The Gate Tower at Tiananmen Square.Crowds gathering to watch the flag of China being taken down for the day.The National Museum of China at sunset.The Snack Market at night.Starfish, scorpions, and seahorses ready to be pan fried.A one-man performance of Peking Opera outside at the Snack Market.This sign was posted outside at the subway station; I suppose this is a big problem in China.The Great Wall of China near Badaling.Another section of the Great Wall.More of the Great Wall.Yet another photo of the Great Wall.Looking out at the Wall from its battlement.Looking down at the steep steps of the Wall.The bear cage near the Great Wall.A replica of a crossbow that would’ve been used for defense of the Great Wall.Locals sitting and eating sunflower seeds outside one of the many restaurants on Dongzhimen Inner street.The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven.A closeup view of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests seen from the corner of the compound.The Imperial Vault of Heaven.The Circular Mound Altar.Bamboo seen at the Fasting Palace.A tree found in China that has a natural woodland camouflage pattern on its bark.The Fasting Palace.Zhengyangmen – the proper gate to Old Beijing City.The National Museum of China.Jade shroud fastened with gold threads, used as burial clothing for Han Dynasty emperors and nobility.Detail of ‘Traveling Procession with Chariots and Horses’, a mural painting unearthed from an eastern Han tomb.Gold art worn as decorative piece.Chinese fan with painting of a bird on a tree.Freudian wooden sculpture from Africa.Painting of Mao Zedong, the revolutionary.Bottle of Great Wall Dry Red Wine.The Gate of Supreme Harmony and stream in foreground inside the Forbidden City.Hall of Supreme Harmony.The Gate of Supreme Harmony seen from corner of Hall of Supreme Harmony.Glazed relief of dragon inside the Forbidden City.The three tiers surrounding and supporting the Hall of Supreme Harmony.Room with bed for one of the Emperor’s concubines.Gilded lion statue found in the Forbidden City.Derelict structure in the Forbidden City.Looking at one of the many finely crafted clocks on display in the Hall of Clocks and Watches.The Forbidden City seen from Jing Shan.Beijing seen from Jing Shan.Tea ceremony with six different types of tea to try.Saw this sign on a Beijing subway train and could not help but think of theCHIVE.Monument to the People’s Heroes on Tiananmen Square.Mao Zedong’s Mausoleum.Worshipers praying with incense at the Yonghegong Lama Temple.Inside the Yonghegong Lama Temple.Monk praying inside the temple complex.Paying homage to Buddha with three incense sticks.Lion sculpture with flower on its head.Alleyway inside the Xilou Hutong.Burial mound of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.Terracotta general on display in Pit 2.Backside of terracotta archer.Shattered terracotta warriors in Pit 2.Terracotta chariot horses and headless officers in Pit 3.Terracotta army in Pit 1.The Bell Tower in Xi’an.Market street in Xi’an.Entrance to ShuYuanMen Ancient Street in Xi’an.Saipin dry white wine in a can.Sleeping Buddha in front of the temple on the way to Mount Hua.Mythical beast at entrance way inside the temple.Shrine with incense in front of it.The “Thousand-feet Canyon”, 370 stone steps through a crack between cliffs.Mount Hua’s West peak.View of the South peak, from the summit of the East peak.“Hawk Flipping Over” trail and “Chess Pavilion”.Bridge on the side of the mountain (“the world’s most dangerous hike” – not really).Looking down from the bridge on the side of the mountain.The safety lines and carabiners that are supposed to keep me from falling to my death.View from the bridge on the side of the Mount Hua.View from the West peak cable car, descending Mount Hua.Relief on the wall surrounding the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an.Incense burning in front of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.Giant Wild Goose Pagoda seen from the garden.Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.Closeup of flowers relief over the entrance way in the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda complex.Hall in the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda complex.Candles burning next to the pagoda.One of the sculptures that greet visitors at the entrance to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.A wall with many names of victims from the massacre at Nanjing.Giant sculpture in the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.The entrance to the museum inside the Memorial Hall.Folk Art Museum next to the Confucius Temple.Paper lanterns on display in the Folk Art Museum.The main hall in the Confucius Temple.Statue of Confucius in front of the main hall inside the temple complex.Incense burning inside the Confucius Temple complex.Canal near the Confucius Temple.Chopped chicken and pepper mix with rice flatbreads.Bottle of Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon.Couples dancing in the Ming Dynasty Palace Ruins park.Water lilies found in the park.Jiming Temple (a Buddhist temple) seen from the city wall.On top of the old city wall.Statue of a civil official along Wengzhong Path.Plum Garden.Ming Tower, in front of the Treasure Mound.The wall surrounding the Treasure Mound, seen from the inside.Steles of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy.Pavilion inside the Plum Garden.Stone camels flanking both sides of Stone Elephant Road.Traditional Chinese architecture.Wildflowers found amongst the plum orchards.Jade bi on display inside the Shanghai Museum.Porcelain dish with Wucai design of birds.Early calligraphic art.Example of a Chinese painting.Chinese painting of tree with birds.Jade ornaments that were stitched on the funerary face covering cloth – very popular in the Zhou Dynasty.Wooden Tujia mask used for Nuo Opera.Storefront on “Old Shanghai Street”.The Oriental Pearl Tower and other skyscrapers across the Huangpu river.The ‘Bund Bull’ in front of the old government building in Shanghai – designed by the same sculptor who created the ‘Wall Street Charging Bull’.East Nanjing Street signs at dusk.Pagoda at Longhua Temple.Incense burning inside Longua Temple complex.Lion statue at the entrance to Jing’an Temple.The main hall inside the Jing’an Temple complex.Hundreds of incense sticks burning around a pit inside Jing’an Temple.Shrine inside the Jing’an Temple.Jade Buddha Temple.Lotus flower candles used in the Jade Buddha Temple.Fire pit used to burn the remainder of incense sticks when prayers have been completed.Lion statue with memorial ribbons pouring out of its mouth.Giant Buddha statue found inside one of the halls in the Jade Buddha Temple.Window sculpture of dragon spewing water out.Pond inside the Yuyuan Gardens.Zigzagging wall inside the Yuyuan Gardens.Small circular entrance in the gardens.Traditional Chinese structure in the gardens.Bridge over a pond in the Yuyuan Gardens.Chinese painting of a willow tree and lake.Bridge over a canal, seen during the walk to the ancient town of Zhujiajiao.Canal in the ancient town of Zhujiajiao with temple in the background.Another canal in Zhujiajiao.Food available to purchase in Zhujiajiao.Passenger boats docked along the river in the ancient town.Boat passing under a covered bridge in the town.Arched bridge in Zhujiajiao.Residences along the canal in the ancient town.Bamboo scaffolding covering a building in the modern town of Zhujiajiao.A Wifi/Telephone booth in Shanghai.West Lake in Hangzhou with LeiFang Pagoda in Evening Glow in the distance..Bridge over the West Lake and park bench.LeiFang Pagoda in Evening Glow, up close.Very detailed relief inside the pagoda.View of West Lake from LeiFang Pagoda in Evening Glow.Jingci Temple at the foot of Huiri Peak of Nanping Hill.Passenger boat with a hull in the shape of a dragon, perhaps on the way to the Castle of Aaargh.Lotus plants on West Lake.Hangzhou seen at night across from West Lake.The path around West Lake lit up at night, giving it a magical look.Pavilion and lotus plants along the edge of West Lake.Passenger boats rowing across West lake.Garden inside the remains of the temporary Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty.The tomb of Lin Bu (967-1028 AD), a well known poet of the Reclusive School in the Northern Song Dynasty.Statues of a shepherd boy and his flock, from an old Chinese legend regarding West lake.Bridge over a pond in the late evening.LeiFang Pagoda in Evening Glow at night.Early morning exercises at West Lake.Lotus flowers in a pond near the lake.Dried mushrooms and spices on sale on the road to the Da Zhai rice terraces.The rice terraces at Da Zhai following the contours of a draw.Rice terraces with the misty mountains in background.Another view of rice terraces in the Longji Terraces Scenic Area.Rice terraces seen from above on the nearby peak.Another view of the terraces near the cable car top.One puppy dominating another during a playful spat.The many terraces and villages in the distance.Beehive being diced in to smaller pieces with a local woman in traditional clothing watching.Side view