Photos from Beijing
Beijing is a haven for burned-out expats, so a large number of the restaurants in the “hip” neighborhoods are ethnic: Pakistani, American, British, Italian… it took 3 days before we got a chance to eat real, honest-to-god Chinese food. This was my first meal – soup noodles with lettuce and chilies. It was fantastic.
As I’m sure you’re aware, China is the (very) proud host of the 2008 summer Olympics. These are all over the city. They are very, very, very, very, very, very, very excited.
This is the Martyrs’ Memorial in TianAnMen Square. It is enormous and impressive, positioned like a sundial between Mao’s Mausoleum and the southern gate of the Forbidden City, which is known to the Party as the Palace Museum – to demystify it and distance contemporary China from its Imperial past.
This is a large statue of workers that greets visitors to the mausoleum, which, unfortunately, was under construction during our visit.
Here he is, the Chairman himself. There was some construction going on (lots of that – in preparation for the Olympics, all must be spic and span), so he is flanked by scaffolding.
It is impossible to do justice to the immense architecture of the Forbidden City through these small photographs, but here are a few attempts:
*Note: due to a bizarre quirk of digital fate and the restrictions placed on Internet use in this country, I am unable to view my own photos, either on my photo server, flickr.com, or my own blog. Therefore, I have no idea how these appear to readers in the States, or even if they are visible. It also makes selection and layout something of a weird challenge. I described it to one as being something like performing surgery by remote control. In the dark. In any case, I welcome your comments, and if the pictures are not coming through, please let me know. Our connection is so slow that it takes between 5 and 10 minutes to attach each one, as well, so if you are interested in viewing the entire Beijing collection, please visit my photo page.
Photos are brilliantly clear and very interesting! I also went to your photo page and
enjoyed those as well. You have enough for a gallery showing! I also enjoyed the
one of Paul. He looks like he is having a great time. Give him a hug from me.
Your husband is nice!
Ditto Elaine’s on photos. This is my first time to get a visual of Paul–thanks, he’s the handsome and interesting face I expected but could not conjure on my own. As you make your way through China, I’m revisiting my own memories of the place, changed SO much since 1981. The vicarious journey you’re providing is a wonder.