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Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Wuhan Campaign. As Japanese forces pressed toward central China, Chiang Kai-shek faced a brutal choice: defend Wuhan with costly sieges or unleash a dangerous flood to buy time. The Yellow River breached its banks at Huayuankou, sending a wall of water racing toward villages, railways, and fields. The flood did not erase the enemy; it bought months of breathing room for a battered China, but at a terrible toll to civilians who lost homes, farms, and lives. Within Wuhan's orbit, a mosaic of Chinese forces struggled to unite. The NRA, split into competing war zones and factions, numbered about 1.3 million but fought with uneven equipment and training. The Japanese, deploying hundreds of thousands, ships, and air power, pressed from multiple angles: Anqing, Madang, Jiujiang, and beyond, using riverine forts and amphibious landings to turn the Yangtze into a deadly artery. Yet courage endured as troops held lines, pilots challenged the skies, and civilians, like Wang Guozhen, who refused to betray his country, chose defiance over surrender. The war for Wuhan was not a single battle but a testament to endurance in the face of overwhelming odds.   #173 The Fall of Wuhan Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the last episode we began the Battle of Wuhan. Japan captured Anqing and gained air access to Jiujiang, Chinese defenses around the Yangtze River were strained. The southern Yangtze's Ninth War Zone held two key garrisons: one west of Poyang Lake and another in Jiujiang. To deter Japanese assault on Jiujiang, China fortified Madang with artillery, mines, and bamboo booms. On June 24, Japan conducted a surprise Madang landing while pressing south along the Yangtze. Madang's fortress withstood four assaults but suffered heavy bombardment and poison gas. Chinese leadership failures contributed to the fall: Li Yunheng, overseeing Madang, was away at a ceremony, leaving only partial contingents, primarily three battalions from marine corps units and the 313th regiment of the 53rd division, participating, totaling under five battalions. Reinforcements from Pengze were misrouted by Li's orders, arriving too late. Madang fell after three days. Chiang Kai-shek retaliated with a counterattack and rewarded units that recaptured Xiangshan, but further progress was blocked. Li Yunheng was court-martialed, and Xue Weiying executed.   Madang's loss opened a corridor toward Jiujiang. The Japanese needed weeks to clear minefields, sacrificing several ships in the process. With roughly 200,000 Chinese troops in the Jiujiang–Ruichang zone under Xue Yue and Zhang Fukui, the Japanese captured Pengze and then Hukou, using poison gas again during the fighting. The Hukou evacuation cut off many non-combat troops, with over 1,800 of 3,100 soldiers successfully evacuated and more than 1,300 missing drowned in the lake. Two weeks after Hukou's fall, the Japanese reached Jiujiang and overtook it after a five-day battle. The retreat left civilians stranded, and the Jiujiang Massacre followed: about 90,000 civilians were killed, with mass executions of POWs, rapes, and widespread destruction of districts, factories, and transport. Subsequently, the Southern Riverline Campaign saw Japanese detachments along the river advance westward, capturing Ruichang, Ruoxi, and other areas through October, stretching Chinese defenses thin as Japan pressed toward Wuchang and beyond. On July 26, 1938, the Japanese occupied Jiujiang and immediately divided their forces into three routes: advancing toward De'an and Nanchang, then striking Changsha, severing the Yue-Han Railway, and surrounding Wuhan in an effort to annihilate the Chinese field army. The advance of the 101st and 106th Infantry Divisions slowed south of the Yangtze River, yet the Central China Expeditionary Army remained intent on seizing Ruichang and De'an to cut off Chinese forces around Mount Lu. To this end, the 9th and 27th Infantry Divisions were deployed to the sector, with the 9th regarded as an experienced unit that had fought in earlier campaigns, while the 27th was newly formed in the summer of 1938; this contrast underscored the rapidly expanding scope of the war in China as the Japanese Army General Staff continued mobilizing reservists and creating new formations. According to the operational plan, the 101st and 106th Divisions would push south toward De'an to pin Chinese defenders, while the 9th and 27th Divisions would envelop Chinese forces south of the river. Okamura Yasuji ordered five battalions from the 9th to move toward De'an via Ruichang, and the Hata Detachment was tasked with securing the area northwest of Ruichang to protect the 9th's flank. North of the Yangtze, the 6th Infantry Division was to move from Huangmei to Guangji, with Tianjiazhen as the ultimate objective; capturing Tianjiazhen would allow the 11th Army to converge on Wuhan from both north and south of the river.  The operation began when the 9th Division landed at Jiujiang, threatening the left flank of the Jinguanqiao line. The Chinese responded by deploying the 1st Corps to counter the 9th Division's left flank, which threatened the Maruyama Detachment's lines of communication. The Maruyama Detachment counterattacked successfully, enabling the rest of the 9th Division to seize Ruichang on August 24; on the same day, the 9th attacked the 30th Army defending Mount Min. The Chinese defense deteriorated on the mountain, and multiple counterattacks by Chinese divisions failed, forcing the 1st Corps to retreat to Mahuiling. The seizure of Ruichang and the surrounding area was followed by a wave of atrocities, with Japanese forces inflicting substantial casualties, destroying houses, and damaging property, and crimes including murder, rape, arson, torture, and looting devastating many villages and livelihoods in the Ruichang area. After Ruichang and Mount Min fell, the Maruyama Detachment and the 106th Infantry Division advanced on Mahuiling, seeking to encircle Chinese forces from the northwest, with the 106th forming the inner ring and the Maruyama Detachment the outer ring; this coordination led to Mahuiling's fall on September 3. The 27th Infantry Division, arriving in late August, landed east of Xiaochikou, providing the manpower to extend Japanese offensives beyond the Yangtze's banks and outflank Chinese defenders along the river. Its main objective was to seize the Rui-wu highway, a vital route for the continued advance toward Wuhan. After the fall of Mahuiling, Japanese command altered its strategy. The 11th Army ordered the Maruyama Detachment to rejoin the 9th Infantry Division and press westward, while the 101st Infantry Division was to remain at Mahuiling and push south toward De'an along with the 106th Infantry Division. This divergent or “eccentric” offensive aimed to advance on Wuhan while protecting the southern flank. The renewed offensive began on September 11, 1938, with the 9th Infantry Division and Hata Detachment advancing west along the Rui-yang and Rui-wu highways toward Wuhan, followed days later by the 27th Infantry Division. Initially, the Japanese made solid progress from Ruichang toward a line centered on Laowuge, but soon faced formidable Chinese defenses. The 9th and 27th Divisions confronted the Chinese 2nd Army Corps, which had prepared in-depth positions in the mountains west of Sanchikou and Xintanpu. The 27th Division encountered stiff resistance from the 18th and 30th Corps, and although it captured Xiaoao by September 24, its vanguard advancing west of Shujie came under heavy attack from the 91st, 142nd, 60th, and 6th Reserve Infantry Divisions, threatening to encircle it. Only the southward advance of the 101st and 106th Divisions relieved the pressure, forcing the Chinese to redeploy the 91st and 6th Reserve Divisions to the south and thereby loosening the 27th's grip. After the redeployment, the 9th and 27th Divisions resumed their push. The 9th crossed the Fu Shui on October 9 and took Sanjikou on October 16, while the 27th seized Xintanpu on October 18. The Hata Detachment followed, capturing Yangxin on October 18 and Ocheng on October 23, further tightening Japanese control over the highways toward Wuhan. By mid-October, 11th Army commander Okamura Yasuji resolved to sever the Guangzhou-Hankou railway to disrupt Chinese lines. On October 22, the 9th and 27th Divisions attacked toward Jinniu and Xianning. By October 27, the 9th had captured Jinniu and cut the railway; the 27th Division extended the disruption further south. These actions effectively isolated Wuchang from the south, giving the Imperial Japanese Army greater leverage over the southern approaches to Wuhan. The push south by the 101st and 106th Infantry Divisions pressed toward De'an, where they encountered the entrenched Chinese 1st Army Corps. The offensive began on September 16 and by the 24th, elements of the 27th Division penetrated deep into the area west of Baishui Street and De'an's environs. Recognizing the growing crisis, Xue Yue mobilized the nearby 91st and 142nd Divisions, who seized Nanping Mountain along the Ruiwu Line overnight, effectively cutting off the 27th Division's retreat. Fierce combat on the 25th and 26th saw Yang Jialiu, commander of the 360th Regiment of the 60th Division, die a heroic death. Zhang Zhihe, chief of staff of the 30th Group Army and an underground CCP member, commanded the newly formed 13th Division and the 6th Division to annihilate the Suzuki Regiment and recapture Qilin Peak. Learning of the 27th Division's trap, Okamura Yasuji panicked and, on the 25th, urgently ordered the 123rd, 145th, and 147th Infantry Regiments and mountain artillery of the 106th Division on the Nanxun Line, along with the 149th Regiment of the 101st Division on the Dexing Line, to rush to Mahuiling and Xingzi. To adapt to mountain warfare, some units were temporarily converted to packhorse formations. On the 27th, the 106th Division broke through the Wutailing position with force, splitting into two groups and pushing toward Erfangzheng and Lishan. By the 28th, the three regiments and mountain artillery of the 106th Division advanced into the mountain villages of Wanjialing, Leimingguliu, Shibaoshan, Nantianpu, Beixijie, and Dunshangguo, about 50 li west of De'an. On the same day, the 149th Regiment of the 101st Division entered the Wanjialing area and joined the 106th Division. Commanded by Lieutenant General Junrokuro Matsuura, the 106th Division sought to break out of Baicha and disrupt the Nanwu Highway to disrupt the Chinese retreat from De'an. At this juncture, Xue Yue's corps perceived the Japanese advance as a predatory, wolf-like maneuver and deemed it a strategic opportunity to counterattack. He resolved to pull forces from Dexing, Nanxun, and Ruiwu to envelop the enemy near Wanjialing, with the aim of annihilating them. Thus began a desperate, pivotal battle between China and Japan in northern Jiangxi, centered on the Wanjialing area. The Japanese 106th Division found its rear communications cut off around September 28, 1938, as the Chinese blockade tightened. Despite the 27th Division's severed rear and its earlier defeat at Qilin Peak, Okamura Yasuji ordered a renewed push to relieve the besieged 106th by directing the 27th Division to attack Qilin Peak and advance east of Baishui Street. In this phase, the 27th Division dispatched the remnants of its 3rd Regiment to press the assault on Qilin Peak, employing poison gas and briefly reaching the summit. On September 29, the 142nd Division of the 32nd Army, under Shang Zhen, coordinated with the 752nd Regiment of the same division to launch a fierce counterattack on Qilin Peak at Zenggai Mountain west of Xiaoao. After intense fighting, they reclaimed the peak, thwarting the 27th Division's bid to move eastward to aid the 106th. Concurrently, a portion