CHINA - Nov / Dec 1999
The following brief text, photographs, and captions document my trip to China in the late fall of 1999. I unexpectedly spent a night in Tokyo on the way there, a serendipitous result of a SNAFU with the Northwest Airlines courier flight ticket. Upon arriving in Beijing, I met up with a friend studying there and we almost immediately went to Shanghai for a few nights. Then we split up, and I explored China further on my own for another two weeks.
After returning to Beijing I ventured out to Datong by overnight train, and then took some mini-buses a few hours further into rural China to visit ancient Buddhist caves and then an astounding Hanging Monastery built into the side of a cliff. The return trip by day on the train was amazing, like a slow Chinese New Wave film... clicking and rolling past the frozen lakes and desolate landscapes, sitting in the carriages with families and the Chinese soldiers, all intrigued by my presence. I stayed in Beijing in a small, traditional chinese guesthouse buried in an old neighborhood in the city. I also took a day trip to the Great Wall of China, hiking and gazing for a few hours in the winter cold.
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Tiennamen Square and traditional kites.
The Great Wall of China, at Sim Ma Tai.
Mao: 70% correct, 30% wrong is the official party line.
Imperial Palace, Beijing.
Imperial Palace, Beijing.
Bicycles. Alleyway. Shanghai.
Nothing beats a street-cart haircut. Beijing.
Hotel window view, Shanghai.
Big Brass Bowl. Imperial Palace, Beijing.
Yes, that is in fact, HALF of a goat.
Outdoor market, Beijing.
Shanghai skyline with some damn tall architecture.
Ancient, extensive, Buddhist caves in rural China.
A Monastery built into the side of a cliff in an isolated ravine.
On the small balcony of the Hanging Monastery.
Ni Hao! How much to sit on the Llama?
Vegetable Lo Mein. So Good.
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