Trip to China

  1. 1 Thursday, 2024-01-04: Arrival in Macau
    1. 1.1 Coloane, Macau
    2. 1.2 Dinner: Pearl Dragon
    3. 1.3 Nighttime stroll
  2. 2 Friday, 2024-01-05: Extreme Macau sightseeing
    1. 2.1 Breakfast: fast food
    2. 2.2 Sightseeing
    3. 2.3 Lunch: A random cafe
    4. 2.4 Macau Grand Prix Museum
    5. 2.5 More sightseeing
    6. 2.6 Dinner: Apomac
  3. 3 Saturday, 2024-01-06: Arrival in Zhuhai
    1. 3.1 Dinner: Hakka food
  4. 4 Sunday, 2024-01-07: Earth oven
  5. 5 Monday, 2024-01-08: Doumen specialties
    1. 5.1 Lunch: Claypot
    2. 5.2 Doumen old street
    3. 5.3 Jintai Temple
    4. 5.4 Old area
    5. 5.5 Dinner: traditional Doumenese
  6. 6 Tuesday, 2024-01-09: Downtown Zhuhai
    1. 6.1 Breakfast: homemade wontons.
    2. 6.2 Downtown Zhuhai
    3. 6.3 Dinner: Seafood and barbeque
  7. 7 Wednesday, 2024-01-10: Various Zhuhai places
    1. 7.1 Lunch: homemade
    2. 7.2 Xiashan Park
    3. 7.3 Random walking around
    4. 7.4 Dinner: at a cousin’s house
  8. 8 Thursday, 2024-01-11: Shunde
    1. 8.1 Shunde
    2. 8.2 Dinner: Shunde sashimi
  9. 9 Friday, 2024-01-12: Wudong and downtown Zhuhai
    1. 9.1 Lunch: Beef hotpot
    2. 9.2 Dessert: Matcha cakes
    3. 9.3 Yuanming Xinyuan
    4. 9.4 Dinner: Hotpot
  10. 10 Saturday, 2024-01-13: Flight back

In January 2024, Joanne and I went to China! We went to Macau and Zhuhai.

FIGURE 1 The Fisher Girl, a famous landmark statue erected in 1982 and symbol of Zhuhai.

As always, these pictures are available in full resolution and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 license.

1 Thursday, 2024-01-04: Arrival in Macau

We arrived in Hong Kong international airport at 13:30 via Hong Kong Airlines flight 607.

FIGURE 2 Lunch. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/18 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 3 Joanne’s lunch. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/18 s, ISO 250.

No time to sightsee in Hong Kong; we immediately took the bus to Macau.

FIGURE 4 Bus station for the bus to Macau. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F4, 1/22 s, ISO 100.

1.1 Coloane, Macau

We went to check out the old city.

FIGURE 5 Pastéis de nata. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/118 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 6 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V. No, I don’t know who those two people in the background are, but I didn’t have time to wait for them to leave. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/898 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 7 Condominium number 1, apparently. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/48 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 8 A pink house. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F8, 1/44 s, ISO 160.
FIGURE 9 Some old buildings. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 160.
FIGURE 10 Sunset views. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/455 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 11 Pre-eating skewers. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/83 s, ISO 100.

1.2 Dinner: Pearl Dragon

We went to the Michelin starred Pearl Dragon for dinner. It’s really good.

FIGURE 12 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 13 Tofu balls. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.2, 1/44 s, ISO 1000.
FIGURE 14 Char siu. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.2, 1/44 s, ISO 800.

1.3 Nighttime stroll

We went for a nighttime stroll to take in more sights and eat dessert.

FIGURE 15 Star-illuminated street. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 160.
FIGURE 16 A random restaurant that we didn’t go to. But it is said that every neon light is made by a local artisan since it’s impossible to ship, so it is worth taking a picture of every neon sign you come across. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 17 Christmas tree. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 125.

2 Friday, 2024-01-05: Extreme Macau sightseeing

2.1 Breakfast: fast food

We had a traditional breakfast at Cafe de Coral.

FIGURE 18 FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/70 s, ISO 1250.

2.2 Sightseeing

We walked around randomly. Since Joanne has been to Macau many times, she led the way.

FIGURE 19 Santa Casa da Misericórdia, built in 1569 and is now an art museum. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/537 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 20 St. Dominic’s Church in Macao. It’s a famous Baroque-style church built in 1587. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/1305 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 21 Cool mix of new and old buildings. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/322 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 22 General post office building. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/149 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 23 Macao Museum. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/949 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 24 Ruins of St Paul’s. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/644 s, ISO 100.

