Pandapassport Blog - Life in China
From Dalian, China --- "What are those wacky Dongbei-ren up to today?"
Bloggers are having a big impact in journalism lately. Many news stories have broken on blogs, as opposed to more "proper" news mediums. That said, many people generally acknowledge the fact that News website is to Newspaper as Blog is to Bathroom graffiti. Having said that, here's my contribution to the graffiti. I've heard this story on numerous occasions, from wide and varied sources in Dalian - but I still have no idea if it's true.
And yet, if it's just a rumor, it does tell us some inherent truths about those who spread it (including me, I guess!) But first, some background info:
As many people know, the Japanese Army once occupied Dalian - specifically from 1905 when Japan won the Russo-Japanese War until Japan's WW2 defeat in 1945, when it was jointly controlled by Russia and China. China regained full control over Dalian in 1955.
At one point during Japanese rule (as this rumor/story goes) there was a joint attack launched by China and Russia. Japanese troops were located in the Labor Park area, and it's said that Russia attacked from the north, while Chinese troops attacked from the south. The result was pretty a bad one for Japanese troops, with many casualties. Or so I hear...
Anyway, it seems that some Japanese people (possibly even the Japanese government) intended to build some memorial to those lost in this battle. You can imagine that that would be difficult to pull off here in China. But, as the story/rumor goes, one Japanese businessman found a way around it.
He was apparently instrumental in the building of the Swissotel (that's a franchise by the way) which towers over labor park. Anyone ever noticed the shape of this hotel? Notice anything weird?
Well, the people who told me this story, tell me that the hotel was intentionally designed to look like a tombstone. It is pretty much an unusually flat vertical slab.
Well, how about it? Truth or Rumor? If anyone has some solid facts to either confirm or disprove this story, I'd love to hear them!
Update: Another friend told me another version today. But she said this is also possibly just a rumor.
This version is about the founder of the hotel, whose father's dying wish was to be buried in Labor Park. When the local goverment didn't agree, the man buried his father just across the street and built the hotel on top of it.
No shortage of urban legends in Dalian, it seems!
Tags: China, Chinese, Japanese occupation of China, Dalian, Chinese history, Japan, newfie, Swissotel, pandapassport
And yet, if it's just a rumor, it does tell us some inherent truths about those who spread it (including me, I guess!) But first, some background info:
As many people know, the Japanese Army once occupied Dalian - specifically from 1905 when Japan won the Russo-Japanese War until Japan's WW2 defeat in 1945, when it was jointly controlled by Russia and China. China regained full control over Dalian in 1955.
At one point during Japanese rule (as this rumor/story goes) there was a joint attack launched by China and Russia. Japanese troops were located in the Labor Park area, and it's said that Russia attacked from the north, while Chinese troops attacked from the south. The result was pretty a bad one for Japanese troops, with many casualties. Or so I hear...
Anyway, it seems that some Japanese people (possibly even the Japanese government) intended to build some memorial to those lost in this battle. You can imagine that that would be difficult to pull off here in China. But, as the story/rumor goes, one Japanese businessman found a way around it.
He was apparently instrumental in the building of the Swissotel (that's a franchise by the way) which towers over labor park. Anyone ever noticed the shape of this hotel? Notice anything weird?
Well, the people who told me this story, tell me that the hotel was intentionally designed to look like a tombstone. It is pretty much an unusually flat vertical slab.
Well, how about it? Truth or Rumor? If anyone has some solid facts to either confirm or disprove this story, I'd love to hear them!
Update: Another friend told me another version today. But she said this is also possibly just a rumor.
This version is about the founder of the hotel, whose father's dying wish was to be buried in Labor Park. When the local goverment didn't agree, the man buried his father just across the street and built the hotel on top of it.
No shortage of urban legends in Dalian, it seems!
Tags: China, Chinese, Japanese occupation of China, Dalian, Chinese history, Japan, newfie, Swissotel, pandapassport
9 Comments:
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No idea if this is true. The goal of a hotel is to provide rooms. For a high quality hotel each room must have a view, so thin/cornered shapes are a must.
Coincidence? Probably, perhaps an explicit secondary meaning, but the place is firstly a hotel.
Alex
I also heard a similar story about a building in Qingdao as well. Don't know if anyone has heard about that one.
Of course, when one flicks 1000 specs of ink on a piece of paper, there appear to be patterns.
(you'll have to excuse me, but there are a few monstrosities here that qualify for that moniker)
Is it the one on the east side of Labor Park, near Igosso?
My nomination for Dalian's ugliest building is that slanty white trapezoidal mess near Renmin Square.
I think we are talking about the same building. The one with the dishes all over it. It is a rather cool building only becaue everytime I look at it I think to myself, "Jesus, they really did it, someone really make that and went all the way, and no one stopped him, wow, they really made that."
On the flip side, it's kinda ironic that one of the nicest building in the city - Xiandai Building, at Hope Square - is empty. I think due to some safety regulation or defect.
As for the gravestone rumour, I very much doubt it - in Japan they do not commemorate the dead with that kind of a headstone.