of the 123rd Regiment of the 106th Division attempted a breakout west of Baishui Street. Our 6th and 91st Divisions responded with a determined assault from the east of Xiaoao, blocking the 123rd Regiment east of Baishui Street. The victories at Qilin Peak and Baishui Street halted any merger between the eastern and western Japanese forces, enabling the Chinese army to seal the pocket and create decisive conditions for encircling the 106th Division and securing victory in the Battle of Wanjialing. After the setback at Qilin Peak, Division Commander Masaharu Homma, defying Okamura Yasuji's orders to secure Baishui Street, redirected his focus to Tianhe Bridge under a pretext of broader operations. He neglected the heavily encircled 106th Division and pivoted toward Xintanpu. By September 30, Chinese forces attacked from both the east and west, with the 90th and 91st Divisions joining the assault on the Japanese positions. On October 1, the Japanese, disoriented and unable to pinpoint their own unit locations, telegrammed Okamura Yasuji for air support. On October 2, the First Corps received orders to tighten the encirclement and annihilate the enemy forces. Deployments were made to exploit a numerical advantage and bolster morale, placing the Japanese in a desperate position. On October 3, 1938, the 90th and 91st Divisions launched a concerted attack on Nantianpu, delivering heavy damage to the Japanese force and showering Leimingguliu with artillery fire that endangered the 106th Division headquarters. By October 5, Chinese forces reorganized: the 58th Division of the 74th Army advanced from the south, the 90th Division of the 4th Army from the east, portions of the 6th and 91st Divisions from the west, and the 159th and 160th Divisions of the 65th Army from the north, tightening the surrounding cordon from four directions. On October 6, Xue Yue ordered a counterattack, and by October 7 the Chinese army had effectively cut off all retreat routes. That evening, after fierce hand-to-hand combat, the 4th Army regained the hilltop, standing at a 100-meter-high position, and thwarted any Japanese plan to break through Baicha and sever Chinese retreat toward De'an. By October 8, Lieutenant Colonel Sakurada Ryozo, the 106th Division's staff officer, reported the division's deteriorating situation to headquarters. The telegram signaled the impending collapse of the 106th Division. On October 9, Kuomintang forces recaptured strategic positions such as Lishan, tightening encirclement to a small pocket of about three to four square kilometers in Nantianpu, Leimingguliu, and Panjia. That night, the vanguard attacked the Japanese 106th Division's headquarters at Leimingguliu, engaging in close combat with the Japanese. Matsuura and the division's staff then took up arms in defense. In the early hours of October 10, Japanese forces launched flares that illuminated only a narrow arc of movement, and a limited number of troops fled northwest toward Yangfang Street. The two and a half month battle inflicted tremendous casualties on the Japanese, particularly on the 101st and 106th divisions. These two formations began with a combined strength of over 47,000 troops and ultimately lost around 30,000 men in the fighting. The high casualty rate hit the Japanese officer corps especially hard, forcing General Shunroku Hata to frequently airdrop replacement officers onto the besieged units' bases throughout the engagement. For the Chinese, the successful defense of Wanjialing was pivotal to the Wuhan campaign.  Zooming out at a macro level a lot of action was occurring all over the place. Over in Shandong, 1,000 soldiers under Shi Yousan, who had defected multiple times between rival warlord cliques and operated as an independent faction, occupied Jinan and held it for a few days. Guerrillas briefly controlled Yantai. East of Changzhou extending to Shanghai, another non-government Chinese force, led by Dai Li, employed guerrilla tactics in the Shanghai suburbs and across the Huangpu River. This force included secret society members from the Green Gang and the Tiandihui, who conducted executions of spies and perceived traitors, losing more than 100 men in the course of operations. On August 13, members of this force clandestinely entered the Japanese air base at Hongqiao and raised a Chinese flag. Meanwhile, the Japanese Sixth Division breached the defensive lines of Chinese 31st and 68th Armies on July 24 and captured Taihu, Susong, and Huangmei Counties by August 3. As Japanese forces advanced westward, the Chinese Fourth Army of the Fifth War Zone deployed its main strength in Guangji, Hubei, and Tianjia Town to intercept the offensive. The 11th Army Group and the 68th Army were ordered to form a defensive line in Huangmei County, while the 21st and 29th Army Groups, along with the 26th Army, moved south to outflank the Japanese. The Chinese recaptured Taihu on August 27 and Susong on August 28. However, with Japanese reinforcements arriving on August 30, the Chinese 11th Army Group and the 68th Army were unable to sustain counteroffensives and retreated to Guangji County to continue resisting alongside the 26th, 55th, and 86th Armies. The Chinese Fourth Army Group directed the 21st and 29th Army Groups to flank the Japanese from the northeast of Huangmei, but they failed to halt the Japanese advance. Guangji fell on September 6, and while Guangji was recovered by the Chinese Fourth Corps on September 8, Wuxue was lost on the same day. Zooming back in on the Wuhan Front, the Japanese focus shifted to Tianjiazhen. The fortress of Tianjiazhen represented the 6th Infantry Division's most important objective. Its geographic position, where the Yangtze's two banks narrow to roughly 600 meters, with cliffs and high ground overlooking the river, allowed Chinese forces to deploy gun batteries that could control the river and surrounding terrain. Chinese control of Tianjiazhen thus posed a serious obstacle to Japan's amphibious and logistical operations on the Yangtze, and its seizure was deemed essential for Japan to advance toward Wuhan. Taking Tianjiazhen would not be easy: overland approaches were impeded by mountainous terrain on both sides of the fortress, while an amphibious assault faced fortified positions and minefields in the narrow river. Recognizing its strategic importance, Chinese forces reinforced Tianjiazhen with three divisions from central government troops, aiming to deter an overland assault. Chinese preparations included breaching several dykes and dams along the Yangtze to flood expanses of land and slow the Japanese advance; however, the resulting higher water levels widened the river and created a more accessible supply route for the Japanese. Instead of relying on a long overland route from Anqing to Susong, the Japanese could now move supplies directly up the Yangtze from Jiujiang to Huangmei, a distance of only about 40 kilometers, which boosted the 6th Division's logistics and manpower. In August 1938 the 6th Infantry Division resumed its northward push, facing determined resistance from the 4th Army Corps entrenched in a narrow defile south of the Dabie Mountains, with counterattacks from the 21st and 27th Army Groups affecting the 6th's flank. The Dabie Mountains are a major mountain range located in central China. Running northwest to southeast, they form the main watershed between the Huai and Yangtze rivers. The range also marks the boundary between Hubei Province and its neighboring provinces of Henan to the north and Anhui to the east. By early September the 6th had captured Guangji, providing a staging ground for the thrust toward Tianjiazhen, though this extended the division's long flank: after Guangji fell, it now faced a 30-kilometer front between Huangmei and Guangji, exposing it to renewed Chinese pressure from the 21st and 27th Army Groups. This constrained the number of troops available for the main objective at Tianjiazhen. Consequently, the Japanese dispatched only a small force, three battalions from the Imamura Detachment, to assault Tianjiazhen, betting that the fortress could be taken within a week. The KMT, learning from previous defeats, reinforced Tianjiazhen with a stronger infantry garrison and built obstacles, barbed wire, pillboxes, and trench networks, to slow the assault. These defenses, combined with limited Japanese logistics, six days of rations per soldier, made the operation costly and precarious. The final Japanese assault was postponed by poor weather, allowing Chinese forces to press counterattacks: three Chinese corps, the 26th, 48th, and 86th, attacked the Imamura Detachment's flank and rear, and by September 18 these attacks had begun to bite, though the floods of the Yangtze prevented a complete encirclement of the eastern flank. Despite these setbacks, Japanese riverine and ground operations continued, aided by naval support that moved up the Yangtze as Matouzhen's batteries were overtaken. After Matouzhen fell and enabled a secure riverine supply line from Shanghai to Guangji, 11th Army commander Okamura Yasuji quickly sent relief supplies upriver on September 23. These replenishments restored the besieged troops near Tianjiazhen and allowed the Japanese to resume the offensive, employing night assaults and poison gas to seize Tianjiazhen on September 29, 1938, thereby removing a major barrier to their advance toward Wuhan along the Yangtze. The 11th Army pressed north along the Yangtze while the 2nd Army, commanded by Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, concentrated the 3rd, 10th, 13th, and 16th Infantry Divisions around Hefei with initial aims at Lu'an and Heshan and the broader objective of moving toward the northern foothills of the Dabie Mountains. When Chinese forces began destroying roads west of Lu'an, Naruhiko shifted the 2nd Army's plan. Rather than pushing along a line from Lu'an to Heshan, he redirected toward the Huangchuan–Shangcheng corridor, where more intact roads remained accessible, and Chinese withdrawals in the Huangchuan–Shangceng area to counter the 11th Army's Yangtze advance allowed the 2nd Army to gain speed in the early stage of its offensive. The 10th and 13th Infantry Divisions were ordered to begin their advance on August 27, facing roughly 25,000 Chinese troops from the Fifth War Zone's 51st and 77th Corps, and achieving notable early gains. The 10th captured Lu'an on August 28, followed by the 13th taking Heshan on August 29. The 10th then seized Kushi on September 7. Meanwhile, the 13th crossed the Shi River at night in an attempt to seize Changbailing, but encountered stiff resistance from multiple Chinese divisions that slowed its progress. To bolster the effort, Naruhiko ordered the Seiya Detachment from the 10th Division—three infantry battalions—to reinforce the 13th. Despite these reinforcements, momentum remained insufficient, so he deployed the 16th Infantry Division, which had arrived at Yenchiachi, to assault Shangcheng from the north. After crossing the Shi River at Yanjiachi, the 16th outflanked Shangcheng from the north, coordinating with the 13th from the south; the Chinese withdrew and Shangcheng fell. Following this success, Naruhiko ordered the 13th and 16th Divisions to push deeper into the Dabie Mountains toward Baikou and Songfu, while the 10th and 3rd Divisions moved toward Leshan and Xinyang, with Xinyang, a crucial Beijing–Wuhan Railway node, representing a particularly important objective. The Japanese advance progressed steadily through the Dabie Mountains, with the 10th executing bold maneuvers to outflank Leshan from the south and the 3rd penetrating toward the Beijing–Wuhan railway north of Xinyang, collectively disrupting and cutting the railway near Xinyang in October. An independent unit, the Okada Detachment, operated between these forces, advancing through Loshan before sealing Xinyang on October 12. The seizure of Xinyang effectively