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I Collect Light

...and pieces of life...

China Day 7: So Long Beijing

February 01, 2013 • Leave a Comment

First they decided to build a palace, and because everything needs to be according to Feng Shui, they decided to build a mountain and a lake. I went... slightly skeptical about the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) until I was taken aback by its grandeur and serene atmosphere. The pavilions were lovely, with detailed traditional architecture, the gardens we...

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China Day 6: Heaven in Beijing

January 24, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Just me and the camera against the world this am...except the camera bag got kinda heavy after a while:-) First stop was Tienanmen Square. Tienanmen is known to be the largest public square in the world (400K square meters). So important is it to China’s national identity that it is pictured on every note of Chinese currency. Rich in history wit...

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China Day 5: Beijing - The Great Wall of China

January 10, 2013 • Leave a Comment

"You are not yet a HERO if you have not been up on the Great Wall of China." If you haven't heard of this saying, you haven't been to China:-) The Great Wall of China really lives up to its name. After a few days of trying to make sense of Beijing’s chaos, the sight of pale stone snaking over the mountains to the horizon definitely renewed my sp...

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China Day 4: Beijing - The True Delights of Haggling

December 27, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Who would really have time for these things...sigh! There are too many people. The sales people are too aggressive. All in all a perceptible atmosphere of mayhem:-) You want a 'Speedo' swimsuit. The woman asks for 680 yuan ($113). You laugh. She laughs. What now? Begin pleading, shaking your head, looking to the heavens, sighing, leaving long si...

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China Day 3: Beijing - You're Beautiful I Give You Best Price

December 27, 2012 • Leave a Comment

We climbed two very steep flights of very long stairs (43m?) to get to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. These were instruments used for telling time in China back in the 1200s. The bell was quite an amazing piece of history. The story of the coppersmiths daughter at the bell tower was dramatically interesting. Lunch at a local noodle soup pl...

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