Jose Rizal‘s “Mi Ultimo Adios” in English, Filipino, and the original Spanish.

 

Bantayog ng Mga Bayani: Quezon Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.

Patag Valley (Silay City, Negros Occidental)

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On our last day in Silay City, I, together with my wife Grace and children Jandy and Cheska, decided to do some trekking at Patag (meaning “flat plain” in the vernacular) Valley, located 45 kms. from Bacolod City in a valley 1,600 ft. (490m.) above sea level, between the highlands of Mt. Silay and Mt. Marapara.  After breakfast at Balay Daku, my grandfather’s ancestral house, we left by 7:30 AM and were accompanied by Neil Solomon “Solo” Locsin, my young first cousin, who was familiar with the place.  During World War II, the valley was a battlefield, being the last stronghold, in the whole region, of the Japanese Imperial Army’s Nagano detachment.   Here, 15,000 Japanese and hundreds of Filipino and American (from the U.S. 40th Division) soldiers died.  The Japanese surrendered after 5 months.  Today, a wide Japanese altar commemorates the last battle between the two forces and underground, manmade Japanese tunnels can still be found.  

The Von Einsiedel Resthouse


Throughout the 32 km., 1-hour trip, east of the city, to the valley, we passed huge expanses of sugar fields.  We first made a stopover at the beautiful resthouse of Milou von Eisiedel, another first cousin of Neil and I.  Designed by her husband and fellow U.P. alumni and architect Nathaniel “Dinky” von Einsiedel, the a resthouse had two bedrooms, living and dining area, kitchen, a mezzanine and a huge balcony that overlooks a terraced garden with beautiful flowers below and the verdant valley and mountains beyond.  

Returning to our car, our driver then drove us up to the end of a dirt road.  From hereon, it was all footwork as  we were to trek to a waterfall.  Leading the way, Solo guided us along a well-marked but slippery trail.  We were all wearing shorts which seem unsuitable as it exposed our legs to scratches from prickly plants and sharp rocks.  At one time, we had to wade through a stream made murky by an unsightly dam.  This aside, everything else was beautiful as we passed small waterfalls and beautiful turquoise-colored streams After 30 mins. of continuous hiking, we finally arrived at a beautiful, 25-ft. high waterfall.  This was as far as our schedule would allow and, after some photo ops, we retraced our steps back to the car. 

This short tour perked up an appetite to explore the valley, in more detail, sometime in the future.  The valley is a favorite for ecotours, it being a base for exploring stretches of rain forest and some of its 300 waterfalls, the most beautiful of which is the breathtaking Pulang Tubig Waterfalls (not in our itinerary though, being too far out) whose waters seems red in color because of its red or orange rocks it falls unto.  The valley is also home to sulfataras (sulfur geysers) and endangered species of wildlife including the Negros spotted deer (cervus alfredi).  This is also the jump off point for the hike going to Tinagong Dagat (Sipalay City) or Mt. Mandalagan and a site for Boy Scout Jamborees and Red Cross Training.

Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni Museum (Silay City, Negros Occidental)

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From Balay Negrense, Solo next brought us to the nearby 2-storey Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni Museum, beside the City Public Market  and near the San Diego Pro-Cathedral.  Also called the Pink Museum, the house was first owned by Don Bernardino Jalandoni and his wife Dona Ysabel Ledesma-Jalandoni.
Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni Museum
Their grandson, Luis Jalandoni, was a former priest who became one of the top leaders of Communist Party of the Philippines.  Since the 1970s, he has been living in exile in the Netherlands.  Luis spent the first 12 years of his life in this house.  The current heirs, Mr. and Mrs. Antonio J. Montinola have entrusted its care to the Silay Heritage Foundation, a non-government organization.  Built from 1908-1912, it was declared, on November 6, 1993, as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute (NHI).
The expensive doll collection
The sala
A 4-poster, “An Tay” bed
The Steinway piano
Solo and Jandy browsing through books
on the round, single slab table
An old phonograph

We were toured around the house by a male guide.  The house was built with durable balayong, a hardwood coming all the way from Mindoro.  At the ground floor are photographs of Silay’s ancestral houses, a display to the Jalandoni’s expensive doll collection, 2 carriages, a gallinera (its bottom was used as a temporary enclosure for chickens) and a carroza with the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is still being paraded around the city during Holy Week.