2.3 Lunch: A random cafe

For lunch we went to a random spot frequented by high schoolers.

FIGURE 25 Curry beef egg rice. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 250.

2.4 Macau Grand Prix Museum

It was a really nice museum and quite empty.

FIGURE 26 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/91 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 27 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 320.
FIGURE 28 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/136 s, ISO 100.

2.5 More sightseeing

This time we stuck to the old alleys to look at the old buildings. Despite their crumbling exterior, they are very expensive!

FIGURE 29 A random residential apartment building. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/440 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 30 A nativity scene. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F8, 1/212 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 31 Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, rebuilt in 1937 in neoclassical style. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/471 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 32 Colorful buildings. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/251 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 33 Everyone has bars on their windows to prevent kids from falling out. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/70 s, ISO 125.
FIGURE 34 A narrow alley. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F7.2, 1/132 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 35 More colorful buildings. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F7.2, 1/70 s, ISO 125.
FIGURE 36 Hard for motor vehicles to maneuver in the narrow alleys. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/197 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 37 The Grand Lisboa is peeking out! FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F8, 1/181 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 38 A wider street for buses. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F7.2, 1/676 s, ISO 400.
FIGURE 39 Hillside benches next to an air quality monitor. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/70 s, ISO 500.
FIGURE 40 Round hole on a pedestrian bridge. Unfortunately there’s a security camera there that’s blocking part of it. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/70 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 41 Another apartment building, but green this time. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/87 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 42 A junkyard. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/94 s, ISO 100.

2.6 Dinner: Apomac

For dinner we went to the Macau Retiree’s Association — Associação dos Aposentados, Reformados e Pensionistas de Macau, or Apomac for short. They serve traditional Portuguese food.

FIGURE 43 Bolinhos de bacalhau. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/61 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 44 Roast suckling pig with a fried rice made of its liver or something. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/55 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 45 Paella. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 100.

And with that, our Macau trip is over. Onto Zhuhai!

3 Saturday, 2024-01-06: Arrival in Zhuhai

To be exact, our humble abode (Joanne mom’s apartment) is in the relatively suburban district of Doumen. We spent much of the Zhuhai leg of the trip hanging out with cousins and friends.

FIGURE 46 Foggy morning view from our apartment. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/191 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 47 Empty storefronts underneath our apartment. The area is newly developed. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F8, 1/311 s, ISO 100.

After eating homemade breakfast, we got a coffee and second breakfast at a rather fancy spot.

FIGURE 48 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/226 s, ISO 100.

Then we had lunch at home.

In the afternoon, we got a massage at a random massage location and went for a walk.

FIGURE 49 Massage. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with iPhone 14 Pro Max back triple camera 2.22mm f/2.2, 2.2 mm, F2.2, 1/60 s, ISO 1000.
FIGURE 50 We bought a lamp at a lamp shop. It has an integrated ceiling fan which folds up when it’s not in use. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 51 A random building. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/82 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 52 An average parking lot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F8, 1/44 s, ISO 125.
FIGURE 53 A camouflaged Lotus Emeya. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 200.
FIGURE 54 A random hotel. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/67 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 55 Pedestrian street full of street food. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 320.
FIGURE 56 An alley near Joanne’s cousin’s old house. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 1000.

3.1 Dinner: Hakka food

For dinner we went to Hakka Big Goose Bay (客家大鹅湾), a recently opened hakka restaurant.

FIGURE 57 Chicken. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.5, 1/44 s, ISO 1250.
FIGURE 58 Stuffed bitter melon. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.5, 1/44 s, ISO 1000.
FIGURE 59 Tofu. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 1250.
FIGURE 60 View across the Huangyang river. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/4 s, ISO 800.

For dessert we went to Yitian Dessert and got the pistachio mousse.

FIGURE 61 Pistachio mousse, nicknamed “ghost saliva”. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 200.

4 Sunday, 2024-01-07: Earth oven

First we got some coffee.

FIGURE 62 Maneki neko at the coffee shop. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 2500.

Then we had earth oven-cooked chicken, mantis shrimp, and other delicious foods with some of Joanne’s friends.

FIGURE 63 Earth oven. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/755 s, ISO 100.

For dinner, Joanne’s cousins came over and we all had dinner together at Joanne’s mom’s place.

FIGURE 64 This isn’t even half of it. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 1000.
FIGURE 65 View from our humble abode at night. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/11 s, ISO 3200.

