Gunkanjima) Hashima Island(, japan

Gunkanjima) Hashima Island(, japan

Few places in the world have a history as very very odd, or as poignant as Gunkanjima's.

Hashima Island, commonly called Gunkanjima (meaning Battleship Island), is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Nagasaki itself. Hashima Island floats off the coast of Nagasaki in Japan, surrounded by a concrete sea wall which gives it an armored warship appearance.

The island got famous because of his unbelievable appearance: surrounded by a sea wall, you will find an entire abandoned city with huge concrete buildings.

In the past Hashima Island was rich in coal, then, Mitsubishi, the owner of the mine, thought it would be more efficient if the employees lives closer to the mines. This is how the island was built as a city, including hospitals, schools, shops, cinemas and even a cemetery.

In 1959, the island was one of the most densely populated areas on earth. On the tiny island (400 x 160 meter), more than 5000 people lived and worked.

When petrol replaced coal as Japan's main source of fuel, Mitsubishi closed the mine, everyone left, and this island city was abandoned, left to revert back to nature. The apartments began to crumble, and for the first time, in the barren courtyards, green things started to grow. Broken glass and old newspapers blew over the streets. The sea-breeze whistled through the windows. Now, fifty years later, the island is exactly as it was just after Mitsubishi left. A ghost town in the middle of the sea.

Everything can be found in that abandoned city: schools, shops, an hospital, clubs, pools, a gymnasium… It is hard to believe that it is truly real until we see it with our own eyes.

From 1974 to 2009, the island was officially closed to all visitors, but recently the intriguing site has been re-opened to organized tours.

Today, Gunkanjima is a tourist attraction (sightseeing boat trips around the island are available) and a backdrop for many films (it served as an inspiration for the villain's lair in the 2012 film "Skyfall"), the ultimate portrait of Japan's industrial ruins.

Fengdu, the “City of Ghosts, China

Fengdu, the “City of Ghosts, China

 

Fengdu, the “City of Ghosts,” is situated about 110 mile (170 kilometers) downstream from Chongqing Municipality on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It attracts tourists from all over China to know about Chinese ghost culture and the afterlife. Visitors are constantly reminded in that place that good is rewarded with good, and evil is rewarded with torturous, and also to see what the Chinese would call a “model of hell.” Fengdu became known as Ghost City in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when two Imperial court officials married and settled on Ming Mountain to practice Taoist teachings. The couples’ surnames combined Yin and Wang “King of Hell” in Chinese. They supposedly became immortals. Thus was born Fengdu City of Ghosts –

There are many statues of ghosts and of devils in the temples which describe the after-life where people who disobey ancient Chinese morals are punished in every horrifying ways. We can see for example Big Demon Ghost – Fengdu – is one of the Big Ghosts guarding the steps leading up to the Pass to Hell

 In the Chinese faith of the afterlife, the person who died must undergo three important tests to enter the netherworld. These tests are taken at three different places – 

Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge (the 'Bridge of Helplessness')

Ghost Torturing Pass 

the Tianzi (son of heaven) Palace.

These three locations are among many attractions in this scenic area.

 Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge (the 'Bridge of Helplessness')

This stone bridge was built during the Ming Dynasty and is a test for Good and Evil. It has three arches and only the middle one is used for testing people. There are different protocols for crossing the bridge depending on sex, age, marital status. At the bridge demons allow or forbid passage. The good are allowed to pass while the evil will be pushed to the water below. This is now done as a tourist attraction and performers characterized as demons momentarily stop tourists on the bridge but finally allow them across.

Ghost Torturing Pass  

In that place they present themselves for judgment before Yama, King of Hell. In this area there are large sculptures of demons.

The Tianzi (son of heaven) Palace. 

That test is done at the entrance to Tianzi Palace where the dead must stand on a certain stone on one foot for three minutes. According to legend a virtuous person will be able to do it while an evil person will fail and be condemned to hell. Tianzi Palace is the largest and oldest building and it is three hundred years old.

 A more recent addition is the Last Glance to Home Tower (also called Home Viewing Pavilion) which was built in 1985 and is placed where according to legend the dead could have one last look towards their home and families.

City Hall Subway Station, New York

City Hall Subway Station, New York

 

The City Hall Subway Station is one of the oldest public transit systems in the world and was the original terminal of New York's subway system. It has long been the country's most comprehensive transportation system.  It was built to benefit the greatest city in the country.

The City Hall Station was the original southern terminus of the first "Manhattan Main Line" built by the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) Company, was designed by Valencian architect Rafael Guastavino who was known for his tile work and is unique among the original IRT stations.

It opened on the evening of October 27, 1904, along with 27 other Interborough Rapid Transit (I.R.T.) stations up to 145th Street on the west side. This ornate station was the showpiece of the New York City subway system .That station is an underground architectural marvel, with tall arched ceilings covered in antique tile and glass skylights that flood the space with natural light from above.

On it the night took on a carnival atmosphere, like New Year's Eve.  Many couples celebrated in style by putting on their best clothes, going out to dinner, and then taking their first subway ride together.  Some people spent the entire evening on the trains, going back and forth from 145th street to City Hall for hours. 

Despite its beauty, the City Hall subway station was never very busy as it was never an important station. In the final year of its use it only handled about 600 passengers a day, due to the much occupied Brooklyn Bridge station. It was located on the turning loop for local trains from uptown, and both those and the express trains could be easily taken at the very nearby Brooklyn Bridge station.

The majestic subway station underneath City Hall has been inactive for more than 70 years, closing for good on December 31, 1945.

In April 1995 it was announced that federal grant money was to be sought to restore City Hall station and open it as a branch of the Transit Museum, but it is within City Hall's protected zone, and so worries about terrorism have kept it closed. 

These days the best way to see the City Hall station in person is to stay on the downtown 6 as it loops toward the uptown platform after its final stop.