severed Wuhan's northern artery from external reinforcement and resupply, signaling a decisive turn against Wuhan as a Chinese stronghold. While the 2nd Army advanced in the Dabie Mountains, another critical development was taking place far to the south. By the end of 1937, southern China became more crucial to the Republic of China as a lifeline to the outside world. Guangzhou and Hong Kong served as some of the last vital transportation hubs and sources of international aid for Chiang Kai-Shek, with approximately 80 percent of supplies from abroad reaching Chinese forces in the interior through Guangzhou. Imperial General Headquarters believed that a blockade of Guangdong province would deprive China of essential war materiel and the ability to prolong the war. As I always liked to term it, the Japanese were trying to plug up the leaks of supplies coming into China, and Guangzhou was the largest one. In 1936 the Hankow-Canton railway was completed, and together with the Kowloon-Canton railway formed a rapid all-rail link from south China to central and northern China. For the first sixteen months of the war, about 60,000 tons of goods transited per month through the port of Hong Kong. The central government also reported the import of 1.5 million gallons of gasoline through Hong Kong in 1938, and more than 700,000 tons of goods would eventually reach Hankou using the new railway. In comparison, the Soviet Union in 1937 was sending war materiel through Xinjiang to Lanzhou using camels, with Chinese raw materials traveling back either the same route or via Hong Kong to Vladivostok. By 1940, 50,000 camels and hundreds of trucks were transporting 2,000–3,000 tons of Soviet war material per month into China. Japanese planning for operations began in early November 1937, with the blockade's objectives centered on seizing a portion of Daya Bay and conducting air operations from there. In December 1937, the 5th Army, including the 11th Division, the Formosa Mixed Brigade, and the 4th Air Brigade, were activated in Formosa under Lt. Gen. Motoo Furusho to achieve this objective. Due to the proximity of Daya Bay to Hong Kong, the Japanese government feared potential trouble with Britain, and the operation was subsequently suspended, leading to the deactivation of the 5th Army. By June 1938, the Battle of Wuhan convinced Imperial General Headquarters that the fighting could not be localized. The headquarters reversed policy and began preparations to capture Guangzhou and to expedite the settlement of the war. During the peak of the battles of Shanghai and Nanjing, urgent demands for aerial support at the Battle of Taiyuan in the north and at Canton in the south forced the Nationalist Air Force of China to split the 28th Pursuit Squadron and the 5th Pursuit Group , based at Jurong Airbase in the Nanking defense sector. The squadron was divided into two smaller units: Lt. Arthur Chin led one half toward Canton, while Capt. Chan Kee-Wong led the other half to Taiyuan. On September 27, 1937, the 28th PS under Lt. Arthur Chin dispatched four Hawk IIs from Shaoguan Airbase, and the 29th PS under Lt. Chen Shun-Nan deployed three Hawk IIIs from Tianhe Airbase. Their mission was to intercept Japanese IJNAF G3M bombers attempting to strike the Canton–Hankow railway infrastructure. The two flights engaged the Japanese bombers over Canton, claiming at least two kills; one G3M dumped fuel and ditching off the coast of Swatow, with its crew rescued by a British freighter, though one of the gunners died of battle injuries. In October 1937, amid mounting demands and combat losses, the Chinese government ordered 36 Gloster Gladiator Mk.I fighters, whose performance and firepower surpassed that of the Hawk IIs and IIIs, and most of these would become frontline fighters for the Canton defense sector as the war extended into 1938. On February 23, 1938, Capt. John Huang Xinrui, another Chinese-American volunteer pilot, took command of the renewed 29th PS, now equipped with the Gladiators. He led nine Gladiators from Nanxiong Airbase on their first active combat over Canton, supporting three Gladiators from the 28th PS as they intercepted thirteen Nakajima E8N fighter-attack seaplanes launched from the seaplane tenders Notoro Maru and Kinugasa Maru. The battle proved challenging: most of the Gladiators' machine guns jammed, severely reducing their firepower. Despite this, five of the E8Ns were shot down, confirmed by Capt. Huang and his fellow pilots who managed to strike the Japanese aircraft with only one, two, or three functioning guns per Gladiator. Chin later revealed that the gun jams were caused by defective Belgian-made ammunition. The combat nevertheless proved tragic and costly: Lt. Xie Chuanhe (Hsieh Chuan-ho) and his wingman Lt. Yang Rutong pursued the E8Ns but were stymied by inoperable weapons, with Lt. Yang killed in the counterattack, and Lt. Chen Qiwei lost under similar circumstances. The 4th War Area Army, commanded by He Yingqin, was assigned to the defense of south China in 1938. General Yu Hanmou led the 12th Army Group defending Guangdong province. The region's defense included about eight divisions and two brigades of regular army troops stationed around Guangzhou, with an additional five divisions of regular troops deployed in Fujian. The 4th War Area Army totaled roughly 110,000 regular army troops. By this time, most regular army units in Guangxi and four Guangdong divisions had been redirected north to participate in the Battle of Wuhan. Beyond the regular army, two militia divisions were deployed near Guangzhou, and the Guangxi militia comprised five divisions. Militia units were typically raised from local civilians and disbanded as the army moved through new areas. Their roles centered on security, supply transportation, and reconnaissance. Guangdong's main defensive strength was concentrated in Guangzhou and the immediate environs to the city's east. Other Chinese forces defended Chaozhou and western Guangdong. Defensive fortifications included the Humen fortress guarding the Pearl River mouth and three defensive lines near Daya Bay. Guangzhou housed three batteries of four three-inch guns, a battery of three 120mm guns, and Soviet-supplied 37mm anti-aircraft guns. The Imperial Japanese Navy conducted an aerial and naval interdiction campaign aimed at China's communication lines to neighboring regions. Japan believed that the blockade would hasten the end of the war, and disruption of the Chinese logistics network was the primary objective in Guangdong province from August 1937 until October 1938. The 5th Fleet's blockading actions extended along the coast from Haimenchen, Zhejiang to Shantou, with the 5th Destroyer Squadron patrolling the coast south of Shantou. At times, units from the Marianas were deployed to support coastal blockade operations in south China, usually consisting of cruisers accompanied by destroyer flotillas. One or two aircraft carriers and fleet auxiliaries would also be on station. Naval interdictions focused on stopping junks ferrying military supplies from Hong Kong to coastal China. The first recorded attack occurred in September 1937 when eleven junks were sunk by a Japanese submarine. Although Japan successfully blockaded Chinese shipping and ports, foreign shipping could still enter and depart from Hong Kong. The central government had established Hong Kong as a warehouse for munitions and supplies to pass through. Aerial interdictions targeted Chinese railway bridges and trains in Guangdong. Starting in October 1937, the Japanese launched air raids against the Sunning railway, focusing on government facilities and bridges in Jiangmen and towns along the railway. By 1938, airstrikes against the Kowloon–C Canton railway became common, with damaged trains periodically found along the line. An air-defense early warning system was created to divert trains during raids into forested areas that offered overhead concealment. In May 1938, the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office approved a Chinese request to construct and operate a locomotive repair yard within the New Territories to keep the railway operational. Airstrikes against rail facilities in Guangzhou were designed to interrupt rail supplies from Hong Kong so Japan would not need to commit to land operations in south China. However, the air raids did not severely impede railway operations or stop supplies moving through Hunan or Guangxi. The blockade in south China also targeted aircraft flying out of Hong Kong. In November 1937, a Royal Navy aircraft from HMS Eagle encountered Japanese naval anti-aircraft fire off the coast of Hong Kong. In December 1937, fifteen Japanese bombers overflew Lantau Island and the Taikoo docks. In August 1938, Japanese naval aircraft shot down a China National Aviation Corporation passenger plane, and two Eurasia Aviation Corporation passenger planes were shot down the following month. Beyond military targets, the Japanese conducted politically motivated terror bombing in Guangzhou. Bombing intensified from May to June 1938 with incendiary munitions and low-level strafing attacks against ships. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, operating from Formosa and the carrier Kaga, conducted about 400 airstrikes during this period and continued into July. By the end of the summer, Guangzhou's population had dwindled to approximately 600,000 from an original 1.3 million. From August 1937 to October 1938, casualties in Guangzhou were estimated at 6,000 killed and 8,000 injured. On October 12, 1938, Japanese forces from the 21st Army, including the 5th, 18th, and 104th Infantry Divisions, landed in Guangzhou, launching the operation at 4:00 am with elements of the 5th and 18th Divisions hitting Aotou and elements of the 104th Division landing at Hachung in Bias Bay. Initially totaling about 30,000 men, they were soon reinforced by a further 20,000, and resistance was minimal because most of Yu Hanmou's 12th Army Group had been redeployed to central China to defend approaches to Wuhan, leaving only two regular Chinese divisions, the 151st and 153rd, to defend the region. By the night of October 12, the Japanese had established a 10-kilometer-deep beachhead and advanced inland; on October 13 they seized the towns of Pingshan and Tamshui with little opposition, and on October 15 they converged on Waichow and captured it. The fall of Pingshan, located on the Sai Kong River with a deep, broad river and only a flimsy crossing, and Waichow, where Chinese defenses included trenches and concrete pillboxes, surprised observers since these positions had been prepared to resist invasion; nonetheless, Chinese forces fled, opening the road to Guangzhou for the Japanese. Between October 16 and 19, three Japanese columns pushed inland, with the easternmost column crossing the East River on the 16th and the 5th Infantry Division capturing Sheklung on the 19th as Chinese forces retreated. By the night of October 20, Guangzhou's defenders withdrew and adopted a scorched-earth policy to deny resources to the invaders. On October 21, Japanese tanks entered Guangzhou without infantry support, and a regiment from the 5th Infantry Division captured the Bocca Tigris forts with no resistance. With Guangzhou secured, the Guangzhou–Wuhan railway and the Hong Kong–Guangzhou railway were severed, supplies to Wuhan were cut, Chiang Kai-Shek faced a daunting and depressing task, he had to abandon Wuhan. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Yangtze became a bloodied artery as Chinese and Japanese forces clashed from Anqing to Jiujiang, Madang to Tianjiazhen. A mosaic of Chinese troops, filled with grit and missteps, held lines while civilians like Wang Guozhen refused to surrender. The siege of Wanjialing crowned Chinese resilience, even as Guangzhou buckled under a relentless blockade. The Fall of Wuhan was all but inevitable.

