Chinese city rethinks renaming mountain after Avatar

by Kraig Becker on

A few days back we posted a story about how the Chinese city of Zhangjiajie, located in the southern Hunan Province, had renamed a mountain in the region after the blockbuster film Avatar, which is said to have found inspiration in the nearby landscapes. Now, according to ABC News, officials from the city are back peddling, denying that they changed the name at all, following online backlash over the affair.

Earlier in the week it was reported that a ceremony was held on Monday to officially rename a local peak formerly, known as “Southern Sky Column”, to “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”. According to local oficials, a Hollywood photographer was in the area back in 2008 taking photos of the mountain, and those images would go on to inspire director James Cameron to create the floating mountains that wowed audiences in the film.

As word of the name change spread across China however, there was an outcry amongst the citizens there. The local government officials in Zhangjiajie were accused of being greedy and too accepting of western culture when they hastily renamed the mountain after the movie, which has been extremely popular with Chinese audiences.The choice to rename th e mountain was so unpopular in fact that an online poll logged a vote of 54,619 against the move, with just 5,897 in favor.

The sudden change in heart also signals a shift in the city’s tourism plans as well. Local guides were already offering “Avatar Pandora Tours”, but considering the public outrage, it seems the region will have to rethink their marketing strategy.

Five art exhibitions you must see this year

by Sean McLachlan on

Art lovers, take note, 2010 is shaping up to be a great year for exhibitions. Here are five of the best, but there are plenty more than these!

Tokyo
It’s hard to beat Japanese art for sheer naturalistic beauty, and the Tokyo National Museum has an extensive collection of the best. See the work of one of the great Japanese masters in Hasegawa Tohaku: 400th Memorial Retrospective. This painter, who died in 1610, specialized in nature and Buddhist subjects, and you can see an example of his work in this post. The delicacy and ethereal quality of Japanese landscapes always gives me goosebumps. The exhibition runs from February 23 to March 22.

Madrid
Spain’s famous Museo Nacional del Prado is hosting The Art of Power: Arms, Armour and Paintings from the Spanish Court. This is a collection of weapons and armor from Spain’s Golden Age, along with paintings by important Spanish artists emphasizing Spain’s military might at a time when the country ruled most of the New World. Many of the suits or armor were the personal property of important kings such as Philip II. The show will be on from March 8 to May 16.

London
From March 4-June 6 the British Museum will have Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa. Ife was an important kingdom from the 12th to the 15th centuries in what is now Nigeria. Its artists specialized in creating human sculptures in brass, terracotta, and stone. I caught this when it was in Madrid last year and it was amazed at the level of artistic achievement in a civilization I’m ashamed to say I knew almost nothing about. The thing that most impressed me was how lifelike the sculptures were. I felt like I was staring into the faces of priests and kings who have been dead for five hundred years. My kid preferred the statue of the crocodile god.Paris
For something a bit more grim, go to the Musée d’Orsay between March 15 and June 27 for Crime and Punishment: 1791-1981. The dates refer to the year of the first call in France to abolish the death penalty and the year it was actually abolished. The exhibition is a series of paintings with crime as their theme, by famous artists such as Picasso, Goya, and Magritte. There are also paintings of capital punishment, showing that crime does not pay, at least some of the time. This show is disturbing enough that it comes with a warning label, a bit like the Eros exhibit of ancient erotic art in Athens, which you can still catch until April 5.

New York City
If you want to see something right now, The Museum of Modern Art is showcasing the work of director Tim Burton until April 26. It’s a collection of more than seven hundred drawings, storyboards, puppets, and other items from his films. There’s also a large collection of his personal artwork that even most of his fans have never seen. They’re showing his movies too!

Chihuahuas by the dozens on planes

by Jamie Rhein on

Virgin America and American Airlines are rescuing Chihuahuas from California by the dozens. As it turns out, California is not a place to be a Chihuahua. There are just too many of them. When Chihuahuas became the dog flavor of the day, thanks to the movies “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and “Legally Blond,” and the Chihuahua carrying habits of celebrities like Paris Hilton, dog breeders overshot the numbers of Chihuahuas. Supply, in essence, overshot the demand.

