China Archives - Robert Frew

China’s Fourth Aircraft Carrier

China’s Fourth Aircraft Carrier Type 004 – Jiangnan Shipyard

Is this China Type 004 aircraft carrier under construction? — Is this China’s Type 004 aircraft carrier under construction at Jiangnan shipyard? Image © 2023 Maxar Technologies – Google.com

Is this China’s fourth aircraft carrier Type 004 under construction at Jiangnan Shipyard, Changxing Island, Shanghai? Well, it appears to be (see addendum). There are numerous online reports that China is planning a fourth aircraft carrier – possibly larger than the Type 003 Fujian, and with nuclear propulsion. To date, there have been no definitive reports of the Type 004 being constructed; although an Australian tabloid newspaper reported that steel plate cutting for the ship began in December 2017. I was therefore surprised to see this recent satellite image on the Google Earth website, showing the advanced construction of an aircraft carrier at Jiangnan Shipyard.
Continue reading “China’s Fourth Aircraft Carrier”

Shenfei Aviation Expo Park

Shenfei Aviation Expo Park (Shenyang Aviation Corporation)

A while ago, pre-Covid days, I had the opportunity to visit the Shenfei Aviation Expo Park, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. The park is located at Lingbei Street, in the Huangqu district of Shenyang, located in Northeast China. Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) is an alternative name for the Shenfei manufacturing plant.

The Shenfei Aviation Expo Park covers an area of 25000 sq metres, which includes a museum dedicated to the history and development of Chinese fighter aircraft and aviation science. Outdoors, there is a fighter planes display park area showing important landmark fighter aircraft.
Continue reading “Shenfei Aviation Expo Park”

Shenyang WW2 Allied Prisoners Camp Site Museum – Mukden POW Camp

Shenyang WW2 Allied Prisoners Camp Site Museum– Site of Mukden POW Camp

In 2017, I sought out the site of Mukden Allied Prisoner of War Camp in Shenyang, Liaoning province, Northeast China. Mukden Camp, also known as Hoten Camp, was located on the outskirts of Mukden, present-day Shenyang. The former POW site, at Di Tan Street, in the Dadong district of Shenyang, is now the location of the Shenyang WWII Allied Prisoners Camp Museum. It has one of the best preserved examples of an Allied POW camp. At the time of my visit, the new museum had not been completed.
Continue reading “Shenyang WW2 Allied Prisoners Camp Site Museum – Mukden POW Camp”

London Wine Fair – 2019 Revisited

The London Wine Fair 2019 revisited. A look back at a selection of wines and spirits from exhibitors at the 2019 London Wine Fair. This annual UK wine fair proved once again why it is the best!
Continue reading “London Wine Fair – 2019 Revisited”

COVID-19 Wuhan medications

Wuhan Celebration Illuminations — Wuhan celebration illuminations – 76 days of lockdown ended 8th April 2020

The novel coronavirus, now designated SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), was identified in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on the 7th January 2020. This specific coronavirus causes the disease COVID-19, and there have been unofficial reports of confirmed cases going back to 17th November 2019. Subsequently, the world has seen a race to identify which medications could stop or alleviate the symptoms from this highly infectious disease.

A few weeks ago a colleague of mine living in Wuhan, China, was tested positive for the disease COVID-19, and spent 20 days quarantined in an emergency hospital. After being treated with the medications prescribed below, my colleague has now fully recovered. There is currently much debate and experimentation on the type of medications that might effectively inhibit and/or alleviate the symptoms of COVID-19. I have recently obtained a picture from my recovered colleague, which shows the medications that were used for COVID-19 treatment at a Wuhan hospital. Continue reading “COVID-19 Wuhan medications”

Huawei 5G : UK Conundrum or US False Flag?

For some time the UK, under pressure from the US, has dillied and dallied about the installation of Huawei 5G equipment in the UK. Lack of leadership, a UK conundrum or a US false flag? Should it bow to US pressure and ban outright Huawei 5G equipment on national security grounds, or allow Huawei’s 5G more advanced and cheaper technology?
Continue reading “Huawei 5G : UK Conundrum or US False Flag?”

Dalian – Japanese, Russian and Soviet Historic Buildings

I recently travelled along the Shenyang-Dalian Expressway (also known as the Shenda Expressway) in Liaoning province, China. This is a 400km motorway from Shenyang, in central Liaoning province, to Dalian, which is at the southernmost tip of the Liaodong peninsular. My destination was the beautiful Jinshitan scenic area of northeast Dalian and the Golden pebble beach, known as Jinshitan (金石滩).

Having some knowledge of Dalian’s historical past, I was equally keen to track down and visit Japanese and Russian built heritage. My search began at Zhongshan Square, in the centre of Dalian city.
Continue reading “Dalian – Japanese, Russian and Soviet Historic Buildings”

London Wine Fair – 2018

The 38th London Wine Fair, with over 14,000 wines from 40 countries available for tasting, was a truly fantastic wine event for buyers, sommeliers and anyone involved with the wine industry.

This year, the event seemed somewhat physically smaller. Nevertheless, there were still many exciting wine (and spirit) discoveries to be made.

Here are some highlights from the Fair – the tastings that I enjoyed and the good experiences. As a matter of course, I am not providing any tasting notes as these can be found on the relevant winery/merchant website. Of course, many wines demanded to be matched with food, which really is another dimension and demands another article!
Continue reading “London Wine Fair – 2018”

37th London Wine Fair – 2017

The London Wine Fair, with over 10,000 wines to sample, is always an event of fascinating wine discoveries. From the chalk downs terroir of Hampshire, England to the arid lands of the Turpan Valley, Xinjiang, China; and from the chalky-clay and gravelly soils of Bergerac, Dordogne, to the sandy, chalky, limestone-rich soils of Valencia, Spain – there were some amazing tasting experiences.

For the first tastings, I decided to concentrate on the numerous smaller French producers of Champagne. I was particularly impressed with the high standard from these lesser-known producers. Naturally Champagne tastes vary, and if food matching is normally a case of complementing the food against grape (varieties) and added sugar. So I am just going to list those champagnes that I enjoyed the most.
Continue reading “37th London Wine Fair – 2017”