5 Monday, 2024-01-08: Doumen specialties

On this day we explored Old Doumen, Jintai Temple, and some specialty Doumenese cuisine. After homemade breakfast, we headed out!

5.1 Lunch: Claypot

For lunch we got claypot food at a mall. It was pretty expensive by local standards since we didn’t have coupons.

FIGURE 66 Claypot small eels. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.5, 1/44 s, ISO 640.
FIGURE 67 A dilapidated hotel upon emerging from the mall. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/377 s, ISO 100.

5.2 Doumen old street

The Doumen old street is an old street that they renovated while maintaining the look of the old buildings. It has a bunch of old restaurants serving local desserts and snacks. We had a douhua and some pickled vegetables but it was mediocre.

FIGURE 68 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/185 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 69 An adorable Geely Panda Mini EV. Most full sized vehicles are not allowed in the old street, unless delivering goods or something. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 70 The Orchid Cafe, one of the most notable buildings in the Doumen old street. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/97 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 71 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/104 s, ISO 100.

5.3 Jintai Temple

Then we went to Jintai Temple. I created the Wikipedia article for this temple.

FIGURE 72 Temple. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F8, 1/26 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 73 God I wish I had brought a wider lens. The Laowa 15mm f/4 shift would have come in handy. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/49 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 74 Remote view. I uploaded this to Wikimedia Commons and made it the lead image of the Wikipedia article. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/43 s, ISO 200.
FIGURE 75 The taking of the above photo.
FIGURE 76 A village. FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/269 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 77 A paifang.We would be seeing a bigger paifang later in the trip… FUJIFILM GFX100S with 180, 180.0 mm, (0/0), 1/220 s, ISO 800.

5.4 Old area

FIGURE 78 A house. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/77 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 79 A restaurant advertising their ancient methods of cooking golden chicken in earth ovens. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 125.
FIGURE 80 Artwork featuring a family watching television. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 2500.

5.5 Dinner: traditional Doumenese

We got some traditional local specialties with Joanne’s friends.

FIGURE 81 Duck intestines. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 250.
FIGURE 82 Tofu. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 320.
FIGURE 83 Pork patty. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 200.
FIGURE 84 Pig intestines. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 320.

6 Tuesday, 2024-01-09: Downtown Zhuhai

6.1 Breakfast: homemade wontons.

First we had homemade wonton.

FIGURE 85 Wonton. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 2500.

Second breakfast: Egg pudding.

FIGURE 86 Egg pudding. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 640.

6.2 Downtown Zhuhai

First we took the cable car up to Jingshan Park (景山公园). As its name implies, it has a nice view of the city.

FIGURE 87 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/191 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 88 In this view you can see several landmarks such as the Fisher girl and Lover’s Road. On the horizon is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/202 s, ISO 100.

Then we went for a bike ride along the Lover’s Road.

FIGURE 89 Lover’s Road. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/204 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 90 The Fisher Girl, a famous landmark statue erected in 1982. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 15 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 91 Zhuhai Opera House and some kitschy floating restaurant thing. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 20 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 92 Apartment buildings overlooking the bay. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/380 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 93 Zhuhai Opera House. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/30 s, ISO 100.

6.3 Dinner: Seafood and barbeque

We went to Liu Qiao Barbeque (柳桥炭烧). It is run by a skilled chef from Harbin, specializing in both barbeques and fresh seafood sourced from the clean northern waters. The chef is also skilled at preparing the delicious sauces and powders for the barbeque.

FIGURE 94 Small intestines. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 640.
FIGURE 95 Fresh vegetables to wrap your barbequed meats in. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 800.

Without a doubt, the arctic surf clam was the star of the show and some of the most delicious food we’ve eaten on this trip. It was exquisitely tender and jellylike.

The foot of the clam is black when raw, but turns characteristically red when cooked.

Most arctic surf clam served in the US is cooked — rubbery and flavorless. We’ve never had the raw one before, but it was amazing. We also had a briefly poached one that was even better than the completely raw one, even more tender and sweet.

The restaurant has a number of other amazing seafood such as king crab, but we didn’t have the chance to try that. We’ll have to return at some point!

FIGURE 96 Arctic surf clam sashimi, amaebi, and botan ebi. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 97 Briefly poached surf clam, even more tender and sweet. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 400.

7 Wednesday, 2024-01-10: Various Zhuhai places

7.1 Lunch: homemade

First we woke up and had homemade lunch.

FIGURE 98 Homemade stuffed tofu. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 500.

