Shenzhen

Photographer's Note

I’m just back from a quick trip to Interlaken, so thought I would post a picture from there in case I am boring anyone with my Greenland postings.

No, I haven’t posted this under the wrong country – this is Interlaken, China - not Interlaken, Switzerland, but the similarities are entirely intentional.

This is a replica of the Swiss Interlaken that has been built by the Chinese property developer, OCT Group, at a place they have called OCT East – a nine sq km eco-tourism development in the mountains north-east of Shenzhen city in Yantian district.

The OCT Group have spent about US$430 million over the past three years building a five-star resort and spa, golf courses, the Interlaken village, an ancient tea town (you may ask why they need to build a ‘fake’ one when there are so many real ones in China!), a 1,400 seat theatre, a large man-made waterfall, a viaduct for a Disneyland type steam train that takes tourists through reforested valleys, and all sorts of other Disney-ish attractions.

These sorts of artificial environments are not normally to my taste, but I have to say they have done a good job here incorporating an existing tea plantation into the development and a massive amount of reforestation – even a cynic like me found it quite a relaxing place for a couple of days.

It has only been open for three weeks, so perhaps it won’t be so relaxing when hordes of people from Hong Kong and Shenzhen start descending on it. You can be in OCT East in less than two hours from the centre of Hong Kong (and that’s allowing for half an hour to get through immigration and customs at the Chinese border) so I would imagine this will become a popular respite from the muggy summer weather for Hong Kong residents once they get to know about this place.

I would guess that the mist in the background is about 95% low cloud and 5% air pollution as this place is close to the Pearl River delta, an industrial region that produces a lot of the air pollution from which Hong Kong suffers these days. However, up here in the mountains the air pollution is not so bad, so that’s probably another reason that this resort will attract a lot of local business.

scroller, AyseGurel, cessy, plimrn, riclopes, jhm, pboehringer, adores, ChrisJ, stego, AiresSantos, Angshu, xuaxo, brevbrev14, Yffic heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

alive (1362) 2007-08-27 7:24

Olá!
Excelente imagem.
Muita qualidade. Gosto imenso das cores e nitidez.
parabéns.
luis.

AyseGurel (574) 2007-08-27 7:32

Hello;
marvelous capture..with gold colour;with reflections on the water;with foggy at the left top..very impressive.
TFS
ayse

scroller (3451) 2007-08-27 7:33

HI David,
Very intresting note and a nice picture.
tfs
/Stefan

andante (7092) 2007-08-27 7:44

Hi David, did a workshop for you trying to enhance the color palette. Included the various steps. Hope you find it helpful.
Enrique

[workshop] [compare] +

sedaeristurk (457) 2007-08-27 8:07

A mystic and interesting capture.Well done.TFS.Seda

wolf38 (30) 2007-08-27 8:45

Hello David. Wonderfully, as titles, photo and text complement each other. There is actual the yellow picture elements, which constitute the attraction of this photo. Very interesting and worth seeing. Best regards, Wolfgang.

cessy (13647) 2007-08-27 15:31

:O Interlaken in china ... :O
very good capture of the place, David
looks so quiet and nobody there, the mist give extra atmosphere to the quietness
your note also amusing

batalay (41261) 2007-08-28 10:29

Hello David,

Fascinating note accompanying an exquisite image. The atmosphere, I think, is unmistakably Chinese. I like both the original and the workshop by Enrique. Including the reeds in the foreground is an excellent touch.

Warm regards,

Bulent

plimrn (21344) 2007-08-28 18:00

Hi David,
Wonderful framing accross the reeds and the tea house to the golden statues and the misty reflections in the lake. I do like the golds and greens. The note is very interesting as well.

Having never been to the real thing, I perused the TE photos of the Swiss one. Your photo is one of the prettiest. I'll have to reserve judgement on a comparison between the actual sites until I see your version of the Swiss Interlaken but I suspect that the mountains don't quite measure up.
HLJ, Pat

vincz (19113) 2007-08-29 0:27

This is a very fascinating and beautiful image. The gold, the mist... Su surprising to realize that this place is a fake... Amazing... A great picture in any case.