Hong Kong combina rascacielos futuristas, templos históricos y paisajes naturales. Los viajeros disfrutan del skyline desde Victoria Harbour, los mercados callejeros, la gastronomía local y los festivales tradicionales como el Año Nuevo Chino. Lugares como Victoria Peak, Lantau Island y el Man Mo Temple ofrecen experiencias culturales y naturales únicas. Su transporte eficiente facilita explorar la isla y sus alrededores, haciendo de Hong Kong un destino vibrante y diverso para todo tipo de viajeros.

Join me on The Radio Vagabond podcast as I explore Hong Kong's top 7 tourist hotspots for an unforgettable adventure. From the vibrant streets of Lan Kwai Fong to the breathtaking views from Victoria Peak, each destination offers a unique experience. Dive into the non-stop party at Lan Kwai Fong, ascend to Victoria Peak for jaw-dropping views, and experience the sensory extravaganza of Temple Street Night Market. Find tranquillity at the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, unleash your inner child at Hong Kong Disneyland, and soar above Lantau Island with Ngong Ping 360. Finally, sail through the heart and soul of Hong Kong aboard the iconic Star Ferry. For more travel inspiration, check out The Radio Vagabond podcast 

Join me on The Radio Vagabond podcast as I explore Hong Kong's top 7 tourist hotspots for an unforgettable adventure. From the vibrant streets of Lan Kwai Fong to the breathtaking views from Victoria Peak, each destination offers a unique experience. Dive into the non-stop party at Lan Kwai Fong, ascend to Victoria Peak for jaw-dropping views, and experience the sensory extravaganza of Temple Street Night Market. Find tranquillity at the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, unleash your inner child at Hong Kong Disneyland, and soar above Lantau Island with Ngong Ping 360. Finally, sail through the heart and soul of Hong Kong aboard the iconic Star Ferry. For more travel inspiration, check out The Radio Vagabond podcast 

  Welcome to the Podcast with Dr. Mary Travelbest:   FAQ is:  Should I bring a cellphone when I travel? Today's Destination is: Hong Kong Today's Mistake- Losing my cell phone in Mexico City Travel Advice:  Try Reddit for some travel advice channels.    List to the end to hear about the Reddit feed called “solo travel”. No one uses their real names, so it's free flow. It is like anonymous social media, with different priorities and postings than on FB or IG, or even YouTube.    FAQ: Should I bring a cell phone when I travel? Answer: Yes, at least one. Ask your carrier if they have service in the countries where you are traveling, and if so, what are the fees, if any. Ask about special plans if they offer them. You can also get a second service and buy a cheap phone when you get abroad. Wifi you will get in most hotels, but it is not always a guarantee. If you have a hot spot, maybe you can use that when you travel. Also, consider using a VPN for more privacy than not having one. VPN is Virtual Private Network.  I had two cell phones the last time I was in Mexico City, but I lost the extra one. I'll tell that story later in the Lessons Learned section. Today's destination: Hong Kong or East Asia What is there to do in Hong Kong solo? It's ideal for your first Step 5 trip because you can absorb as much culture as you like, still being in what was a British colony for a long time. They have traditions like high tea here you will like. On my first trip here, I did not have any reservations, back in pre-cell phone days. That was adventurous, admittedly. What was the worst part of the trip here? Probably a bad haircut. But that's ok. because hair grows back. The other downside was that I booked a cheap flat for a few days and as I recall in January, neither the heat nor the hot water was working. On another island, Lantau Island, you will discover a cable car that will amaze you. 3500 people per hour is the capacity, with more than 100 cabins.   https://www.np360.com.hk/en/cable-car Today's Mistake-  Losing my cell phone in Mexico City   I'm glad you held on to it here. So I had a backup cell phone, just for emergencies. I was in a dressing room at a store trying on clothes and I took a minute to send a text. I was using the new phone. However, I did not have them connected, and so I had to look up the contact info on one phone and use it on the second one. Well, this got complicated and eventually, I lost the new phone in the dressing room. I went back and it was not found. I contacted the store manager and no one turned it in.   Today's Travel Advice-Get good travel advice from others on social media like Twitter and Reddit.   I've got an active Twitter feed, in case you haven't been there. My sign is @drtravelbest  Are you following me? Here's another example:  Reddit.com/solotravel has a lot of good q and a on it. I'm seeing a lot of questions about sim cards in Europe, and it may cost 25 euros for 50 GB of data in Europe. Some recommend Vodaphone.  Get educated here and join me. Discussions are public. It's not “owned” by me, just see good posts and skip the garbage posts. No one uses their real names, so it's freeflow. It is like anonymous social media, with different priorities than on FB or IG, or even YouTube.  Let me know if you like this platform. It's popular with millennials.   Connect with Dr Travelbest Drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Twitter Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram email: info@drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Podcast Dr. Travelbest on TikTok Dr.Travelbest onYouTube

Art Seeker Stories: A postcard from Hong Kong,  Day 1 : My artist journey and travels as an art seeker, a culture vulture, a 20 something trolly dolly. My diary edit, nostalgically looking back, 22 years to the day - today. Despite 4am tornado warnings I take a ferry to Lantau Island and visit Tai O, Asia's little Venice and the Big Buddha at the Po Lin monastery, shrouded in fog. 22 years later, I reflect on the connection between art and religion, by expression, in the  essence of spirit.

Hong Kong's hospitals reached 90% capacity on Thursday and quarantine facilities were at their limit, authorities said, as the city struggles to snuff out a record number of new COVID-19 cases by adhering to China's “zero tolerance” strategy.To ease the strain on the city's healthcare system, officials said they will take a different approach to hospitalization and isolation policies and allow some patients to be discharged sooner. The move comes amid reports of patients being treated on beds outside a hospital in the city's working-class neighborhood of Sham Shui Po.Hong Kong reported 6,116 new coronavirus infections on Thursday. Any person in the city who is infected with COVID-19 must be admitted to a hospital or community isolation facility.Under the new approach, people who are infected but present mild symptoms in hospitals and government-run isolation facilities will be allowed to leave after just seven days if they test negative on the seventh day and do not live with anyone in a high-risk group, such as senior citizens, pregnant women or immunosuppressed people.Those who do not meet these criteria must complete the full 14-day isolation period or wait until they test negative, according to health officials.Health experts from mainland China arrived in Hong Kong to help the city raise its testing capabilities and assist with medical resources and facilities. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam welcomed them at the land border with the city of Shenzhen.“Fighting the pandemic is our paramount task," Lam said. "We will devote every resource and manpower we have. We will impose any measures that we should. The aim is to make sure Hong Kong people's lives and health are protected and to uphold Hong Kong's stability.”Authorities reported 24 new deaths over the past week. The city has now confirmed a total of 16,600 infections, with 219 deaths.“In the last few days, we have had a lot of emergency cases where we had to accommodate patients in tents,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, the head of Hong Kong's Communicable Disease Branch, during a regular COVID-19 briefing Thursday.“For these situations, our medical staff are very unhappy. We are worried about our patients' care,” she said.The city's Hospital Authority has appealed to medical professionals for assistance, asking doctors in private hospitals to help treat patients at quarantine facilities.The public hospitals are in a “crisis situation," said Sara Ho of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority.“If a large number of patients are waiting outdoors and if this continues, then no matter how hard our medical professionals work around the clock, there's no way to solve this problem relying on our own efforts,” she said.Officials have also appealed to the public, asking people to refrain from going out or taking part in private gatherings, saying that every effort helps as the city seeks to alleviate the burden on hospitals.Separately, Hong Kong is moving infected prison inmates to an isolation facility after seven prisoners tested positive for COVID-19. The Correctional Services Department said Thursday that the Sha Tsui facility on Lantau Island was designated for quarantining infected prisoners, whose numbers are expected to grow.Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier ordered the central government to provide Hong Kong with resources to stabilize the outbreak, including rapid antigen tests, medical expertise and supplies.China has tamped down major outbreaks through its strict “zero tolerance” policy that involves quarantining incoming travelers, total lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and mass testing of millions of people.Lam has stuck to the same strategy despite the city's greater population density, higher incomes and more service-oriented economy than in mainland China. Last week, the entire upscale Discovery Bay neighborhood in Hong Kong was ordered to undergo testing after authorities found traces of the virus in its sewage.- AP

