Michael Jackson's Final Concert

Went for the premier of Michael Jackson's 'This is It" Concert Movie courtesy of Sony Ericsson(thanks Alex!) last nite. WE reminisced about growing up listening to his music and attending his concert here in 1996! Yes those were the days, when international artistes were still allowed to perform here without any brouha!

Yesterday's premiere reinforced MJ's own history of one of music's one of a kind and memorable performers. Though his songs were not new and his dance steps were slight improvements from yesteryear, nevertheless we were all marvelled by him. Young and old enjoyed his performance in the movie which was actually a compilation of clips taken during rehearsals before his death. I would have appreciated if they had showed the full dress rehearsal but nonetheless since this is his "final concert" one cant complain too much!

Do catch his movie as it will be shown here for only a limited period of 2 weeks from today(29/10/09). MJ will definitely live on in our hearts as one of the truly greatest performers of our time!!

Shopping and eating at Zhongshan Lu, Xiamen

Zhongshan Lu is considered like the Jalan Bukit Bintang of KL, or Beijing Lu of Guangzhou. This is a pedestrian only shopping road consisting of shops selling mid-to-high range stuff. Bargaining is not possible except in the small little stalls.



The Chinese love to decorate their pedestrian walks with statues that depict life in the olden times.
Push-carts selling street snacks are popular here. This one selling a doughy kind of cake/pie somewhat like out local Kueh. However lard and mung beans are used in this Chinese snack.

A Beetle on display all flowered up. One of a kind.


Modern pastries are also sold alongside local snacks.

This is a dying snack treat...a sugared dough figurine on a stick. Somehow or rather you buy it more for the artistry rather than to eat it!!

I would say lollipops are more popular now and this one are giant ones!!

This is a popular peanut soup stall located on Zhongshan Lu called Huang ZHe He .

The Peanut soup in Xiamen is actually sweet and is like a tong-sui, supposedly good for cooling down body heat.

In an alley called Ju Kou Street off Zhongshan Road, is a renowned Spring Roll shop called A’qing Spring Rolls. And A’qing, the shop owner, sells her Spring Rolls day after day, year after year, regardless of seasons. A’qing puts shredded winter bamboo shoots, cabbage, carrots, curd, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and other vegetables and mixes with diced meat, shrimp, sea oyster and other fillings in a large pot. Then she spreads the round roll skin with expert skill, and places the fillings with dipping mustard and seaweed, wraps into a roll, and delivers into our hands. The whole process was done in less than half a minute! And it only costs 2yuan per piece. Its no wonder there's always a queue to buy this takeaway snack.

As I mentioned in earlier post, Xiamen's Spring rolls are different from our Malaysian ones. Depending on whose interpretation, our local spring rolls could have originated from Southern Fujian or Fujian's spring rolls could have been improved and refined from the early Malaysian Chinese who went back to their hometowns in Fujian. Either way, Xiamen's spring rolls are delicious and not to be missed!!

JiaLi Seafood Restaurant, Xiamen

The Restaurant is located on He Xiang West Road and is beside the sea. You travel via the coastal road and onto the new Haicang Bridge. Takes about less than 10minutes to reach there from Lujiang Hotel. At nite, the bridge is lighted in a flood of white light so it makes a spectacular sight. Locals liken it to a beautiful white dragon.
Jiali Restaurant adjoins 2-3 other restaurants but its the one in the centre and make sure the taxi driver gets you to the right one.
Once you are seated at a table, you will then be escorted to make your choices of the fresh seafood by the hostess.
The range of seafood is tremendous and the prices are also stated which includes the cooking charge so you have no excuse not knowing how much your dish would cost!
We definitely had a hard time chosing as there was really too many choices
Huge aquariums holding various types of fish, prawns etc.





All kinds of shellfish.
Hairy crabs were still in season!
Apetiser of popiah/spring rolls
The filling is made up of bamboo shoots,cabbage,diced meat, carrot and other fillings...somewhat different from Malaysian popiah. However i personally thought it was the best popiah i have ever tasted!!

This is another apetiser-a cold dish of bitter gourd
Steamed river fish peculiar to this region and the fish was particularly sweet and fresh.
One kind of clams
Scallops steamed in garlic
Braised goose-web- Not that good as the web-skin was not soft enough and the sauce was abit too sweet
This is also a kind of clam that is cooked lightly in the soup stock. The freshness and sweetness of the clam is thus maintained.
We ordered this type of vege which
we thought was a special type available only in xiamen but it is like our local "paku-choi".

Hairy crabs- male species more roe!!
Double boiled hasma in papaya. You get the nutritous goodness from both the hasma and the papaya. Never eaten this anywhere else before and its absolutely delicious.

Of the few restaurants i tried in Xiamen, i think Jia Li has the best value for money seafood. The cooking process may not be as good as those in Guangzhou but the freshness and variety of seafood more than makes up for it. Do go for the more reputable restaurants is my advice to you as many tourists have been scammed when they go for the cheaper open-air small ones. When you go overseas, you do not want to be scammed neither do you want to end up with food poisoning. As always, the Chinese culture of spitting etc have only slightly improved in recent years so spend abit more or else you will be in for a rude culture shock!!

Gulangyu's Unique Architectural Designs

As i didnt seem to do justice to Gulangyu unique architecture, i am posting up some pics that were taken by this Chinese student, Ms Lily Wang. She would have taken days to capture all these marvellous pics and it wouldnt have been easy either as most of the mansions are privately owned and not ascessible to outsiders.

