Having had a sumptuous lunch, we were again full of energy to explore this beautiful city. London Chinatown was just a stone's throw away.
This Chinatown has a relatively short history. It became a Chinatown only in the 1970s, when there was an influx of Chinese immigrants coming from HongKong. With them, Chinese restaurants and Chinese cuisine became popular and now almost an integral part of London. There are still a very large numbers of Chinese restaurants, in particular, Cantonese restaurants here. The Chinatown is quite small though, if you don't stop for some shopping or food, you may cover this area in about half an hour.
I was quite surprised to see lots of people queuing up at some drinks shop. I thought such mania would only happen in Asia, where people queue for some popular drinks for hours. And it was a Friday morning! Not even weekend.
A short walk away is Leicester Square, THE entertainment place in London, famous for London West End's plays. It is said that you MUST watch a play at London's West End, and this is THE place to get some cheap tickets. Watching a play is too arty farty for me, so I figure it would be better for me to save that money for another sumptuous meal :) There is a statue of William Shakespeare in the center of the square. He hope he wasn't too disappointed with me.
Further south, we soon reached Trafalgar Square. It was lively place. In front of National Gallery, there were many street artists performing there.
A crew team was setting up the stage for an event for the weekend. Kids running around, poking fun at the various street artists. Tourists were awed by the grandeur of the neo-classic facade of the National Gallery. The Nelson Column, which stands in the center of the square, commemorates Admiral Horton Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was mortally wounded.
It was a cloudy, gloomy day, with unpredictably weather between rain and moments of sunshine, however, Trafalgar Square was still full of joy.
Before I end today's post, let me use this street artist's work of various countries' national flag to remind all of us that it is better to live with each other in harmony than in war.
Until my next post, bye...
London Chinatown
This Chinatown has a relatively short history. It became a Chinatown only in the 1970s, when there was an influx of Chinese immigrants coming from HongKong. With them, Chinese restaurants and Chinese cuisine became popular and now almost an integral part of London. There are still a very large numbers of Chinese restaurants, in particular, Cantonese restaurants here. The Chinatown is quite small though, if you don't stop for some shopping or food, you may cover this area in about half an hour.
I was quite surprised to see lots of people queuing up at some drinks shop. I thought such mania would only happen in Asia, where people queue for some popular drinks for hours. And it was a Friday morning! Not even weekend.
TKTS Booth at Leicester Square for cheap tickets
A short walk away is Leicester Square, THE entertainment place in London, famous for London West End's plays. It is said that you MUST watch a play at London's West End, and this is THE place to get some cheap tickets. Watching a play is too arty farty for me, so I figure it would be better for me to save that money for another sumptuous meal :) There is a statue of William Shakespeare in the center of the square. He hope he wasn't too disappointed with me.
Further south, we soon reached Trafalgar Square. It was lively place. In front of National Gallery, there were many street artists performing there.
Trafalgar Square
A crew team was setting up the stage for an event for the weekend. Kids running around, poking fun at the various street artists. Tourists were awed by the grandeur of the neo-classic facade of the National Gallery. The Nelson Column, which stands in the center of the square, commemorates Admiral Horton Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, in which he was mortally wounded.
It was a cloudy, gloomy day, with unpredictably weather between rain and moments of sunshine, however, Trafalgar Square was still full of joy.
Before I end today's post, let me use this street artist's work of various countries' national flag to remind all of us that it is better to live with each other in harmony than in war.
Until my next post, bye...
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