11,000 Words
As penance for being so lazy I'm updating again and including a lot of pictures from our trip last summer. Enjoy!
First up is a photo from right here in good ol' Chengxian. This is a shot of the lotus blossoms in the library fountain on campus here.
Next is a shot of some of the artwork on display in one of the museums of the Forbidden City in Beijing. This is ceramic and absolutely amazing work. This one is for Garrett.
Here's a photo of Chairman Mao Zedong at the front of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The word is that the government has several copies of this picture on reserve and can replace it in a very short amount of time, should it become defaced.
Beijing is a place where families go on vacation, much like Americans often journey to Washington D.C. Here is a father taking his son's photograph in Tiananmen Square. You can see the Chairman Mao portrait in the background.
A trip to Beijing (or China) wouldn't be complete without seeing the Great Wall. This is the most famous and popular part of the wall at Badaling. It is very touristy and it seems you can't go five feet without some tout trying to get you buy something. I've been to the westernmost point of the Great Wall and although it isn't nearly as impressive in size, I prefer it because it just seems less restored and, therefore, more authentic.
Now for a jaunt westward to the city of Xi'an. This is on the grounds of the Big Goose Pagoda in Xi'an. There are a number of out buildings that once operated as a school for monks. They now work as a series of museums and stores.
Here's Shell and I and the actual Big Goose Pagoda or 大雁塔 Dayan Ta. It has been around since about 700 AD. To give you some perspective on how old this thing was: the Vikings hadn't reached their stride of their European raids and Islam was just in its beginning stages. Translation: it is *old*!
Back to Beijing one more time to see the Beijing Lamasery. It is a beautiful place. The highlight of the lamasery is a statue of Buddha carved out of a single piece of wood that stands well over two stories tall. This is a couple of people offering prayers at an altar on the grounds of the lamasery.
This blurry picture is included because it has a good story behind it. The guy in the photo is one of 9473987439847 salesman in Shanghai who pester folks (Especially foreigners: they have money and are obviously not policemen...so they are good targets.) to buy whatever they may be hiding in their pockets. This guy was selling fake Rolex watches. It was getting late and we were walking back to our hotel and had been approached by a lot of these guys. I decided that the next one who came up would get his picture taken. He came up and I raised my camera toward him....then he sprinted away as fast as he could! Victory!
Back home in Chengxian. I had a college professor who once told me that if you ever want to find out about a culture you should always go to the market. There you can find out what foods people eat, what they use in their daily lives, and what is important to them. Here is a shot from the market. I thought the colors of the veggies here made for a good shot.
This is a photo of the lotus garden at the poet Dufu's cottage in Chengdu, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I think this shot turned out great.
First up is a photo from right here in good ol' Chengxian. This is a shot of the lotus blossoms in the library fountain on campus here.
Next is a shot of some of the artwork on display in one of the museums of the Forbidden City in Beijing. This is ceramic and absolutely amazing work. This one is for Garrett.
Here's a photo of Chairman Mao Zedong at the front of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The word is that the government has several copies of this picture on reserve and can replace it in a very short amount of time, should it become defaced.
Beijing is a place where families go on vacation, much like Americans often journey to Washington D.C. Here is a father taking his son's photograph in Tiananmen Square. You can see the Chairman Mao portrait in the background.
A trip to Beijing (or China) wouldn't be complete without seeing the Great Wall. This is the most famous and popular part of the wall at Badaling. It is very touristy and it seems you can't go five feet without some tout trying to get you buy something. I've been to the westernmost point of the Great Wall and although it isn't nearly as impressive in size, I prefer it because it just seems less restored and, therefore, more authentic.
Now for a jaunt westward to the city of Xi'an. This is on the grounds of the Big Goose Pagoda in Xi'an. There are a number of out buildings that once operated as a school for monks. They now work as a series of museums and stores.
Here's Shell and I and the actual Big Goose Pagoda or 大雁塔 Dayan Ta. It has been around since about 700 AD. To give you some perspective on how old this thing was: the Vikings hadn't reached their stride of their European raids and Islam was just in its beginning stages. Translation: it is *old*!
Back to Beijing one more time to see the Beijing Lamasery. It is a beautiful place. The highlight of the lamasery is a statue of Buddha carved out of a single piece of wood that stands well over two stories tall. This is a couple of people offering prayers at an altar on the grounds of the lamasery.
This blurry picture is included because it has a good story behind it. The guy in the photo is one of 9473987439847 salesman in Shanghai who pester folks (Especially foreigners: they have money and are obviously not policemen...so they are good targets.) to buy whatever they may be hiding in their pockets. This guy was selling fake Rolex watches. It was getting late and we were walking back to our hotel and had been approached by a lot of these guys. I decided that the next one who came up would get his picture taken. He came up and I raised my camera toward him....then he sprinted away as fast as he could! Victory!
Back home in Chengxian. I had a college professor who once told me that if you ever want to find out about a culture you should always go to the market. There you can find out what foods people eat, what they use in their daily lives, and what is important to them. Here is a shot from the market. I thought the colors of the veggies here made for a good shot.
This is a photo of the lotus garden at the poet Dufu's cottage in Chengdu, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I think this shot turned out great.
posted by Thad at 4:57 AM
4 Comments:
Good to hear from you again Mr. Ross, and nice photos.
You do realize that in the father/son photo there is a man wearing a sports bra right?
I had to go back and look at it again. Haha... It looks like a sports bra but it is just his tank top shirt. On hot days it is *very* common for men to pull their shirts up to expose their bellies as a way to cool down. This was the hottest part of August and it was very hot. That is what this man is doing.
The first picture is a lily, not a lotus....whoops!
The lily photo is gorgeous, Mr. Ross! And you've got some other really great shots up there, too! :) Thanks for the 11,000 words, and I just got the joke. ha.
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