Hong Kong's hospitals reached 90% capacity on Thursday and quarantine facilities were at their limit, authorities said, as the city struggles to snuff out a record number of new COVID-19 cases by adhering to China's “zero tolerance” strategy.To ease the strain on the city's healthcare system, officials said they will take a different approach to hospitalization and isolation policies and allow some patients to be discharged sooner. The move comes amid reports of patients being treated on beds outside a hospital in the city's working-class neighborhood of Sham Shui Po.Hong Kong reported 6,116 new coronavirus infections on Thursday. Any person in the city who is infected with COVID-19 must be admitted to a hospital or community isolation facility.Under the new approach, people who are infected but present mild symptoms in hospitals and government-run isolation facilities will be allowed to leave after just seven days if they test negative on the seventh day and do not live with anyone in a high-risk group, such as senior citizens, pregnant women or immunosuppressed people.Those who do not meet these criteria must complete the full 14-day isolation period or wait until they test negative, according to health officials.Health experts from mainland China arrived in Hong Kong to help the city raise its testing capabilities and assist with medical resources and facilities. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam welcomed them at the land border with the city of Shenzhen.“Fighting the pandemic is our paramount task," Lam said. "We will devote every resource and manpower we have. We will impose any measures that we should. The aim is to make sure Hong Kong people's lives and health are protected and to uphold Hong Kong's stability.”Authorities reported 24 new deaths over the past week. The city has now confirmed a total of 16,600 infections, with 219 deaths.“In the last few days, we have had a lot of emergency cases where we had to accommodate patients in tents,” said Chuang Shuk-kwan, the head of Hong Kong's Communicable Disease Branch, during a regular COVID-19 briefing Thursday.“For these situations, our medical staff are very unhappy. We are worried about our patients' care,” she said.The city's Hospital Authority has appealed to medical professionals for assistance, asking doctors in private hospitals to help treat patients at quarantine facilities.The public hospitals are in a “crisis situation," said Sara Ho of Hong Kong's Hospital Authority.“If a large number of patients are waiting outdoors and if this continues, then no matter how hard our medical professionals work around the clock, there's no way to solve this problem relying on our own efforts,” she said.Officials have also appealed to the public, asking people to refrain from going out or taking part in private gatherings, saying that every effort helps as the city seeks to alleviate the burden on hospitals.Separately, Hong Kong is moving infected prison inmates to an isolation facility after seven prisoners tested positive for COVID-19. The Correctional Services Department said Thursday that the Sha Tsui facility on Lantau Island was designated for quarantining infected prisoners, whose numbers are expected to grow.Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier ordered the central government to provide Hong Kong with resources to stabilize the outbreak, including rapid antigen tests, medical expertise and supplies.China has tamped down major outbreaks through its strict “zero tolerance” policy that involves quarantining incoming travelers, total lockdowns, extensive contact tracing and mass testing of millions of people.Lam has stuck to the same strategy despite the city's greater population density, higher incomes and more service-oriented economy than in mainland China. Last week, the entire upscale Discovery Bay neighborhood in Hong Kong was ordered to undergo testing after authorities...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In queste riflessioni commento il sutta dell'Anguttara Nikaya, i discorsi del Buddha in progressione numerica, AN 7.54, . Abyākatasutta, "I punti non dichiarati". I punti non dichiarati sono quelli relativi alle questioni metafisiche a cui il Buddha non ha mai voluto rispondere, come cosa ci succederà dopo la morte, come sia il nirvana, cosa accade ad un illuminato alla sua morte. In questo sutta il Buddha prende in esame soltanto quest'ultimo aspetto, che però vale anche per tutti gli altri. Il sutta è in realtà un insegnamento esemplare sulle opinioni e sui punti di vista, e sugli effetti che ci portano in termine di sofferenza, angoscia e nervosismo. Le riflessioni sono relative a portare questo insegnamento nella vita di tutti i giorni Si può scaricare il sutta in formato pdf o leggerlo qui di seguito. Traduzione a partire da quella dalla lingua Pāli di Bhikkhu Sujato Allora un mendicante si avvicinò al Buddha, si inchinò, si sedette da un lato e gli disse: “Signore, qual è la causa, qual è la ragione per cui un nobile discepolo istruito non ha dubbi sui punti non dichiarati?” “Mendicante, è a causa della cessazione delle opinioni che un nobile discepolo istruito non ha dubbi riguardo ai punti non dichiarati. ‘Il Realizzato esiste dopo la morte': questa è un'idea sbagliata. “Il Realizzato non esiste dopo la morte”: questa è un'idea sbagliata. ‘Un Realizzato esiste e non esiste dopo la morte': questa è un'idea sbagliata. ‘Un Realizzato non esiste né non esiste dopo la morte': questa è un'idea sbagliata. Una persona comune non istruita non comprende le opinioni, la loro origine, la loro cessazione o la pratica che porta alla loro cessazione. E così le loro opinioni crescono. Non sono liberati dalla rinascita, dalla vecchiaia e dalla morte, dal dolore, dal lamento, dalla tristezza e dall'angoscia. Io dico, non sono liberati dalla sofferenza. Un nobile discepolo istruito comprende i punti di vista, la loro origine, la loro cessazione e la pratica che conduce alla loro cessazione. E così le loro opinioni cessano. Sono liberati dalla rinascita, dalla vecchiaia e dalla morte, dal dolore, dal lamento, dalla tristezza e dall'angoscia. Io dico, sono liberati dalla sofferenza. Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non risponde: ‘Un Realizzato esiste dopo la morte', ‘Un Realizzato non esiste dopo la morte', ‘Un Realizzato esiste e non esiste dopo la morte', ‘ Un Realizzato non esiste né non esiste dopo la morte.' Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non dichiara i punti non dichiarati. Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non si agita, trema, si scuote o si innervosisce riguardo ai punti non dichiarati. ‘Un realizzato esiste dopo la morte': si tratta solo di brama. ... si tratta solo di percezione ... è un'identificazione ... è una proliferazione mentale ... si tratta solo di afferrare ... ‘Il Realizzato esiste dopo la morte': questo è rimpiangere. ‘Il Realizzato non esiste dopo la morte': questo è rimpiangere. ‘Un Realizzato esiste e non esiste dopo la morte': questo è rimpiangere. ‘Un Realizzato non esiste né non esiste dopo la morte': questo è rimpiangere. Una persona comune non istruita non comprende i rimpianti, la loro origine, la loro cessazione o la pratica che porta alla loro cessazione. E così i loro rimpianti crescono. Non sono liberati dalla rinascita, dalla vecchiaia e dalla morte, dal dolore, dal lamento, dalla tristezza e dall'angoscia. Io dico, non sono liberati dalla sofferenza. Un nobile discepolo istruito comprende i rimpianti, la loro origine, la loro cessazione e la pratica che conduce alla loro cessazione. E così i loro rimpianti cessano. Sono liberati dalla rinascita, dalla vecchiaia e dalla morte, dal dolore, dal lamento, dalla tristezza e dall'angoscia. Sono liberati dalla sofferenza, dico. Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non risponde: ‘Un Realizzato esiste dopo la morte'... ‘Un Realizzato non esiste né non esiste dopo la morte'. Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non dichiara i punti non dichiarati. Sapendo e vedendo questo, un nobile discepolo istruito non si agita, trema, si scuote o si innervosisce riguardo ai punti non dichiarati. Questa è la causa, questa è la ragione per cui un nobile discepolo istruito non ha dubbi sui punti non dichiarati”. Riflessioni di Dharma sulle opinioni registrate nel gruppo di meditazione di Terrapura 2 luglio 2021. Abyākatasutta, AN 7.54, traduzione di Bhikkhu Sugato in inglese con testo in Pāli disponibile su SuttaCentral. Foto di  Kon Karampelas on Unsplash, Tian Tan Buddha, Ngong Ping Road, Lantau Island, Hong Kong

*** Don't forget to subscribe! *** To view the full episode, click here: https://youtu.be/MK_wEKRtBSI * EPISODE LINKS IN DESCRIPTION – BELOW * Charmian met me on Lockhart Road, in Wanchai, Hong Kong. She took the ferry over from Lantau Island. What inspired me to get Charmian on the podcast is how dedicated she is when it comes to making an accurate record of Lantau's incredible fauna. I had also seen her book, called "Lantau Life: A Year on Lantau Island by Charmian Woodhouse" and just knew we would have TONS to talk about. From coasteering to geology, entomology to learning a new craft, join us to learn and be inspired! **** See more of and from Charmian Woodhouse: https://www.instagram.com/charmianwoodhouse/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49420743-lantau-life **** More from Shooting it RAW: Website: https://www.shooting-it-raw.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6sqti7YyKrSNUdgw3ONSFg/videos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shootingitraw/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6p3NoR69bLG4lZ52FKE2dR Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shooting-it-raw/id1495187250?ign-mpt=uo%3D4 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/shooting-it-raw-with-ran-elfassy

Little about Hong Kong The city was a British colony from 1842 to 1997. The National Geographic described Hong Kong's history as "one of rapid growth, political turmoil, and continual demands for change." Hong Kong has returned to China on 1st July 1997 under the under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. The Urban Landscape Hong Kong covers Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, including 262 outlying islands. Hong Kong’s terrain is mostly hilly and has steep slopes. Also, about 40 percent of Hong Kong’s land is designated as Country Park to provide habitats for biological species. Due to these reasons, the actual amount of developable flat land in Hong Kong is very limited, making its population density the fourth greatest in the world. The Population and Language Hong Kong is famous for international trade and financial investment. Because of this, the city is very urbanized. It has more than seven million residents in a little more than 400 square miles, and 100 percent of the population lives in urban areas. A lot of the foreigners misunderstood Hong Kong speakers Mandarin, not really! In Hong Kong, nearly 90% of the population are Cantonese speakers where only 1.9% speaks Mandarin. English is Hong Kong's second official language other than Cantonese. The Biggest Urban Challenge in Hong Kong Hong Kong has long been suffering from a housing shortage and high sales and rental prices. According to CBRE, Hong Kong is the priciest city in the world to buy a property, with an average price of US$1.25 million. Hong Kong is also the third most expensive city to rent with an average monthly rent of US$2,681, coming after New York and Abu Dhabi. To overcome Hong Kong’s housing crisis, Hong Kongers have been using their creative minds to come up with different innovative solutions. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/love-your-city/message

It’s the emergence of Stone Wong, a role Michael Wong would be associated with and known for from this point in his career training Special Duties Unit cadets, fighting crimes and dealing with drama at home. It’s the cop soap opera era, arriving in the form of 1994’s The Final Option. Also, a Lantau Island […]

It’s the emergence of Stone Wong, a role Michael Wong would be associated with and known for from this point in his career training Special Duties Unit cadets, fighting crimes and dealing with drama at home. It’s the cop soap opera era, arriving in the form of 1994’s The Final Option. Also, a Lantau Island […]

Sharing memories of good times in Hong Kong—one of my favorite cities in the world! Sights in Kowloon, Lantau Island, and Lamma Island are also shared. My special thanks to Harbour Plaza Hotels (both in HK and Kowloon! I looked online and it seems that the hotels have now been renamed “Harbour Grand” since my last visit www.harbourgrand.com ) for always taking such good care of me :) Thankful also to Regal Printing and owner Maurice (and the team, including Juanita!) in HK for such a great partnership to bring my first book, “Meditative Questions” to life so beautifully! I am so lucky to have found them. Hong Kong will always have a special place in my heart. Namasté. selenasage.com // Fb+IG: Selena Sage - Author

Bobsy Gaia is a passionate eco-entrepreneur whose driving motivation is to raise environmental awareness. With Breakfast with Bobsy, he introduces personalities and leaders in the community who have helped what he sees as a global shift in consciousness, and discusses what others can do in their own lives to continue the shift. Jenny has been a one woman power house for change in HK since arriving here at the end of the 1980’s. Championing the preservation of her beloved Lantau Island & establishing Ark Eden a remote & lush green oasis of a valley where she conducts green workshops, bio dynamic farming & all manners of sustainable education working with schools & corporates alike to inspire change.

