4 MOA / Museum of Archeology

"The newcomers has only been here for a very short period of time : less than 200 years.

That´s only a blink of an eye in comparison to the 9.000 years we´ve been here"

                qiyaplenax (w)
                Howard E. Grant

Arthur Erickson, canadian architect, designed the Museum as as a reflection of the structures of the buildings of the indigenous peoples of the northwest coast.

Many different communities inhabited this área.

The Musqueam occupied the place where is now the UBC (University of British Columbia). Museum is part of it.

Picture from Sa?lista?, Vancouver aboriginal, is believed they come from Asia thousands of years ago.

Construction and totem, original settlement.
Aboriginal people were short in stature.

Haida house outdoor of the Museum.

In the house could be living 20 to 50 people.

Totem was in the front, facing the sea to protect them.

Only a door, no windows and a hole on the roof, in the middle above the fire place.

The Haida territory is the archipelago of Haida Gwaii in northern British Columbia.
Haida society continues to be very engaged in the production of a robust and highly stylized art form, a leading component of Northwest Coast art, frequently expressed in large wooden carvings (totem poles). (wiki-extract)

Charlie James (Yakudla) (1870-1938) carved this sisiyutl for ceremonial use despite federal laws prohibiting the potlatch (1884 - 1951).

Seal and salmon were eaten on this celebration.

A potlatch is a feast, an elaborate ritual and gift-giving economy to evidence the prestige of the donnor. Since the practice was de-criminalized in the post-war years, the potlatch has re-emerged in some communities.

Bill Reid is probably the most appreciated artist in MOA.
The wolf wood sculpture is a master piece.

 "The raven and the first men", best known sculpture, is displayed on the central space of Bill Reid rotunda, along with other works in jewelry.

During my four weeks visiting Vancouver that was a piece of news related to remaining First Nation people at that moment. It seems they don´t like transparency, why? Sorry I don´t know exactly the subject but I have read alike indian communities in the USA they have Casinos on their reserve lands. So something on this way probably.

The Museum is completed with a huge collection of pieces of world arts and culture such as this Buddha whose origin is labeled with the doubt as maybe chinese or japanese.

Next : Downtown

3 Chinese garden

Ginkgo Biloba´s leaves in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver city.

Main courtyard. A classical chinese garden reflecting the Daoist philosophy of yin and yang.

The lake with willow trees is on the other side of the double corridor.

The double corridor divides and link the classical garden with its pond and the adjacent park with the little lake. 

I think she is "Madonna ", the oldest kai fish, orange with two black dots, a must to recognize her among the others.

Rocks symbolizing rugged landscapes and sculptural elements. They were bring from Lake Tai.

Lattice windows always uniques.

From the Jade Water Pavillion.

 Hand-laid pebbled patterns.

This Shuzou style garden reminded me very much the Fukushu en in Naha (Okinawa). It is like a sister garden on my mind.
Fukushu en was constructed in Naha on 1992 while Dr. Sun Yat-Sen the name of this Shuzou city classical chinese garden was open in Vancouver in 1986.
A team of 53 experts spent 13 months on its construction. Vancouver architect Joe Wai and landscape architect Don Vaughan lead it.
Techniques belongs to China, Ming dinasty on the maple hall, no nails screws or glue.

Most of the materials also were shipped from China, hand-fired roof tiles, carved woodwork, lattice windows, limestone rocks and even courtyard pebbles.

As the pamphlet explains too :

The plants portrays seasonal value but further than that,

willows has feminine grace

while plums renewal

pine strength

and bamboo quiet resilience.

I like bamboo.

Next : MOA / Museum of Anthropology

2 Exploring Vancouver

To early to talk to much about Vancouver but in my first two days I can give some impressions.

Vancouver has been spread fast during the last decades, greater Vancouver is now 2.4 millions inhabitants. Downtown is 640.000 inhabitants aprox.

Sky line reminds to me that first toy we had long time ago, exin bricks to build houses, all the same.

Bus boat.

