Archive for the 'Photos' Category

Beijing: The Signage

October 3rd, 2006

Seen near Tiananmen Square: this sign.
What does it mean? I can only guess. Neither our Chinese guide nor our Beijing bus driver knew what it stood for.
The final consensus from our group: “no car bombs allowed”.

Beijing: Create Your Own Postcard

September 30th, 2006

In response to my last post, reader Xiaoniu commented with this set of images (one, two, three) of some rather strikingly blue skies during his trip to Beijing. While they’re not quite as photogenic as the postcards I showed, they do come very close. I would much appreciate it if any readers with Beijing experience […]

Beijing: The Smog

September 27th, 2006

Here’s a little something I whipped up: a comparison between the postcards I bought in Beijing and the actual photos I took at each landmark.
True, I was only in Beijing for three days, but I saw enough to know that the sky is never as blue that low on the horizon as the postcard images […]

Beijing: The Ride In

September 27th, 2006

Our group took the train to Beijing. It was a fourteen hour ride, but I’m glad we did it.
I can sum up how important passenger trains have become back in the U.S. with the observation that the ride reminded me more of Harry Potter than Amtrak. Trains were once the cornerstone of the American experience, […]

The Northern Capital

September 24th, 2006

I just returned from a weekend excursion to Beijing. After I finish coughing up the last wad of soot-filled phlegm and get myself a good night’s sleep, I’ll begin posting a recap of my visit to the Land of 10,000 Tower Cranes.