 |
 |
 |
Japanese
Wedding, Narita Hotel. One of the first shots wiith my new Canon
digital during my 24-hour stopover in Tokyo.
|
One
morning I emerged, bleary-eyed, from my room to find one of the
hotel's young girl employees silently praying at this shrine.
Chinese religion is understated but real. |
Mark
Roswell ("Da Shan"), China's most famous foreigner. He
reached China in the 1980's and boggled the natives by speaking
perfect Mandarin. |
 |
 |
 |
Hebei
Wedding: The purpose of our visit - my marriage to Meixin -
was achieved in a few minutes. Both marriage and divorce are
easy in China, requiring only mutual consent.
Click for pictures of the married Meixin.
|
Beijing
taxi drivers expertly thread in and out of traffic lanes, coming
so close you could reach out and touch other cars. You would be
crazy to drive yourself. |
Liulichang
- a street of bookshops and antique shops as well as an antiques
market. Very popular with tourists and boy are the locals eager
to do business! |
 |
 |
 |
Cellphone
girl; everything stops for the mobile - drivers in peak hour
traffic, lovers in intimate moments... the mobile rules.
|
Work
horse: this year I was struck by how much these tiny horses are
still used for transport. |
My
new wife joins me on a tour of the Forbidden City - currently being
extensively renovated for 2008. |
 |
 |
 |
| Streetvendors:
when police appeared they all swept up their goods in their blankets
and disappeared down a laneway in seconds. |
Gongyuan
ballroom; well-maintained public parks between residential tower
blocks are local recreation centres. |
Another
remodelled shop - this time as a hairdresser with the pictures
of celebrity customers in the window. |
 |
 |
 |
Tiny
Star: this future Zhang Ziyi was happy to perform for punters
in the gongyuan without a body double.
|
Angel's
birthday: Wang Hong Rui organises the cake while Meixin shows
off her gift; an huge animal in Angel's favorite colour - pink
Click for link to party pics.
|
We
visited this "old Beijing" style restaurant again because
Meixin loves their noodles. With an all-male staff it is very noisy
and boyzy. (Click for link) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Narita
Airport Hotel ; for me the most interest in this brief stopover
was the lack of noise and the abundance of Chinese guests
in the hotel. |
Hui
jia, 2006; my beloved Tibetan Hotel - this time on the 8th floor
with the actual medicinal bathing AND my new bride... Meixin.
(click for link) |
Jiaozi
in 2006; on my return to the Asian Games Village many businesses
were gone but this family prospered. Click for Jiaozi
link |
Avant
garde artist Danwen (with MFA student Shen Yang) has published
a history of Chinese art from the 90's. (Click for link)
|
Confidence
in the future; judging by the number of pregnant ladies we can
guess what Beijingers do in Winter. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Beijing
skies are getting clearer and authorities are predicting a growing
number of clear days in 2008. I believe them. |
Real
estate boom? - at least if judged by the number of shop fronts
like this, but does one own or leases in China? |
Australian
Embassy, Beijing; an elegant PLA soldier guards our democracy.
Our 3 visits related to Meixin's visa. |
Street
Cleaner; bicycle-age paving cracks under trucks and buses. Maintenance
is slow and labour-intensive. |
The
floor show at the King Gesar Tibetan Restaurant in my hotel, where
I spent my birthday |
