Yu Garden or aka Yuyuan Garden was built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yudan. He wanted a tranquil and happy place for his parents. However, the expense of building this place ruined the Pans.
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Tag Archives: architecture
Oriental Pearl Tower: Seeing Shanghai in a Sphere
When you look at the Shanghai skyline towards the Pudong District, along the Huangpu River, you will notice a tower dotted with spheres. That spherical tower is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. This tower was the tallest building in China from 1994 until 2007, when the Shanghai World Financial Center was built.
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Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise
When my friends decided to go on a boat tour of Chicago, I didn’t think much of it but ended up loving it. If you love architecture, I highly recommend this. There are several boat tours companies along the river. The one I went on was Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise. The boat brings you down the river and highlights all the architecture built along the river. This is a quicker way of admiring the buildings than walking around the city by foot. You also get a view of where the Chicago fire started.
Below is Marina City, my favorite buildings.
Location: Southeast corner of Michigan Avenue Bridge at Wacker Drive
Chicago Water Tower
Check out the old water tower that houses a large water pump drawing water from Lake Michigan. Admission is free.You can spot it easily along the Magnificent Mile.
Location: 806 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Willis Tower
Formerly named Sears Tower, Willis Tower was the tallest building in America. Take the time and go up it. Don’t be lame like me and not.
Location: 233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606
Gas Works Park
Gas Works Park was once Seattle Gas Light Company in 1906. It was a plant to manufacture gas from coal. In the 1950’s, this plant became obsolete when importing natural gas became more popular. In 1975, Seattle turned it into a public park with remnants of the plant still standing.
The old boiler house is now a picnic shelter.
The pump house is now the play barn.
Here you can enjoy magnificent views of the Seattle skyline.
Texas State Capitol
I was in Austin for the weekend to attend Austin City Limits. I had a blast at the music festival but had little time to explore Austin. It was my first time visiting Austin so I decided to make the most of the little time I had. I decided to check out the Texas State Capitol since it was only a few blocks from my hotel. I made my way up Congress street and ended up at the capitol. As they say, “Everything is bigger in Texas,” this capitol was huge.
When I walked in, I didn’t know where to start. There were free tours available but I had just missed the one that just started and didn’t have time to wait for the next.
After I passed through security, I found myself standing under the dome of the capitol. Its intricate detailing especially the spiral staircase makes it breathtaking in person.
Kyoto Ramen Koji
Kyoto’s JR station is an architectural beauty one stop shop for transit, shopping and food all in one. An Isetan department store is located within the station.
Amazing view of Kyoto Tower.
Go up these stairs to the 10th floor to find Kyoto Ramen Koji, also known as Ramen Alley. There are eight restaurants that cook up ramen from different regions of Japan.
Read the boards to select the type of regional ramen you would like to try and head over to its corresponding location. To order ramen, buy a ticket from the menu vending machines in front of the restaurant. Most of it is written in Japanese but there are pictures. Once you’ve selected the ramen you want, wait in the queue forming along the side of the restaurant.
I tried Menya Iroha’s (麺家いろは) glass shrimp, salt seasoned egg ramen. The broth was clear and the medium curly noodles were perfectly chewy. However, they are famous for their “Toyama Black” broth made from boiling fish sauce for many hours until the flavor mellows out. I didn’t try this but definitely will next time.
(Kyoto Station, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan)
Togetsukyo Bridge
To get to Arashiyama, you will come across the beautiful Togetsukyo Bridge, also known as “Moon Crossing Bridge.”
The bridge divides the river into two. West of the bridge, the river is named Hozu River while east of the bridge, the river is named Katsura River.
On the east side, enjoy the scenic view on a kayak.
(Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan)
Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)
Formally known as Rokuon-ji Temple, but infamously known as Kinkakuji or the Golden Pavilion, this temple was built during the Muromachi period. It was previously the retirement villa of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu but became a zen temple after his death.
Gold foil covers the top two levels of the temple while a phoenix sits atop the temple.
You are allowed to roam the rest of the temple grounds, however, there is not much to see.
Admission: 400 yen
(1 Kinkakujicho, Kita Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 603-8361Japan)
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