The numbers are astounding. 4,700 Chihuahuas have been taken in by animal shelters in California this year, some from owners who couldn’t afford their dog any more due to the recession.

Thankfully, people on the east coast don’t have enough small dogs so Virgin America and Project Flying Chihuahua, and American Airlines and Kinder4Rescue, a non-profit started by actress Katherine Heigl, are taking the Chihuahuas there. The Chihuahuas have a discounted fee and money is being raised to help with the Chihuahua rescue efforts. So far Chihuahuas are going by air to New Hampshire and New York City.

Dogs have also been sent to Arizona, Washington and Oregon, but by S.U.V.

There is a chance that Virgin America may offer a week of half price trips to people who are willing to take a Chihuahua to New York from California. This doesn’t mean you’d be the one adopting the dog, just the one helping it make it to its new home.

Five major changes to North Korean tourism in 2009

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Fewer than 1,500 Americans have been to North Korea on vacation, according to Koryo Tours, making it one of the truly remote destinations in a world that’s becoming increasingly interconnected. So, if you’re looking for an unusual stamp in your passport or bragging rights when the conversation turns to “most unusual destination,” a trip above the DMZ remains one of the top alternatives.

If you have set expectations of what a trip to North Korea entails, prepare to have them shattered. Sure, they tend to include the basics that you’ve seen in countless travelogues and news stories, but new sites do open up. Look for a few surprises in 2010, though as one would expect, there are no guarantees.

Below, look for five ways that tourism has changed in North Korea this year. Some of them will surprise you.

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1. Cell phones, cell phones everywhere
Cell phone use is on the rise in North Korea, according to Koryo Tours, which says, “tens of thousands of units have been sold to local residents in the past 12 months.” But, if you’re heading over to Pyongyang this year, you won’t be among the people chatting away. Visitors still aren’t allowed to take their own phones into the country.

2. Foreign grub is now on the menu
Pyongyang is now home to two new pizza joints and a fast food burger place. These come on top of a fried chicken restaurant that opened in 2008.

3. Americans played soccer
A match between the Beijing Chaoyang Park Rangers and a local DPRK club was the first amateur contest in which Americans participated.

4. The movies found romance
Filmmaker (and tour guide) Nick Bonner is trying something new. Following three documentaries on North Korean life and culture (one of which involved American defectors), he’s now working on a romantic comedy. When the film comes out, you may be able to remember visiting some of what you see in the background (just a guess — few details have been released).

5. Short tours were available
Koryo Tours ran a series of short tours to Pyongyang for Arirang this year, which made the destination more accessible to westerners gripped by a global financial crisis.

So, if you’re thinking about a return trip, the scene might look a little different in Pyongyang this time around. Whether you’re going to dig into some kimchi or some pizza and beer, you’ll find something exciting in this corner of the world. Keep an eye on Arirang in September; hopefully Koryo Tours will repeat the deals it ran this year!

If you’re worried about your safety, don’t. You could have a considerable amount of trouble if you enter North Korea illegally, but according to Koryo Tours, organized tours are quite safe, and the company hasn’t had any problems.

The Drifter documentary now on DVD

by Grant Martin on

Drifter Trailer from Poor Specimen on Vimeo.

The Drifter film just finished it’s autumn tour around the United States and is officially making its way around the adventure and surf circuit. The film centers around the writings of legendary surfer Rob Machado and his time spent in the South China Sea, exploring, learning and well, drifting. More potently, however, the topic strikes home for any long term traveler or lover of the Pacific Island culture, and having been there myself I find the film engaging.

With what appears to be a limited tour and release, tracking the film down to see in theaters may be a bit of a challenge, but if you’re inspired enough by the trailer to order the DVD, it looks like a solid documentary.

[Via The Cleanest Line]