How do we know this watching station ( yellow ) photo was being taken on 1950s Cheung Chau?
To my understanding, there was no other nearby building overlooking it, if it was on CC.
The white patches on the ground, in the yard and over the roof are all look like snow blankets after a heavy snowfall, maybe a while ago! Was it possible to check the weather record of the time indicated for such confirmation ?
Looking at the shadows casted on by the sunlight, the wall with an entrance should be at the southern perimenter of the site..
Thanks for tons of clues from the other photos suggested at gwulo. I am satisfied, except if there wasn't any snowfall, then what was the white stuff in the photo ?
or it was really after a snowfall, a rare weather happened!
It was indeed a very special and unique photo record!! It strongly suggests a snowfall landscape!!
I remember that in the old winter day, some days were really cold and my parents bought big basket of yams for the family to acquire the dietary heat amount enough to keep our body warm. There were days the temperature would drop below the freezing point with the Wind Chill Factor considered if that particular area was facing the strongest winds, on the near freezing days.
With a sudden influx of some very wet air, it is just a simple physic for the snowfall to appear!! I would imagine the people at the station would immediately call upon for an aerial shot over the rare scenario! But it was a very small snowfall, the photo indicated only an aftermath remained.
By looking at trees and building, those three different photos of the coast watching station on CC island, at gwulo, must be of few years apart from each other! And they were being photographed from a same higher point at the bungalow nearby. It seems to be a special task for a group of specialist. The evidence of snowfall is very obvious and real for anyone but it seems to be highly unlikely to the CC islanders. The snow covered only around the building site and the over the field of radio antenna. There is never a folk story about Snowing on the Cheung Chau. So what do you think of this mystery!
My honest guess is very simple.
Since the station was built to be a coast watching facility, it requires a testing to ensure all the equipment of mechanical, optical, electrical, electronic and radio hardware would work well. In the 1940s and 50s, cold temperature can greatly change the operating characteristic of some electronic hardware badly. Back then technology belonged to the vacuum tube era which was very temperature-sensitive and the operator needed to re-calibrate their instruments in compensation for equipment effectiveness! So a simulation of snowfall test has to be done.
The Snowfall was likely an artificial set-up from a snow making machine! They probably did the Snowfall Test when new electric and/or electronic equipment were installed. Nevertheless the War Department got to made sure their station could working well even in snowing days!!
Who cares about Snowing on Cheung Chau!! They did that just over a very small piece of area without upsetting any CC residents!!
Comments
A bit too hard to believe
How do we know this watching station ( yellow ) photo was being taken on 1950s Cheung Chau?
To my understanding, there was no other nearby building overlooking it, if it was on CC.
The white patches on the ground, in the yard and over the roof are all look like snow blankets after a heavy snowfall, maybe a while ago! Was it possible to check the weather record of the time indicated for such confirmation ?
Looking at the shadows casted on by the sunlight, the wall with an entrance should be at the southern perimenter of the site..
Head Spinning!!
Tung
.
Re: ADMIRALTY LOT NO.12 Coast Watching Station, Cheung Chau
Hi Tung,
I believe there is an existing and related node:
https://gwulo.com/node/55136
T
Very interesting indeed!
Thanks for tons of clues from the other photos suggested at gwulo. I am satisfied, except if there wasn't any snowfall, then what was the white stuff in the photo ?
or it was really after a snowfall, a rare weather happened!
?
Tung
It was quite likely after a snowfall on CC!!
It was indeed a very special and unique photo record!! It strongly suggests a snowfall landscape!!
I remember that in the old winter day, some days were really cold and my parents bought big basket of yams for the family to acquire the dietary heat amount enough to keep our body warm. There were days the temperature would drop below the freezing point with the Wind Chill Factor considered if that particular area was facing the strongest winds, on the near freezing days.
With a sudden influx of some very wet air, it is just a simple physic for the snowfall to appear!! I would imagine the people at the station would immediately call upon for an aerial shot over the rare scenario! But it was a very small snowfall, the photo indicated only an aftermath remained.
? or !
Tung
1950s Naval Coast Watching Station, Cheung Chau
A similar photo received. Source unknown. Strange to see the “whiteness” of the ground in both photos. Claimed to be a Cheung Chau photo.
Snowfall Around CC Admiralty Station
By looking at trees and building, those three different photos of the coast watching station on CC island, at gwulo, must be of few years apart from each other! And they were being photographed from a same higher point at the bungalow nearby. It seems to be a special task for a group of specialist. The evidence of snowfall is very obvious and real for anyone but it seems to be highly unlikely to the CC islanders. The snow covered only around the building site and the over the field of radio antenna. There is never a folk story about Snowing on the Cheung Chau. So what do you think of this mystery!
My honest guess is very simple.
Since the station was built to be a coast watching facility, it requires a testing to ensure all the equipment of mechanical, optical, electrical, electronic and radio hardware would work well. In the 1940s and 50s, cold temperature can greatly change the operating characteristic of some electronic hardware badly. Back then technology belonged to the vacuum tube era which was very temperature-sensitive and the operator needed to re-calibrate their instruments in compensation for equipment effectiveness! So a simulation of snowfall test has to be done.
The Snowfall was likely an artificial set-up from a snow making machine! They probably did the Snowfall Test when new electric and/or electronic equipment were installed. Nevertheless the War Department got to made sure their station could working well even in snowing days!!
Who cares about Snowing on Cheung Chau!! They did that just over a very small piece of area without upsetting any CC residents!!
Tung