Photo Gallery

Ancient Oriental Yachting

The two mosaics shown in the photos above depict a private yacht owned by a Chinese warlord circa 1360 AD.

It was dismantled piece by piece from its original location in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong where it now graces one of the outer walls of the Chinese Historical Society on the Hong Kong waterfront.

The vessel is obviously not a warship or commercial vessel, but a pleasure craft. No doubt that among the pleasures it offers are a few that Bill Clinton would most appreciate.

Depicted in a sequential mural, perhaps the story being told here is that yachting was not without its demons back in those days.

Either that, or that people in high places had  women troubles, too, as the vessel disappears and turns into a winged serpent, hounded by all manner of demons.

Oddly enough, as the photo below shows, the all wood, teak, junk-style yacht is highly preferred amongst the Chinese and still predominates. Notice the similarities between the boats above and below.