*There are a ton of juicy resources! Make sure to scroll down to the end! In this episode, we’re featuring three guests and discussing the following topics. *Our participation in the Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. *Robyn shares her story of meeting Maya Soetoro-Ng, Director of the Matsunaga Peace Institute at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, founder of Ceeds of Peace; and President Barack Obama’s sister! *We introduce you to three Activists who discuss their journeys with peace, activism and spiritual healing. *Our paths to studying and teaching peace with Robyn receiving the “Newcomer Mediator of the Year” Award from the Center of Conflict Resolutions Chicago and Keme receiving the “First Decade Award” from Augsburg College, her alma mater. Featured Guests: *Penelope Summers, M.A., Energy Therapist Interview begins @ 16:19 sec. *Ricardo Levins Morales, Artist and Activist   Interview begins @ 32:19 sec. *Andrew Williams, Executive Director of Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) Interview begins @ 56:09 sec. Our guests discuss a range of issues with us. Women’s impact on peace The Greensboro 4, lunch counter sit-ins and the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King vs. Malcolm X Women's suffrage and black women being excluded from the movement. A white woman’s understanding of bell hooks, feminism and intersectionality. MP150 Police Review, A People’s Project Evaluating Policing   The history of police departments and its relationship to slavery and white supremacy in the U.S. How the paths to inclusivity and healing needs truth, justice and reconciliation. How art facilitates healing and builds self esteem. The paradox of Colin Kaepernick and Nike’s relationship with cheap labor in South Asia. How to live social justice. How to get involved in activism despite feelings of despair and being overwhelmed. Spirituality and activism Why compassion and love are important in activism and social justice work. Guests’ Bios: *Penelope Summers, M.A., Energy Therapist Penelope holds an M.A. in Writing and a dual M.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies and International Administration and Conflict Management. She’s an Energy Therapist which includes working as an Intuitive, Medium, Reiki Master and EFT Practitioner. You can find her on Instagram at @ask._penny, Twitter: @summers_p and Facebook @ Penelope Jane.  You can make an appointment with her via email at summerspenelope790@gmail.com.  She offers her services at Eclipse in Roswell on Fridays. Their number is 678-682-8624 eclipsenewage.com. *Ricardo Levins Morales, Artist and Activist   “Ricardo Levins Morales describes himself as a “healer and trickster organizer disguised as an artist.” He was born into the anti-colonial movement in his native Puerto Rico and was drawn into activism in Chicago when his family moved there in 1967. He left high school early and worked in various industries, and over time began to use his art as part of his activism. This activism has included support work for the Black Panthers and Young Lords to participating in or acting in solidarity with farmers, environmental, labor, racial justice and peace movements. Increasingly he has come to see his art and organizing practices as means to address individual, collective and historical trauma. He co-leads workshops on trauma and resilience for organizers as well as trainings on creative organizing, social justice strategy and sustainable activism, and mentors and supports young activists. His art has won numerous awards but the greatest affirmation is the uses to which is has been put by grassroots movements and communities.” RLM Art Studio, 3260 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55406. Phone: 612-455-2242. rlmartstudio.com. *Andrew Williams, Executive Director of Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) “Andrew Williams, Executive Director (HECUA) has over 25 years of experience in higher education as a teacher, mentor, academic advisor, and administrative leader. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana and raised within a working-class African-American family, Williams was a first-generation college student. His upbringing and academic experiences sparked his intellectual curiosity in social difference, political resistance and human inequality. Recruited to play basketball, Andrew matriculated to Earlham College where his experiences and exposure to Quaker values sparked his sociological imagination and passion for social justice. Andrew eventually left the basketball team while serving as captain in protest over Earlham’s investments in corporations doing business in South Africa and joined leaders of the campus divestment movement. For Andrew, this was the beginning of a deep and sustained exploration of African and African Diaspora cultures and politics, engaged scholarship, and political activism. Throughout his career, Williams has worked to balance and link research, teaching, and political engagement on issues of interculturality, educational equity, international development, human rights, learning abroad, placed-based learning and social justice. More recently, Williams has served as Director of Multicultural Affairs at Carleton College, Director of Development and Communication for Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Assistant Director of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence at the University of Minnesota, and Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts.”  hecua.org Resources Books and Blogs I’d Rather Teach Peace, by Colman McCarthy Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life Strength to Love, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos and Community, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, by Rev. angel Kyodo Williams Lani Guinier Why Every Yoga Teacher and Practitioner Needs Inclusivity Training, by Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts Nike’s Colin Kaepernick Ad Raises Issues of Workers Rights Videos, Documentaries and Films Keme Hawkins, Ph.D. receiving The First Decade Award at Augsburg College Greensboro Four, Independent Lens documentary (watch here) Colman McCarthy, I’d Rather Teach Peace Talk, TEDxGeorgetown Iron Jawed Angels Angela Davis on the Radical Work of Healing and Self Care Hong Kong Blessings, Robyn and Keme’s Peace Pilgrimage to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Yoga Inclusivity Training Organizations and Institutions Center for Conflict Resolution Chicago Augsburg University Nobel Peace Prize Forum Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolence Social Change Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta Ceeds of Peace The Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Greensboro Four - Lunch counter sit-ins International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro, NC Women’s Equality Day Alice Paul Institute Intersectionality bell hooks Institute MPD150 Police Review, A People’s Project Evaluating Policing   Want to support the show?  Buy Ayurveda products from Banyan Botanicals! Robyn's Banyan purchase link HERE.  *** To learn more about Robyn's favorite Ayurveda products, CLICK HERE. Ayurveda Consultations Email Robyn @ robynshealthyliving@gmail.com. ***  Screenwriting and Writing Consulting Services Email Keme @ hawkins.keme@gmail.com. ***  Social media Instagram: @spiritpathpodcast Twitter: @onthespiritpath Website: spiritpathpodcast.com  If you like our vibe, be sure to SUBSCRIBE!  

018 - Hak Gwei (Foreigner) Adventures in Asia Show Notes Fresh off the boat (plane) from Asia, Andrew joined to discuss his two weeks of vacation in Hong Kong and Korea, including: Impressions of Hong Kong and why he could see himself living in Seoul one day Tourist highlights including: Victoria Harbour, Lantau Island, Myeongdong, and the DMZ Interactions with the natives: social norms, etiquette, and playing on Tinder (does jungle fever exist in Asia?) Korea, a foodie’s paradise: pork belly, ginseng chicken, dakgalbi, seafood pancake, bingsu, hotteok, lots of kimchi, and of course...fried chicken! Ching Chong 100: Story of an encounter with a Chinese family at Victoria Peak Follow Us: Follow @LADS_Unfiltered on Twitter for information related to our episodesFind out more at https://lads-unfiltered.pinecast.coThis podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Well, I survived Hong Kong. That’s about the best way to put it. If you listened to my previous shows you heard my conversation with Mia Beales with Guilin Photo Tours and how awesome that area of China is. You also heard about my other plans and what I was going to shoot there in HK. Virtually nothing went according to plan. To back up a bit, my initial goal with my journey was to show the opposite of what you expect to see from Hong Kong. In my head, I called it the “softer” side of Hong Kong. And to a large degree, I was successful. I was able to get out and hike some trails and photograph the lush landscape that you just don’t associate with Hong Kong. I was also able to find some fantastic structures along those trails, either where people live, or where they used to live. I started on Lantau Island. It’s such a beautiful place. And I had planned a very detailed itinerary and even designed it as a booklet and printed it so I’d have a copy for easy reference. I’ve done this before and it’s worked well. The main benefit is that in planning so much I have all these options and photo locations floating around in my head. So as I need to, I can alter the plan on a whim. And I did and it worked great. I still got to all my locations on Lantau Island, just not in the order I originally planned them. But that didn’t matter. I was having a blast exploring and seeing the side of Hong Kong that most people don’t even know about. Their hiking paths are rather interesting, and very well maintained. Lantau is rather mountainous, and these paths, for the most part, are raised concrete and rock paths that are about three to five feet wide. They’re so easy to follow you simply can’t get lost. And every 500m they have sign posts with numbers on them. If you get into trouble you just call emergency services, tell them the nearest sign post and they’ll know where you are. It’s great. I walked from the Po Lin monastery back towards my room in Mui Wo, about a nine mile journey. I only made it half way (to the main road) because I just kept stopping and shooting along the path and I was taking way to long to get this hike done. But I didn’t care. I was having the time of my life! This continued for a couple of days until my videographer friend showed up. My other intent for this trip was to shoot a series of training videos and he was going to help. I had a script all written for the main parts and then we’d get some more candid items as well. He showed up on Thursday, so that meant Friday and Saturday were essentially “recovery” days, although on Saturday we went to Macau and in total we walked about 11 miles! Then we got to shooting on Sunday and by Sunday evening we were doing wonderfully, things were really clicking. However, I woke up Monday morning completely sick. Totally and utterly sick. To make a long story short, I got food poisoning so bad I had to go to the hospital. I was upset, depressed, an assortment of emotions was running through me as I laid there trying to get better. I cancelled my China Excursion. After all, I know my health is more important than getting any shot, and I also know myself. I knew that I had a good chance of being released on Wednesday and with my need to get on the train to China on Thursday, that was just going to be too much. As I laid there I started thinking about a whole bunch of things. I had time, and thinking was about all I could do, that and watch meaningless TV. I thought about how this summer had led up to me going to HK, and what I planned to do after I got back. I became rather retrospective. I began to think, “what’s important here?” What can I still get out of this trip to HK, and more broadly, am I doing what I need to do in life to achieve my goals? What are my goals? And this is why this episode is called “turning point.” In that hospital bed I believe I was able to contemplate a few things and that started me down this mental journey of honing my ideas and getting things in line where they need to be. In reality my first decisions along this line took form in November 2017, when my business partner and I decided that it was time to either make it or break it as far as my company, Brent Rents Lenses, is concerned. I’d been working on that for 3.5 years at that time and things weren’t going as planned there either. We set a plan in motion that would either see growth, or, as it turns out, demise. So in July I announced that the company was closing. My job has also seen some changes. I’ve been working on reducing some of the “extra” stuff I do so I can spend more time on curriculum development. There’s so many things I’m responsible for that a regular faculty member isn’t and I’ve come to the point where I just had to start whittling away at things. So things were well on their way and the groundwork had been laid for me to vastly simplify my life. Closing things down at work so I can focus on my research and course development coupled with closing the company… They were painful decisions, but in the end, smart decisions. But what does this have to do with anything and why am I thinking about all this in a Hong Kong hospital bed? It boils down to one word. And that is failure. Or more pointedly, the fear of failure. I seemed that once again I’d failed. These other items I hadn’t really considered failure so much, especially not the decisions made at work to allow me to focus on what the school pays me to focus on. That was about reducing my overload. With the company, I’d come to terms with it. I was OK with it. Not a huge deal. But as I lay there the prospects of yet another item that was flopping on its face and I could do nothing about it. It got me thinking. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing for me to do, but it happened. I’m a man of faith. So my contemplation of these things certainly had a spiritual overtone to them as well. And I was in a faith-based hospital as well which did good for my soul, that’s for sure. The hospital chaplain visited and that certainly was uplifting, we actually had a few things in common. So I started forming some new goals and reforming existing ones. And these were larger ideas, not just focusing on my time there in HK. It involves my photography and it involves my work. And after having been back two weeks I think I finally have something that’s starting to take shape and something that makes sense. And after having been rather sour about the whole HK journey my thoughts were further galvanized. So here it goes. I figured I need a few things to happen. If I’m going to be serious about these things there must be some action. So I’ve identified a few of these things that need to happen, they are: I simply need to shoot more. I love the craft of photography. I love everything about it. However, compared to most of you, I rarely do it. I MUST do more. And so to do more of it, I welcome you all to post your planned outings in the Latitude facebook group. If you’re in the Pacific NW and I can make it, I’ll do what I can to get out there and join you. I was going to do just that with a listener who is currently at the Pendleton Roundup, one of the largest roundups around with over 75K people in attendance. There’s less than ¼ that number for their entire population! But alas it didn’t work out. My goal is to get out way more than I have in the past. And if I’m heading out on a shoot where I can have company I’ll make a mention in the facebook group as well. I need to write more. My blog and my podcast will possibly benefit from me writing more, but maybe I suck as a writer. I don’t know, but I’m going to do it anyway. I need to experience more. Whether it’s to travel someplace, alone or with the family. Getting out there is a driving force in my life. I need to do more of it. And that’s about it. It’s rather simple. My trimming things back this summer will ultimately help me achieve these goals. But I can’t do these immediately, at least not to the level I want to do them. I do have some projects that I must finish up before I can realize these three goals I just laid out. So, for the next six months or so I’ve decided to continue scaling back so that I can get these items out of the way and I can move forward. I’m pretty sure these “needs” will morph over this time as well and I’m OK with that. However, I’m not going to be a hermit, so there’s a few things that’s happening now. I’m still going to focus on that training video we were shooting in HK. I think we got enough done that I can still pull something together. My Croatia workshop is the only big workshop I’m doing this summer. I’ll have more on that later I’ve started advertising on my site about custom private workshops. Whether someone has a need that requires a skype conversation or if you’re looking to travel to my neck of the woods, hit me up. I’ll plan an experience for you or we can plan it together. I’ve decided that attending the Create Photography Retreat in Las Vegas this March won’t be possible, at least presently. This decision hurts the most. But planning a workshop and the lessons I’d want to present will simply take too much time between now and January and I had to let something go. Hopefully my situation can change, maybe one of my projects will get done more quickly than I expected, and things can change. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. My printing course is also still on the docket. It just got pushed back a bit. That’s one of my many projects I’ve been vaguely talking about. So that pretty much sums up my summer. One where pretty much nothing went according to plan and yet it’s all still falling into place. It tends to work out somehow J My time in the HK hospital also got me thinking specifically about my approach to photography in general. I claim that I like to be “thoughtful and purposeful” in my craft, but am I really? I think I still too often fall into a “spray and pray” shooting category, and sometimes I admit that’s needed. I had time to get rather philosophical and I recalled some images from Michael Kenna. If you haven’t seen his work, you absolutely should look him up. He’s one of my ultimate photography heroes. He’s an absolute master at simplifying the scene so the only items that are left are the ones that matter. And the images are so incredibly strong. He shoots B&W film and that too is awesome. I also turned to some of David DuChemin’s work. He too is an inspiration. You should look him up as well if you’re not familiar with his work. With these thoughts in mind, I knew I needed to rework my approach to my own photography. I believe I was already leaning this direction with my work in Hong Kong but as I was getting frustrated at my inability to be “efficient” at getting shots I knew something was awry with my outlook and my expectations. I then started thinking about my Croatia workshop and how that really wasn’t fulfilling my expectations either. My previous plan had us bouncing all over the place and not spending enough time going deep and really getting what we need to get out of a location. Allow me to read my new description here: Exquisite landscapes amidst rich culture and history… For me, this is what Croatia is about. On this tour you’ll be challenged to dig deep into the very fiber of what makes you a photographer. Whether you’re a beginner and you’re starting to explore what that means for you, or if you’re a seasoned shooter, you’ll be challenged to create a body of work that only you can create. There will be up to six students, and with that, there will be at least six different points of view on how to best photograph our locations. There will be times where you’ll feel frustrated. That happens frequently when we strive for perfection. I’ve crafted this photo workshop tour to provide ample time for you to not only discover a fantastic nation and its people, but to also discover something new about your photography. We do this through constant review and discussion as we’re shooting, and then with follow-up reviews afterwards. The plan is to spend enough time at each location to give you the opportunity to focus and hone your approach. I’d love for you to join me on this great journey as we experience the best photographic wonders Croatia has to offer. There’s also an optional jaunt into Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina planned after the tour as well. So the main part of the journey is about slowing it down and my intent is to provide more time at the best locations Croatia has to offer. However, I couldn’t resist offering a brief optional jaunt into Montenegro and a good look at two of the best items Bosnia-Herzegovina has to offer too. All the info is available on my website. I’d be honored to have you along for the adventure. Well I hope this hasn’t been too much of an expose of my inner most thoughts, fears and dreams. I suppose if you made it this far you weren’t scared off too much. Anyway, I so greatly appreciate your support through listening to this show, and I hope you’ll think it worthy of sharing it with others. As for the immediate future I’ll be arranging more interviews with other photographers for the podcast. Those will happen later in October and November of this year. So my production will take a short dip as I get the school year up and running. Thanks again so much for being here. Until next time, happy shooting! Use this link for excellent gear at the Peak Design website. It helps support my podcasting efforts. Thanks! Use this link to get a free gift at checkout, plus it helps support my podcasting efforts. Thanks!