I never knew the architectural designs on top of pillars were called capitals until i saw this set of pics...learnt something!

Gulangyu Island/Islet

I promised to post about Xiamen's main attraction and that would be Gulangyu Island.This will be a very long post and yet still seem inadequate to describe the "quaintness and beauty" of this place. My pics really dont do any justice to this lovely island but nevertheless hope it would stir your fancy to go there and enjoy the "uniqueness" of this island.

The name Gulangyu has musical roots, as gu lang means drum waves so-called because of the sound generated by the ocean waves hitting the reefs. Yu means "islet". Though only 187sq. km., the diminutive islet is the pearl of Xiamen City and is also known as Garden on the Sea.

Toda GI Has more pianos per capita than any other place in China with over 600 pianos with its population of 16,000. This has also given GI its alternate name of Piano Island. Indeed there is a Piano Museum on this island and picture-taking is not allowed inside but i can ascertain it does contain pianos dating back to 18th century. VArious sizes and shapes!!
The island became a foreign enclave following the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, hence the predominantly Victorian-era style architecture throughout the island, of which many were offices and residences of Consulate-Generals, as well as that of the thriving expatriate business community.

The Amoy dialect of Hokkien is spoken on the island. Due to its vast variety of architectural styles blending Western and Eastern cultures,GI is also known as a World Architectural Cocktail.

You can cross to this island via ferry which costs only 8yuan for a return trip. You pay only on the return way.


The island is totally pedestrian only, where the only vehicles on the islands are several fire trucks and passenger transport vehicles consisting of something like golf buggies.


Indeed to actually walk round the whole island would require tremendous stamina on your part so i opted to travel round in a golf like buggy sitting around 9-10passengers accompanied by a guide who would explain to you the various sights. This buggy ride costs $60 renminbi for a return trip. You pay $50 renminbi that will take you to the other side of the island first followed by $10 renminbi to return to the ferry terminal. The ride was so scenic till I regretted taking the buggy but it would have taken me forever to cover the whole island!!





If you have the time, it would be great to actually stay a nite on the island in one of the many quaint little hotels and soak up the clean fresh air while exploring the island. It has some nice beaches, and the streets are cobblestoned and have some new shops and cafes (some, but not all).



There are also very old buildings, typical of an old city. It's a good idea to reserve about 5 to 6 hours for this place, to just walk around and get lost! Some notable attractions on Gulang Yu include Sunlight Rock, where you take a cable car to 'base camp' and climb up about 5 or 6 floors to the top of this giant rock. For those who find stair climbing difficult, this is NOT for you. The stairs are pretty narrow, and even a fit person would be breathless once you get to the top.






At the top, there is only a small look out post, it gets crowded easily with people pushing and elbowing you. On the way down, check out the Zhen Cheng Gong museum about a local folk hero. Indeed there is the Bright Moon Haoyue Park which is 30000 sq meters theme park built in 1985 to commemorate the national hero Zheng Chenggong. Zheng Chenggong was a military hero who fought off the Dutch colonists in the year 1661 with an 8000 ship armada and regained control of Taiwan. The Dutch had previously controlled Taiwan for 38 years


The park's theme is derive from the line "I had a sleepless nite thinkng of your majesty as the bight mooon light streamed in thru the curtain" from the "Two Yanping Kings"poems composed in remembrance of the hero and the yearning for the return of Taiwan to the motherland. The garden's major attraction is the 15.7meter 1.617tons Zheng Chenggong's statue which was constructed of 625blocks of finely carved "Quanzhou White"granite assembled in 23 layers with ZCC dressed in army uniform facing the sea and looking into the distance as if commanding his army.


There is also an Aviary near the Cinema, which was very good, but the over abundance of pea cocks indicates that the authorities are more interested in the beautification of the area and not so much about the wildlife. The cockatoos were chained by their legs to the perch which I didn't really like as they seemed quite uncomfortable there and fidgety. Ponds also stank and i made a hasty retreat out!





I noticed this tree outside that needed 'blood transfusion' outside the Chinese temple!!? See the blood bags with tubes and needle stuck into the tree.LOL. Dont ask why!?I didnt bother to ask....




















Due to the international community that once resided on this island, there are 2 churches located here. This is considered a rarity as sometimes you cant even find a church in any Chinese town let alone 2 on this small little island.




















The 2churches ie the Trinity Church and the Gulangyu CAtholic Church served the Protestant and Catholic communities here respectively.





















To the right of the ferry terminal, there is the Underwater World which is supposedly the EXACT duplicate of the Underwater World in Singapore, the exhibits, and even the sequence of exhibits!

If you are having lunch or dinner on Gulangyu, make sure you ascertain the prices before ordering, as there are many reports of tourists being overcharged! Indeed the concierge and bell boys at my hotel doubly warned us not to eat at the island's restaurants.



















So I ate street food on Gulangyu consisting of spring rolls(Xiamen's specialty!!) and fish balls(that had a meat filling in the centre!). This is enough to tide you over till you indulge yourself with more hearty food on the mainland.



Gulangyu is definitely a photographer's paradise and on the day i was there, many bridal couples were seen having their pics taken there. Photography enthusiasts were seen lunging their big-ass cameras to capture the various scenic spots. I hope to go back again one day to enjoy this place that has survived thru development without the accompanying air and noise pollution.