riclopes (35577) 2007-08-29 8:41

Olá David, I keep being surprised by chinese people and this artificial place is just another strange thing in their culture. You problably did the visit at the best time, when it's not so well known. I would mind visiting such an artificial place, although your picture shows an apparent nice setting with all the yellow building and elements shinning in this foggy atmosphere. This misty weather was a constant in the country when I visited. The WS of Enrique is quite attractive, although I agree that a bit of the mist is lost. Your framing is great and the note is very good, as usual.
Cheers,
ricardo

jhm (211736) 2007-08-29 9:33

Hello David,

I thought to Switzerland when I saw your title, but also a name in Chine have Interlaken.
Nice yellow statues with a wonderful reflection too.
The misty atmosphere make this picture very attractive.
Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day,
John.

kensimage (8563) 2007-08-29 11:14

It kind of stretches the concept of "eco-tourism" when everything is fake and there are that many massive buildings around. (Pretty soon a stroll through Central Park in New York City will quality as eco-tourism.) It's an interesting place, though--the clouds, mist and general atmosphere say "China" but the buildings do look Swiss. Nice POV for the shot to get good natural framing of the scene, David. Regards, Ken.

anducina (8407) 2007-08-30 10:14

Beautiful compo in gold and silver. I like the misty atmosphere, the impressive architecture and those reflections. Excellent POV.

TFS,

Andreea

pboehringer (770) 2007-08-30 10:39

David,
the image and documentation are certainly very good and valuable, but I have to admit that I still prefer the real Interlaken. It seems that the copy is perfect, they even got the fog right ;-)
Your framing with the plants in the foreground is perfect as usual and I like the golden refelctions that fit quite well with the yellow of the buildings.
Regards, Peter

adores (46979) 2007-08-30 17:23

Hi David!
Very good composition with these yellow buildings in the mist. Nice sculptures in the lake, good reflections, even these plants in the foreground worked well. Very good capture!

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2007-08-31 0:34

It is gorgeous and simple with nice soft colours. Looks like magic and mysterious.
Best wishes,
Achim

ChrisJ (171852) 2007-08-31 6:14

Hi David

Thanks for showing this. I've been through Shenzhen many times & never heard of this place. The overcast day adds mood & atmosphere. Good colour & sharpness. Tfs!

prumod (8300) 2007-08-31 9:13

hi david...
this soft tones of blueish green and the presence of fog is very good attraction... that golden colored sculpture gives a marvelous contrast...
greetings...

stego (24132) 2007-08-31 13:42

Hi David,
Although I have never been to Switzerland, it's really true that the view looks very Alpine. Your pov is wonderful and you achieved well using that haze and diffuse light to make it even more dreamy.
TfS, Regards, José.

AiresSantos (56155) 2007-09-01 5:20

Hi David,
Wonderful conposition with great colours. Gorgeous fog effect and reflections. Nice reflections on the water and very good note
Thanks for sharing and greetings
Aires

Stepan (27210) 2007-09-02 1:52

A cool misty and swiss mood. The place looks quiet, silent in the mist. As if nobody was living there.
The golden statue (music notes ?) provide colors and contrast. Well composed.
Stéphane

Angshu (56760) 2007-09-04 20:45

Hello David
Wonderfully framed using the tall reeds and the building in the FG, carrying on to the golden statues & then the Swiss chalet replicas. Nice reflections, but the best part is the mist or low cloud as you stated in your note and the misty reflections in the lake. A very well written note, reading which I learnt something new. The mist, as I said adds to the mood, but also creates a bland dull sky. But this place does look very relaxing. I like the picture David.
Regards
Angshu

michael-sean (51) 2007-10-07 20:45

Great shot I have ben to this Wonderful place in Aug. I am coming back to OCT East . in Dec. The show the put on in the theater in the Park is a great show .

xuaxo (6854) 2007-10-14 13:06

Hi David,
I know there is a fake English town in China, and a few days ago I learned about a fake Paris also. So, this Interlaken is not big surprise ;-)
I guess the Chinese are just doing the same like the Americans with the Disnelylands, Las Vegas, etc.
Well, fake or real, indeed this resulted in a beautiful picture.
Regards,
F

Yffic (6106) 2007-11-14 5:28

Hi David,

I like very much this picture:
first the subject is very interresting with this chinese copy of Interlaken: what a strange idea to copy an european village
second, the picture is well made: nice POV, good composition and shaprness...

Thanks for your share.

Regards.

Yves

brevbrev14 (140) 2007-11-14 5:59

Hi David, the fog and the grays tones creats a great atmosphere here..
the image is really well composed and taken..with a very good contrast..
interesting place!
ciao!
Valeria

jcdurka1 (1950) 2008-03-18 10:45

Great lake capture where the house in the right foreground open very well the view to the rest of the picture.
Well done,
Jean-Claude