August 20, 2006
Sun Yat Sen
Known as the father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat Sen was involved into the Kumungtang
party which overthrew the imperial court and foresaw the exit of the British from China.
They were in power for a very short time though, due to the rise of communism and
Mao. He escaped to Formosa where, with the help of his followers, created the Republic
of Taiwan.
Until a few decades back the west only recognised Taiwan and not China. Mainland China
still considers Taiwan as a part of China.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2006
Crossroads
This is the heart of Chinatown in Los Angeles. Everything radiates from this point. Well,
the place is not really that big though, so it's not really a big deal. I like the window in
the background. It probably has seen a lot of this over the years.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)
August 18, 2006
Golden Pagoda
Actually, it's now the Hop Louie-Jade Pagoda. It was built in 1941 and was possibly the
last major construction in what is considered today as Chinatown. Currently, it is
a restaurant.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2006
Gate of Maternal Virtues
This gate was built in the late 30's by Y.C. Hong. It was dedicated to his mother, and
the inscription, which was composed by the then Chinese consul, T.K. Chang, reads -
The spirit of (Mother) Meng and (Mother) Ow.
Some of the camphor wood that was used in the construction of this gate is over 150 years
old.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2006
Balcony
The interesting aspect of Chinatown is that it is made up of buildings stuck in a
time warp. These anachronistic pieces were built around the 1930's and encorporates
a lot of Medieval Chinese architecture. They also have a strong Californian influence as
the Chinese had been in the area for about 80-100 years by then.
H.
Posted by hriday at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2006
Foo Chow
Well, as the sign says, this was the place they shot some of the scenes in the
movie Rush Hour. The scene where they first to to find Juntao...
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:06 PM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2006
Gateway of Chinatown
This is the gate into Chinatown. Chinatown in Los Angeles goes back about 150 years.
However, the present location is rather new, and is only about a hundred years old.
The area is generally considered a dump, and it's unsafe to venture there later in the
evenings.
This particular gate is the West gate, and is the older one. The camphor wood used
goes back 150 years.
H.
Posted by hriday at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)