Jet Lag In talking with my videographer friend he mentioned jet lag. My flight gets in to HK around 4:00 p.m. and I’ll spend some time going through customs and such. It’ll likely be about 7 by the time I get to my hotel. I figured unless something ultra-strange is happening I’ll be fine with it and I’ll just go to bed, wake up maybe a bit late the next day and all should be good. HK is about 15 hours ahead of my timezone, which is Pacific. Or that would be about 9 hours behind if you were to look at it that way. Anyway, it’s a significant change. My friend is coming from eastern timezone, so he’s got 12 hours difference there. One thing he mentioned was to consider fasting during your travel as that will help adjust the body’s natural internal clock. I thought this was very interesting, so I had to do some research. The only solid item I found was in the New England Journal of Medicine, but you have to be a paying customer to get it. So I found anecdotal stuff here and there, but nothing really deep. He was saying that the basic idea is to simply not eat until you have to a breakfast time of your destination. For me it’ll be great since I can land, get to bed and then wake up and have breakfast. For him, he’s arriving at about 7:00 a.m. So he’ll fast on the plane then eat once he lands. And then since we’ll be starting the day, hopefully he won’t be too groggy to be at least coherent. But I still found other things that I wanted to share. Some of it is rather “out there” so if I sound rather judgmental on these things is more about how I can’t ever see myself doing them, not necessarily thinking someone is foolish for doing it themselves. Here we go. I found an article on CNN, the link is here in the show notes. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/9-alternative-jet-lag-strategies/index.html It’s called “9 alternative jet lag strategies.” First up is to use the hormone Melatonin. The body creates this naturally, but increasing the presence of Melatonin should help the circadian rhythm get adjusted more quickly. They recommend not taking it while in the air, but to do it at bed time once you’ve landed. It’s widely available at drug stores and of course, as with all things medically oriented, it’s best to talk with your doctor before you do anything like this. Just needing to cover myself there. This remedy is not for me. I’m just not one to hop on the drug bandwagon all that quickly. Even when I get a headache, I’d rather tough it out than take a Tylenol. I’ll pop the pill when needed for sure, but my preference is to not do anything. The next item is fasting, of all things. We’ve already talked about this, but this particular article only talks about a few items here, I’d love to have a much deeper article. If you know of one, please forward it on to me. They recommend refrain eating or drinking anything but water and herbal tea if you are looking to minimize jet lag. I won’t fast the whole flight but I’ll do at least half of it so I can go to bed on an empty stomach and hopefully awake ready for a huge breakfast. The next item up is called “earthing.” Well, these were “alternative” ways, right? Basically, the point here is to literally touch the earth at your destination. Take off your shoes and walk in the grass, the beach, whatever. It’ll change your mood and outlook. Seems more psychological than anything else, which can help, don’t get me wrong. But I look at this a bit oddly since it’s more along the lines of something I try to do naturally anyway. So, to have it as a suggestion for something different, to me, is more of a statement on society than anything else. As in, why isn’t this normal behavior already? Watsu is the next one. It’s a water-based relaxation therapy that is similar to a Japanese Shiatsu massage. They go into some detail, but quite frankly, getting relaxed and destressing is the point. If you can do that by just laying on the bed, or getting a massage then go for it. Another is Restricted Environment Stimulation Therapy. Basically, you’re in a light and soundproof tank, floating in 93.5 degree water, that’s Fahrenheit by the way, the temp of most people’s skin. And it’s supposed to be relaxing. My only question is, where do you find stuff like this? And this is the third item that is just focused on relaxation and destressing. Why not just say that and then say, “here’s a few ways of doing that?” And then the next item on the list is Onsens, or a hot spring. OK, just another way to relax, and it’s water-based too. No surprise. I’m happy to do it, love a hot tub soak. Just not sure I’m going to find that at my destination since I’m too cheap and my hotel is less than $30 a night! And finally, the last two are IV infusions and sound healing. I’ll never do the IV infusion thing as I hate needles and I’ll suffer any jet lag three times over before I get stuck with a needle. And the sound healing thing sounds too new agey to me. They suggest that it’s been shown that sound frequencies at 528hz have been shown to heal the body’s DNA. What? I didn’t know DNA could be healed. I fully understand there’s people out there listening that probably know a lot more about this stuff than I do. I’m usually open to listening to these new ideas, but when it comes to something like this, I just need a better article I suppose. They end by saying if you’re in Dubrovnik, go to Villa Dubrovnik, where they say you can get into a “diamond cocoon, where guests lie in a dark, enclosed chamber atop a bed of bubbling warm water as a journey of light and sounds aim to help them relax and get a better night’s sleep.” Sorry, that’s not for me. My whole take on this thing is I’m going to try the fasting. I’ve not heard of that one before. But I always give myself a lighter schedule when I first get somewhere so I can give my body time to adjust. And I listen to what my body is telling me. If I’m by myself, I don’t mind sleeping in or going to bed early. Or forcing myself up when I need to make the change. I may miss a few shots, and that would stink for sure. But I’ve found that my health suffers and if that happens I miss even more shots (thinking back to my time in Chile where I twisted my ankle and got sick and missed out on about three days because health reasons) I take one day at a time and I roll with it. But I’m certainly looking forward to this journey to try a few new things out. I’ll add some relaxing in there too, when I go to bed J Hong Kong I’m going to Hong Kong. And I’m so excited about this journey. It came about because a few weeks ago I found out that I would not be able to participate in a mission trip to India in November. Taking that much time off work just won’t work. So I had a backup plan which was seriously, to go “somewhere.” Literally, you can ask my wife, I didn’t care where, it was just somewhere cool. I scoured a few flight websites and settled on flights.google.com for the ease of use and easy variety of locations that I can explore as well as date options for departures and returns. So I found this ticket on Delta direct from Seattle for less than $560. Round trip. The wife said, “Yes you should go, but remember your son has a birthday…” So I found an itinerary that will get me home in time and has me there for about 16 days. Wow. So I bought the tickets and then started planning. I already had a Lonely planet guide book from when I spent 2.5 days there way back in 2002. I was returning from India, a different mission oriented trip, and had a layover in Hong Kong. The agent making the flight arrangements apologized terribly for the inconvenience and I was like, “are you kidding. This is awesome!” So I bought an updated book and I read it cover to cover, highlighted various things and what not, then I got a message from a long-time friend that has wanted to have me let him know whenever I’m going someplace exciting. He saw my post on facebook and I was like (crickets) Oh yeah,, un I forgot about that… So, he’s a videographer. I had an idea to make a photography course and shoot it over there in HK and he agreed to do the video. So that threw a whole other set of planning into the mix. So now I’m not only planning for 16 days (14 really since I don’t shoot on Saturdays) of shooting, but now I need to come up with scripts and a plan for how to teach photography at each of the locations we’re going to. And let’s not forget I’m shutting down my gear rental company during this as well, (only about half the gear has been sold, still some great pieces to be had) and finishing up a project for the university that involves about six videos to be posted to my YouTube channel this summer. It’s a professional development project and it just has to get done this summer. That’s all there is to it. So I’m scrambling to keep up with the podcasting, family, help my church still plan for this mission trip to India that I’m no longer going on, 16 days in Hong Kong, create my print and creativity course and now this beginner/intermediate course… I’m getting exhausted just thinking about it. So let’s focus. On HK. I’m going to tell you the plan, and then while there I’ll plan to record an episode and then I’ll tell you how it went once I get back. I’ll do my best not to bore you too much or be too repitively redundant. So I’m starting out on Lantau Island. I’ll stay in Mui Wo. There’s a waterfall in the Silvermine Bay area. I’ll get to that and then I’ll take the bus to the big Buddha at the Po Lin Monastery. That’ll be during the mid day so we’ll see what kind of light I get. Thankfully there’s a vegetarian restaurant at the monastery and that’s where I’ll have lunch. I’ll then either take the bus or walk to Tai O. A fishing village. The next day I’ll repeat the plan, but I’m going to walk it on the trails that cover the mountainous island. It should make for a great hike and with the hot and humid and sometimes rainy weather I’ll experience in August, well, we’ll see how good my umbrella is and the rain cover on the backpack. My videographer gets in a couple days after I get there, so I’ll wake up early, get to the small island of Peng Chau, hike around for a few hours, and then take the mid morning ferry back to meet him at the dock. We’ll then move on to Causeway Bay area where our joint room will be. Some of the other places we will go are, Lamma Island, Po Toi island, the Peak, of course, and Central and Kowloon Peninsula. But we’ll also get to many of the less traveled too places in the New Territories. This is the interesting part about Hong Kong. It was handed over to the Chinese in 1997, but the British didn’t have to give all of HK up. It was just the New Territories that were under the temporary agreement, so those sections were scheduled to go back to China control, but Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island as well as several other outlying islands could have stayed in the British Empire. But logistically, it just wouldn’t have worked. So they handed the entire territory over to China. It’s interesting how they treat it now. It’s a Special Administrative region of China. As a US citizen, I don’t need a visa to go there for stays up to 90 days. HK is rather small, but that’s why I love it for travel photography. The public transport is amazing. There’s a bunch of very high quality sites to get to and they’re all, or at least most of them are, very accessible via public transport. Macau is the same way, though it was Portuguese. But it’s also a Special Administrative Region. My goal with this journey is to get out and hike. To see the natural wonders that HK has and show them to you and whomever else is interested. And to shoot some training videos of course.  My approach, however, is to not get too bent out of shape if the videos don’t work out. I’m writing my scripts, and I have good outlines of what I want to talk about. I just need to keep that handy so I can apply a lesson to what I’m shooting. And I’ve got a documentary videographer coming along too, so I’ll probably be fine. We’ll go to some markets, there’s a night market on Kowloon peninsula, and the Stanley market is supposed to be good as well. And one thing I love about HK is the lack of regulation on production like this. We contacted the film office because it seems that the way their website is written we might have to get permits. But they basically laughed (if that’s possible to ascertain through email) at our request since it’s such a small production. So we figure we’re good. And finally, after my videographer friend leaves I have five more days. So I decided I’m going to China. I’ve got my visa application ready to go. I just need to get my Global Entry interview done first, then I’ll FedEx my passport down to SFO for processing. I really, really wanted to go to Detian falls. Also known as Ban Gioc falls. It’s the fourth largest waterfall on an international border. It’s on the border of China and Viet Nam. I probably could have made it, but the connections and times it takes to get out there makes it nearly impossible. I don’t have confidence in the timing of bus schedules and the like, and most hotels in that area aren’t bookable online. I mostly use booking.com and they have one that’s kind of sort of close to the falls, but it’s out in the middle of nowhere, and it’d be not only tough to get there but getting around is tough too. I did find one at the falls itself, but then it’s just the getting there that was making it very difficult. And then getting back on time to be sure I don’t miss my flight. It just wasn’t working out. So I decided to go to the tourist trap of Guilin instead. I may hire a guide, I may just kick back a little. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. That part is still rather undefined. But I’m going, that part I know. (so long as I get a visa from the Chinese government. Fingers crossed) That wraps it up for now. Thanks so much for listening. Remember to search for and find the other podcasts in the Master Photography group. They are Portrait Session, Photo Taco and Thoughts on Photography, which is still being resurrected by Brian McGuckin. Until next time, Happy shooting. Use this link for excellent gear at the Peak Design website. It helps support my podcasting efforts. Thanks! Use this link to get a free gift at checkout, plus it helps support my podcasting efforts. Thanks!