of the rice terraces.Valley with rice terraces on both sides.Plant with flowers seen along one of the trails.Stone path between the rice paddies.Stream running through the village of Da Zhai.Blurred view of terraced gardens, seen from the bus leaving Da Zhai.The Sun and Moon Pagodas by Fir Lake in Guilin.My dinner in Guilin.The Sun and Moon Pagodas at night, lit to reflect their namesakes.Bamboo rafts docked, waiting to take passengers down the Li River.The motor and propeller used on the bamboo rafts.View of the mountains along the Li River.Looking down the Li River with impressive mountains along both banks.Another view of the mountains along the Li River.Bamboo rafts passing along the right bank of the river.Lunch of swordfish, rice, and steamed vegetables with garlic (the fish soup had not come yet).Back on the Li River after lunch.View from the bow of the bamboo raft.The steep limestone mountains towering above the river.View of the mountains from a small island in the middle of the Li River.Chinese man carrying a wood pole with two birds on either end at the final docking point of our journey.The city of Yangshou.River in Guilin at sunset.The Sun and Moon Pagodas on Fir Lake.Statue of a calligrapher in Guilin.Pond and Solitary Beauty Peak in the Ming Prince Mansion grounds.View of the Ming Palace Mansion and Guilin from Solitary Beauty Peak.Pagoda and river next to Crane Peak on Diecai Mountain (on the right).Buddhist reliefs inside the Wind Cave in Diecai mountain.View of the south side of Guilin from Bright Moon Peak on Diecai.View of the north side of Guilin from Bright Moon Peak on Diecai.Through-cave in Crane Peak on Diecai.View from Crane Peak on Diecai.Giant statue of Buddha sitting in a cave seen during my walk in Guilin.View of Hong Kong Island from the promenade at Kowloon.Giant dog statue found in a shopping complex in Kowloon.Skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island at night.Another view of Hong Kong Island at night.The light show seen from Kowloon peninsula, looking at Hong Kong Island.The cable car ride up to Ngong Ping Village, looking back at Tung Chung.Giant Buddha statue near Po Lin Monastery.Close up of the giant Buddha statue.Three of the six statues found near the giant Buddha statue.Circular mound altar and gate with giant Buddha statue in the distance.The Po Lin Monastery.Dragon sculpture on one of the outside columns supporting the main hall in Po Lin Monastery.Relief on the outside of the main hall in Po Lin Monastery.Interesting hanging flower I saw in the monastery.A tree that has rooted itself to a derelict home along the way to the Wisdom Path.Lantau Peak.The columns alongside the Wisdom Path.Columns along the Wisdom Path with Lantau Peak in the distance.Central area of Hong Kong Island during a night shower.The MGM Grand in Macau.Macau Tower.The sun shining through A-Ma Temple.Inside the A-Ma Temple complex.Conical, spiral incense sticks burning in A-Ma Temple.Senado Square (translated as “Senate Square”) in Macau.Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral.Canon on Mount Fortress looking out at the Casino Lisboa.Canons placed along the battlement of Mount Fortress.The old Casino Lisboa building seen from under the new golden Casino Lisboa tower.Circular overpass and arch in Macau.Classic and beautiful racing car on display in the Grand Prix museum.Another classic car in the Grand Prix museum.The winning F3 car Ayrton Senna raced in Macau in 1983.View of the city from Macau Tower.The copper reflection of the Wynn cast on Nam Van Lake, seen from Macau Tower.A pagoda in one of the temples found in the city of Tai O.Buddha statue outside of a window on the pagoda.Boat tied to the shore in Tai O.Sheet metal houses on stilts in Tai O.Stilt houses along the shore in Tai O.More stilt houses in Tai O.An outhouse over the water in Tai O.Another view of the homes in Tai O.Large theater with two shrine huts next to it.Stilt houses of Tai O along the river.Chinese opera being conducted in the large theater in Tai O.Bridge leading to the large theater.Another view of Tai O.Tai O seen from a bridge across one of the rivers that run through the village.Men playing mahjong in Tai O as western tourists drink beer and observe.Mats used to dry small shrimp during the production of shrimp paste.Woman selling various seafood near the village marketplace.Passenger boats launching on one of the rivers that run through Tai O.Fishing boats anchored in Tai O.Mong Kok district in Hong Kong.Many signs for spas and “massages” over Temple Street in Hong Kong.
