China – Shanghai, 24-26 October 2008
The Aquaria, an exclusive Ornamental Fish Exhibition & Conference was sponsores by the Chinese Government for the 3rd time in Shanghai, China, and Heiko Bleher with Aquapress was invited and participated.
Aquaria 2008 in the modern metropolis Shanghai was extreme well organized and world-class. At the Aquaria many beautiful goldfish, Koi, discus and other ornamental fishes were displayed and accessories. The entrance is free to public and to the trade. More than 30 000 visitors came from all over China. Below now you can see some photos of this event.
The Aquaria had three fish categories to be judged, besides the discus and Koi, also the goldfish (above), placed in authentic ceramic bowls, as they do it for centuries and as goldfish should be kept – to look at them from above. That is why they have been bred for centuries to variants, which can be appreciated only from a birds-eye view: from the top
And there were goldfishes almost everywhere (still number one fish in China). Also beautifully displayed…
…on a wall with nice Chinese designs, including…
…really fantastic worked ceramic goldfishes
There were common and extreme rare turtles…
…and the ugly bright red parrot cichlid…
…nice aquarium displays and…
…marine aquariums, but the highlight for me was the invitation to a Golden Palace, the Dynasty Restaurant:
Gold and most expensive and exclusive statues and clocks, carpets and décor, but also a five meter long marine aquarium (below)
Here they served some of the finest of the famous Shanghai cuisine, which is much less complex than its Cantonese or Beijing cousins (like garlic is never used). We had artistically arranged hors d’ouvres of dazzling variety and the signature dish for “the city above the sea” which comes – of course – from its waters. The Dazha crab, also called the “hairy crab”. It is indigenous to the lower reaches of the Yangzi River and begins its journey in May, when millions swim eastwards to the mouth of the river to spawn. The baby crabs swim into connecting rivers and lakes, where they are caught and reared in crab farms. The immense popularity of the endemic hairy crab has instigated the development of crab farms throughout the region, but connoisseurs know that those from the clear Yangcheng Lake are beyond compare and the most elusive and beyond compare, which I had the opportunity to taste here at the Dynasty with the entire high society of China, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Directors of several departments, like…
Lin Li Executive Vice-President and Secretary General of the China Fisheries Association, who invited Heiko for an Expedition to Tibet (centre), or…
…the famous Tommy Wong, President of several companies in China, or…
Prof. Chen Zaizhong from the Shanghai Ocean University…
…here with Heiko at the entrance of the Palace restaurant, and…
…Heiko among the celebrities, and…
…with the most famous Chinese discus breeder Wong Yun Nan (in the red shirt), and the Director of Shanghai Fisheries Department (second from left below)
Shanghai has the second highest tower in the world, the Oriental Pearl, here at night while it rained, next to other amazing buildings, in this what today is one of the most modern cities on Earth
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