A Stradivarius violin
A grandfather clock
A wooden harp

The second floor has embossed, prefabricated steel trayed ceilings imported from Hamburg, Germany.  Intricately carved, French-designed wooden calado transoms, a study of visual aesthetics and function, allow air to circulate within the house.  On display are antique furniture (including a single slab round table and 4-poster, Chinese-made “An Tay” beds), a wooden harp, Ming Dynasty chinaware, an old telephone, sewing machine, a Stradivarius violin, a grandfather clock, an old phonograph, a Steinway piano, chandeliers, etc.  The museum also features a fine collection of books, glassware and lace supplied by the Silay Heritage Foundation members.

Grace and Cheska at the grand stairway
Bernardino-Ysabel Jalandoni Museum: cor. Rizal and Severino Sts., Silay City, Negros Occidental.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM-5 PM.  Admission: PhP50.  Tel: (034) 495-5093.

Balay Negrense (Silay City, Negros Occidental)

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After lunch at Locsin Reunion venue, Solo again toured us around the city, this visiting the 12-bedroom Balay Negrense (Hiligaynon for “Negrense House”), one of the largest if not the largest ancestral house in the city.  The first museum to be established in Negros Occidental, it was built in the Neo-Renaissance style, from 1898-1912, by Yves Gaston.  Yves was the son of 19th century sugar baron Yves Leopold Germain Gaston of Lisieux (Normandy, France) and Prudencia Fernandez, a Batanguena.  Yves generated wide-scale interest in commercial-scale sugar cultivation with his horno econonmico, the precursor of today’s sugar mills.  

 
Balay Negrense

Victor Gaston and his 12 children lived here from 1901 until Victor’s death in 1927. During World War II, the house was said to have been occupied by Japanese military officers. Later, the house became a venue for a ballet school run by one of the descendants until the early 1970s but was abandoned shortly thereafter and fell into disrepair.

The grand W-shaped staircase

The Negros Cultural Foundation, a group of concerned Negrenses, managed to acquire, through a donation, the house from the heirs of Gaston. The structure was then repaired and furnished with period furniture and fixtures through donations from prominent individuals and, later, the Department of Tourism.  This lifestyle museum was officially inaugurated on October 6, 1990.  

The spacious living area
The round table with names of Gaston descendants

Now a showcase of Negrense art and culture, it displays antique furniture, a grand piano, Filipiniana costumes and Gaston memorabilia.  The museum boasts of a grand W-shaped stairway (women used the right stairway, men the left), calado or carved panels that served as ventilators between rooms, etched window glass, fancy-grilled ventanillas (smaller windows beneath the large windows with sliding panels that can be opened to admit the wind) and sprawling gardens.  Solo showed us a big round table with lists of the names of the owner’s descendants, some of them familiar names of celebrities and politicians.  Some of them were my relatives.

The grand piano
The 2-storey house has a lower storey of concrete, with foundation posts made with trunks from the balayong tree, a local hardwood also used as floorboards for the house. The upper storey is made of wood while the roof uses galvanized iron.  The house has a 4-m. high ceiling and is elevated from the ground level by a 1 m. high crawlspace which enhanced air circulation, allowing the wooden foundations to be aerated, preventing dampness from rotting the wood and preserving the integrity of the house.
 
L-R: Jandy, Grace, Solo and Cheska
 
Balay Negrense: Cinco de Noviembre St., Brgy. III, Silay City, 6116 Negros Occidental.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM-5 PM. Tel: (034) 714-7676 and 495-4916.