7.2 Xiashan Park

We went to Xiashan park (霞山公园).

FIGURE 99 Little pagoda. Ignore the random person sitting there. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/331 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 100 There were some black swans. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/352 s, ISO 100.

7.3 Random walking around

FIGURE 101 Interesting architecture. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/70 s, ISO 320.
FIGURE 102 Corinthian columns. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F5.7, 1/666 s, ISO 100.

7.4 Dinner: at a cousin’s house

From Joanne’s cousin’s house, we could see a huge bridge under construction in the distance. It’s the Huangmao Sea Crossing bridge (黄茅海跨海通道)!

FIGURE 103 Homemade pork patty. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 2500.
FIGURE 104 “Crispy Meat Grass Fish”, a specialty of the region. The grass carp is fed a high-protein diet of beans and it becomes so muscular that its meat gets a unique firm texture. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/70 s, ISO 1250.
FIGURE 105 Roast goose. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/54 s, ISO 3200.
FIGURE 106 An amazing bridge under construction. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/20 s, ISO 3200.
FIGURE 107 View of some markets from the roof. FUJIFILM GFX100S with SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018, 70.0 mm, F2.8, 1/11 s, ISO 1600.

8 Thursday, 2024-01-11: Shunde

8.1 Shunde

Shunde is known for the largest paifang in the world in Shunfengshan park.

FIGURE 108 I would have had a good shot of it if not for this annoying stage blocking it. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F6.5, 1/86 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 109 View across the lake in the park. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/36 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 110 At least the back side isn’t obscured but I didn’t bring my wide angle lens so I couldn’t get the whole paifang in the shot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/28 s, ISO 100.

8.2 Dinner: Shunde sashimi

Shunde is known for shunde yusheng, or raw freshwater fish.

Warning: consuming raw or undercooked freshwater fish may pose an extreme health hazard due to the risk of parasites.

Anyway, it was pretty delicious. The fish was sliced into small slices of less than a millimeter thick each, so each slice was transparent. It is then mixed with a bunch of condiments including oil, onion, dill, dried orange peel, pickles, ginger, carrot, garlic, and chili. It was amazing!

FIGURE 111 Condiments for the fish. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/44 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 112 A stack of raw fish. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4.9, 1/44 s, ISO 1600.
FIGURE 113 The chef came out to demonstrate mixing the fish with the condiments for us. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/116 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 114 Sizzling chicken. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F3.2, 1/25 s, ISO 800.
FIGURE 115 Fried fish leftovers. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/64 s, ISO 800.

9 Friday, 2024-01-12: Wudong and downtown Zhuhai

9.1 Lunch: Beef hotpot

I went to meet Anson, a friend who lives in Foshan. We had beef hotpot at Wudong, a village dedicated to eating beef.

FIGURE 116 A small but cute paifang. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/375 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 117 Extreme beef. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4.4, 1/44 s, ISO 640.

9.2 Dessert: Matcha cakes

We then went to downtown Zhuhai where we got matcha dessert.

FIGURE 118 Matcha cakes. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 160.

9.3 Yuanming Xinyuan

The Yuanmingyuan is a famous palace. The “New Yuanmingyuan” (圆明新园) is a new replica of it.

FIGURE 119 FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF23mmF4 R LM WR, 23.0 mm, F5.7, 1/129 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 120 Amazing new buildings are being built in the background! FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/48 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 121 Abandoned water park. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F8, 1/44 s, ISO 200.
FIGURE 122 A bridge. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F4, 1/44 s, ISO 160.

9.4 Dinner: Hotpot

We had hotpot in a themed place in a mall where all the servers dressed up as construction workers and had scheduled dance performances.

FIGURE 123 The pot. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/115 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 124 Duck intestines and tripe. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/55 s, ISO 100.
FIGURE 125 Fresh beef again. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F2.8, 1/44 s, ISO 160.
FIGURE 126 Electric rideshare vehicles are increasingly supplanting traditional taxis. FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F1.7, 1/44 s, ISO 640.

10 Saturday, 2024-01-13: Flight back

Anyway I got food poisoning. Not sure if I got it from the shunde raw fish or the beef hotpot, but extreme diarrhea and fever were had. Two visits to the ER ensued.

In the ensuing days I recovered and stool tests revealed no parasites or ova.

Oh well, until next time!

FIGURE 127 Zhuhai terminal of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge FUJIFILM GFX100S with GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 55.0 mm, F5.7, 1/302 s, ISO 100.