1 - There are a lot of Chinese people over there. And they are everywhere. It doesn't matter if you're out in the rain, sweltering heat and humidity, or if you're just in some random back alley of a street at midnight, you will find many, many Chinese people there. And they will all be shorter than you.
2 - The concept of being considerate doesn't exist in Chinese culture. Don't get me wrong; on the whole, Chinese people are kind, warm, friendly, and generous and I really liked them. But would I call them considerate? No. They will cut you off, stop in the middle of doorways or in the path of traffic, and butt in line. And really it's kind of understandable. They live in a society that is just so crammed full of people that all you can do to survive is just worry about yourself. Just on my trip, I eventually learned that I needed to just figure out what I wanted and then go for it; so just imagine living there...
3 - China is both beautiful and disgusting. The ambiental impacts of having so many people living in one place are palpable. I never saw a blue sky and yet I never saw clouds either. The haze is suffocating. However, it also added an aire of romance to every scene. When looking at the Forbidden City or the buildings of the Summer Palace, you don't even have to try to imagine how it would have been to walk on those ancient stones with the grit of coal smoke in your teeth, because you are actually walking on those stones with the grit of coal smoke in your teeth. Or, more pleasantly, you can imagine yourself walking in the early morning mists along the banks of Kunming Hu Lake... at 2 in the afternoon. And that very grit in the air clings to the sides of the buildings, giving even the most recently restored tile roof, an aged patina. You just don't get that when visiting the whitewashed historical sites of Europe. Incidentally, you have to wash off that same patina from your face and body every night when you get back to your hotel.
4 - And that brings me to my last observation, if you are going to go to Beijing, make sure you have a good hotel. The city is alive, vibrant, and correspondingly exhausting. Nothing was better each night than to come back to my room, peel off my sweaty, grimy clothes and take a shower before laying down on my nice, comfy bed. If had been staying in hostels like I did in Europe, I would have been miserable.
Anyway, without further ado, I will now simply post some selected pictures from my trip.
Enjoy!
5 comments:
Wow! Of course, Wow! Amazing photos. It looks lovely. Good thing the grime you spoke of doesn't translate in photos. And for a place swarming with people, I didn't see one in these pictures. Did you use a little photoshop?
Seriously, lovely photos. Thanks for capturing and sharing with those of us who will probably never make it to China.
Wow, that looks amazing! So beautiful. I'm glad you got to go, but even more glad you came over here after :)
Such beautiful pictures. I loved them as well as the glimpse into what life in China is like. Did you spend a lot of time in back alleyways at midnight while you were there? There's no picture of that.
My favorite Chinese picture: #13. Good lighting, good depiction of the architecture, liked that you could see the land/water relationship of that culture, and I, of course, really liked the reflection in the water.
Favorite overall picture: #17. It reminded me a lot of latin america with the buildings on both sides of the river, bright colors, and very poor. The sun in the middle of the river was a nice touch since it was a perfect orb due to the glass of the water.
I'm glad that despite the camera trouble you had, you were able to save some fotos.
The philosopher/anthropologist/social worker in me wants to debate the whole concept of Chinese people not being "considerate". Since that wasn't the point of your post I am refraining. (And... I guess you could argue that since I brought it up in the first place, I am passively arguing the point.)
Awesome pic's, as always, Mark! I'd like to see some documentation the crowded grimy stuff too. I still can't believe you got to go over there. And now Saudi Arabia!?! I had no idea the life of a landscape architect could be so exciting.
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