CHINA

1993
 After lazing around in the Philippines, I decided to visit friends in China. I took the train from Hong Kong to Beijing to visit them at Beijing Waiyu Xueyuan (Beijing Foreign Language Institute) - this may sound simple enough but keep in mind that it was a three day journey during a year when China was experiencing record migration numbers due to Chinese New Year movement.

I was lucky enough to make friends with a Chinese student in the bunk below me who spoke English. She and her father were returning to Beijing after spending the New Year with their family in Guangzhou. My month in Beijing confirmed my lifelong interest in Asia if not my love of freezing weather and coal heating!

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Published
December 1997
China's past looking out at China's future - We saw this man in the administrative district of Beijing that stands just outside of the Forbidden City's walls.
Dancers in the park bring a little color to Beijing's Winter. "Outside dancing" is a popular hobby of many elderly people in urban China.
I felt a little embarrassed about peeking into this doorway, but I hope this picture was worth it. It shows a typical traditional style courtyard which three homes surround.
Giles and I are on a section of the Wall that is pretty close to Beijing - what a view! Near this spot I saw my first domestic camel napping by the roadside!
A forbidden city doorway makes a perfect frame for me. In the background you can see Jingshan Hill with the Arbor of Ten Thousand Springs at its peak.
The inner courts of the Forbidden city have fantastic colors that are specific to northern China.
These golden Forbidden City guardians at the Gate of Heavenly Purity certainly do their job well - intimidating those with ill intentions and awing those with good.
This gang was used to store water in case of fire on the palace grounds.
Here is Tiananmen which stands between the Forbidden City and the now infamous square where a violent suppression of democracy demonstrators took place in 1989. The area in front of Tiananmen was a tradition place for demonstrating protest in imperial China as well as now. It also served as Mao's rostrum from whence he addressed the nation.
The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a the model of Ming Dynasty architecture known for its round roof. Here at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests the emperor would observe rites and ceremonies only he could perform for the peace and prosperity of the country.
This Tibetan style building graces the hillside at the Summer Palace outside of Beijing. The bells on its corners are a beautiful sound during the windy Winter.