Deep in the backstreets of Guangzhou, through twisting and turning neighborhood lanes a taxi can hardly fit through, there’s an old factory building. But within its light tan walls, everything is repurposed. The arts have taken over a place once sworn to industry. Through a small entrance, and through a twisting maze-like gallery — literally called… Read More Book & Fun | A Haven for Art Books in Guangzhou
Crisp autumn air greets me as I disembark from a subway station a bit of a ways South of the city center. Days like this are the best time to be out and about. Its when the leaves turn to red and the sun, content with the encroaching firey landscape it has wrought with its… Read More Spine of Beijing | Traversing the City’s Central Axis
The sight of a giant scarlet “70”, screaming for attention outside the reserved Chinese Deco facade of the museum, signaled to me what could be expected inside. It seemed not even the world of art was safe from this monumental celebration. The 2019 anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China, as the… Read More A Deeper Shade of Red | Chinese Art from the Interwar Period
Gentle hues and shadows forming twisted figures of individuals juxtaposed with the violence and diversity of nature. Waves and sunsets and mountains and sudden rain. All in a space complimenting the works, with patterns drawing to mind Zen gardens on the ground, more mountains and figures on the wall; all combining to reveal the floating… Read More A Journey to the Floating World | Ukiyo-e in Shanghai
Every time I used to visit Shanghai while living in Ningbo for the past few years, I’d stay at a cozy hostel along Suzhou Creek near Xinzhua Station on Line 1. The walk to the hostel always took me along a stone-covered road by the river, South Suzhou Road, with a few quiet cafes and… Read More Pastel Colored Past & Melancholy Present | Different Perspectives Along Suzhou Creek
I’ve always had a thing for Asian illustration and design. While this originally was confined to the Japanese interpretation of the art, my time spent in China has exposed me to a vast array of old school publications, pamphlets, books, propaganda and even modern day wall murals (most of which are also propaganda) to discover… Read More Drawing New Perspectives | Visiting the Xuhui Museum Shanghai Illustration Exhibition
If you’ve ever wandered around the Bund in Shanghai or the French Concession, you might have noticed some very ornate buildings, tall and grand and streamlined with everything molded into a single structure and vaulting towards the sky with the utmost grace. These lovely buildings are products of the Art Deco architecture movement. Short for… Read More Shanghai Art Deco | Grace from the Past
Coming from Narita into Tokyo was quite the experience, riding on the Sky Liner and seeing trees and green fields whizzing by and morphing into small buildings that grew taller and taller. As if responding to the slowly setting sun, the buildings became bright with neon and LED ads and lights all over. I had… Read More Sake & Comfort Food | Lessons in Japan’s Spirit in Ginza
After weeks of being told there was nothing exciting to see in Ningbo, I stumbled upon a diamond in the rough while searching online: the oldest library in China. Known as Tiānyī Gé (天一阁), or the One Sky Pavilion, was founded in 1561 by the politician-scholar Fan Qin (范钦). At it’s height, the One Sky… Read More Kickin’ it in Tiānyī Gé
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