The thin and apparently weak windows reports about an special microclime protected by the gulf stream, rarely including night and extreme winter goes lower than 0ºC.
Few kilometers far, in the close mountains things change dramatically.
Even in UBC, the University in a hill, at urban bus distance, overlooking the Fraser delta one side and Burrard inlet the other over the cliffs is more windy.

Let´s approach to the city following the steps of the work of polish artist Magdalena in Broadway City Hall subway station.

To compare is not good but to me is not possible to avoid. So I will say that Vancouver is a cocktail of Sydney, San Francisco and London, considering the order although for different reasons. Singular geography, urbanism including a tower, a bridge or an skytrain but much more, multicultural population with high gravity on Asian, chinese and japanese since II World War. Japanese community is over 30.000 inhabitants, although part of them in the surrounding area, mostly beside the Columbia river.

It is a modern city, full of skyscrapers in the downtown. Some of them on singular architecture.

But it has livable districts with great atmosphere such as Gastown beside the Waterfront.

The city with the impulse of his enthusiast Major pretend to be the greenest city in the world in 2020. Number of projects are involved on this goal and are being explaining on stands in the streets.

Millenniun Gate on Pender street one of the entrances of Chinatown.








View of Waterfront skyscrapers and tower from Chinatown

 Picture in the Chinese Cultural Center Museum.












Monument to the Chinese Canadians, memorial of this ethnic group hardly accepted first in Canada. They built in very poor conditions the Trans Canadian railway after some of them were deported at time many others remained working hard in works such as Steveston canneries. Chinese worked in that factory while immigrants from Japan did fishery.

Co-op cars are highly developed on this city, is not just a piece of news on the newspapers it is a reality on the streets you can appreciate it very often on the streets.

Chinese district is big and interesting with singularities as the Chinese garden that you will see in my next entry.

Thanks the crow I pick up the black contrasted with the white of the realistic graffiti including chinese proverb.

It was distracting.

Watching this food supermarkets always targeted as pharmacies, what is good for liver, what is good for kidneys, what is good for mind, roots that provides you energy and so on...

Peculiar chinese way of market.

And some blocks from there to the Waterfront, I become literally caught without take in account by a decadent atmosphere not only in the announcement of pretentious past from Hotels but on the extremely dangerous street including a quarrel, dispute with three people fighting.
I have seen on my map that not far from this area is the Museum of the Police, perhaps a good way to dissuade the violence of so many yonkees lying on the streets and walking as wanderers if not zombies.

But, I said two more blocks and...
Chic as Gastown.







And rest of the city could be as King´s road in London.

Oxford street in Sydney.

Shibuya crossing in Tokyo is amazing but this one in Davie street is also a good one to be remarked.

And on the suburbs, out of the downtown, you can see the dimension of a prosperous middle class on this rich country.

Houses some times shared more than one owner. Lined trees in all the streets, with gardens in every house. Superb nature of this rainy city with mild temperature in spite of being so north.

Bicycle use is spread the whole city in spite of hilly streets quite often.

A bit of advertising.

Is this the style hungry in here? 

Don´t look to be so hungry.

We said long time ago in Spain "desarrapado"

Kind of cloths to wear bit broken...
Extremely casual, informal...

I hadn't seen it this Adidas ad up to here.
There is a few years that I like to say that in our western materialist world the differences between right wing and left wing are such as ones prefer Armani while the others are enthusiast of DG.
Adidas is so clear about it that want to work for both. Great !! Honesty wins.

Canadian likes BBQ in Stanley Park.

Is more than a park, a big extension in a  butt of the city with a few beaches, long walks beside the sea or inside. Sydney has also parks like that one.

 One thing you can do with a cutted tree.

Pictures I took of a crane in the lake.

I choose that one now.

This part of Tatlow walk is called "seven sisters", according to the picture describing them on earth some two or three passed away although sons appeared.

Canadian Mounted Police at least.










The Royal one is not so easy to see.
Tourist shops and I guess official buildings in Ottawa.

Curiously the horoscope on a newspaper dedicates an spanish word to me in relation with my situation this time. Fun !


Next : Chinese Garden