In this episode of the podcast Gary Bembridge of TipsForTravellers.com, revisits Hong Kong to provide tips for travellers on the 10 must-see sights and attractions. In addition he also provides some key observations, historical highlights, best time to visit, getting there and around and general tips and advice. The episode covers the following must-see sights and attractions: The Peak. The Star Ferry. Temple Street Market. Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade. Symphony of Lights. Stanley Market. Lan Kwai Fong. Sky100 Observation Deck. Lantau Island. Hong Kong Disneyland. Resources and links: Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Lantau Hong Kong (Time-lapse Video). Hong Kong Victoria Harbour Day-to-Night Timelapse. After listening to the podcast: Please leave a comment on Tipsfortravellers.com/podcast, email me or leave a review on iTunes. Subscribe (and leave a review) to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio. Consider becoming a Podcast Patron and visit tipsfortravellers.com/patron.

In this latest episode, Laszlo finally gets around to the oft-requested subject of piracy in early 19th century China.  Pirates had been a fact of life going back to the most olden days. Mid to late Qing Dynasty the amount of trade being plied on the China coast attracted pirates like never before.  Zheng Yi Sao ("Zheng Yi's Wife") was a tough woman from the Pearl River Delta who married the most notorious pirate of his day Zheng Yi.   Upon Zheng Yi's death, his widow took control of his massive pirate fleet.  With her adopted son, and later husband Cheung Po Tsai, she controlled what as, at the time, the largest pirate fleet that preyed on coastal dwellers and vessels engaged in trade. She later became an inspiration for many characters that appeared in books, movies, video games, and other media. TERMS FROM THIS EPISODE Zheng Shi 郑氏 Madame Zheng, Widow Zheng Zheng Yi Sao 郑一嫂 Zheng Yi Sao, wife of Zheng Yi haidao   海盗 pirate Zhejiang   浙江 East coast province of China Guangdong   广东  Southernmost province of continental China Tây Sơn Rebellion   Major uprising in Vietnam from 1770 to 1802 Binh Dinh Province   South central coastal province in Vietnam Da Nang   Vietnam's 3rd largest city Nha Trang   Coastal city in Vietnam Xishan   西山 West Mountain (Tây Sơn in Vietnamese) Guangxi   广西 One province over from Guangdong Shi   石 Common Chinese surname, means stone Ma 马Another common Chinese surname, means horse Xu   徐 Common Chinese surname. I always get it mixed up with 许. Shi Xianggu   石香姑 Zheng Yi Sao's real name Xinhui   新会 City near Jiangmen Tanka or Danjia   疍家 The boat dwelling people of south China and Fujian shuishang ren 水上人 people who live on the water Zheng Yi   郑一 South Seas pirate who ran the Red Flag Fleet. Married Shi Xianggu Red Flag Fleet  红旗帮 Hóngqí Bāng. Cheung Po Tsai  张保仔 Zhang Bâozâi Jing Hai fen ji  靖海氛记 Charles F. Neumann's "The Pirates who Infested the China Sea from 1807 to 1810. Jiaqing emperor   嘉庆帝 Qing emperor 1796 - 1820 Daoguang emperor   道光帝 Qing emperor 1820 - 1850 Ming Jiajing Emperor   明嘉靖帝 Ming emperor 1521 - 1567 Lantau 大屿山 Island that is part of the Hong Kong SAR Cheung Chau  - Changzhou 长洲 Island off the coast of Lantau Humen  虎门 Located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta Chow Yun-fat  周润发 Great Actor who played Sau Feng, one of the Pirate Lords from Disney's P of the C movie Part 3. Qiongzhou Strait 琼州海峡 Body of water that separates Hainan from Guangdong    

The Pearl River Delta – including Hong Kong’s Lantau Island development – will be part of the huge metropolitan landscape arising due to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, says Marcos Chan of US-based CBRE Group. He says the many opportunities emerging will help Hong Kong’s position while CBRE will benefit as a global real estate consultancy with its Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong.

Gary Bembridge of Tips for Travellers shares observations, tips and advice for visitors to Hong Kong.Subscribe free to the show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio or TuneIn Radio.This show covers among other topics: Observations Dense with multitudes of skyscrapers and people. More people live and work above 15th floor than anywhere else in the world and has most residential blocks about 40 stories high and constant development. Very pretty harbour - Victoria harbour - one of deepest natural harbours in the world - Hong Kong means "fragrant harbour". Population of 7 million. 262 islands - Hong Kong island, Lantau Island (Airport and Disneyland ), Kowloon peninsula and Northern Territories. Transforms at night - skyscrapers have light effects - 8pm light show (biggest and longest running permanent show) on Hong Kong island and at 9pm on ICC (International Commerce Building) in Kowloon. English widely spoken as one off 2 official languages. Very connected city lots of free wifi around HistoryBritish colony until 1997Getting ThereVery busy airport built on reclaimed land on Lantau Island.Cruise -  Kai Tak Terminal designed on site of old airport runway in Kowloon.Best time to goHot and humid most of yearColdest in Jan Hottest JulyGetting aroundCoveted walkways and open air mid -evels escalator - worlds largest outdoor covered escalator.Trams - kept despite modern metro system following pretty much same routes.Busses - 5 companies run 700 routes.BigBus Hop-on Hop-Off bus toursGeneral TipsUse UK style 3-pin plugs Good App - "Discover Hong Kong" developed by HK tourism board and Cathay Pacific Airline. Works off line and has series of suggested walks. Must-do activities Victoria PeakTram launched in 1888- 8 minutes ride to the stop with stunning views across city, also has Madame Tussards and shopping.Star FerryIconic service since 1870s - taking people 7 minutes from Hong Kong to Kowloon Ocean terminal.Harbour TourMany options from Star Ferry, Sailing Junks and motorised junk boat trips.See Hong Kong at nightNight bus tourLight show- "Symphony of lights" - 45 skyscrapers on both sides of harbourWalk the streets on Hong Kong side in Wan Chai and Kowloon along Nathan streetShoppingGood prices as do no  sales tax and is a Duty free portStanley marketCentral district- high end shopsHollywood road - antiques and art SoHo - galleries Ladies MarketTemple Street Night Market AberdeenFishing village and Luxury marinaAfternoon tea at Peninsula HotelFlagstaff house museum of Teaware - in oldest surviving colonial building - BeachesRepulse BayTheme ParksDisneylandOcean Park -see Cunard notesMuseumsCan get good value 7-day museum passHK museum of artthe space museumHK science museumHK museum of historyFurther afieldMacau - high speed ferry or bus

Have you been to Peng Chau? Listen to Ben's introduction about this small island located off the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong.