China

John and Polly at the Pearl Market

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:57:48 GMT

John and Polly at the Pearl Market

John and Polly at the Pearl Market inspecting the goods. The Pearl Market is a ton of fun. Not only are there pearls, but electronics, clothes, housewares and anything you could ever want to buy. We spent a lot of time and money at this place.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:55:56 GMT

The Imperial Vault of Heaven

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is surrouded by the Echo Wall, a semicircular wall where you can whisper to your friend at the other end and the sound transmits perfectly. The Imperial Vault used to contain the tablets of the emeror's ancestors. It is now the sight of long lines of tourists with large cameras.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:52:58 GMT

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is where the Emperor used to pray for good harvests (hence the name!). The building is built entirely with wood, no nails.

Totally Lost on the Round Altar

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:33:31 GMT

Totally Lost on the Round Altar

The Round Altar was originaly creaed in 130 but rebuilt in 1740. It is built from white mable and is ~15 ft. high. There are three circular tiers, the top considered to symbolize heaven. The Chinese believe that nine is an imperial number - it is the largest single digit number. This is where the Emperor would pray for favorable weather.

Temple of Heaven

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:24:07 GMT

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven, an example of Ming dynasty architecture, was built for the Son of Heaven to pray for good harvest. The shape of the buildings are round and the area around them is usually bordered by a square. The Chinese believe that Heaven is round and earth is squre.

Group at the Ming Tombs

bill — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:18:37 GMT

Group at the Ming Tombs

John Offering Incense at White Cloud Temple

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:18:55 GMT

John Offering Incense at White Cloud Temple

This is our friend, John, offering incense at White Cloud Temple. John, a Taoist, came from Texas to show us around his beautiful home city. We had a great time and enjoyed learning about the city from someone who actually grew up there. Plus, it was fun to see him and our other friends Damien and Polly.

Bell at White Cloud Temple

globetrotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:16:27 GMT

Bell at White Cloud Temple

This is the bell under the bridge that leads into the White Cloud Tao Temple in Beijing. For a small amount of money, you can get a row of coins to throw at the bell and try and hit the din for a chance at good luck.

Bill Eating Scorpion

bill — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:56:37 GMT

Bill Eating Scorpion

Here I am about to gulp down a fried scorpion.

Plate of Duck Tongues

bill — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:55:24 GMT

Plate of Duck Tongues

Here is a plate piled high with nothing but duck tongues. Tasty.

Peking Duck Carving

bill — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:54:09 GMT

Peking Duck Carving

Only a special chef can carve up your Peking duck. A good dude can slice one duck 100-120 times in a few minutes.

Big Duck Meal

bill — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:52:40 GMT

Big Duck Meal

Here is a shot of our Peking duck dinner spread in Beijing, China.

The sign for the Forbidden City Starbucks

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:42:00 GMT

The sign for the Forbidden City Starbucks

They weren't being overly sneaky using this generic sign for the Starbucks inside the Forbidden City. There were still people all over the place going "Where's the Starbucks?".

The Forbidden City Starbucks

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:39:40 GMT

The Forbidden City Starbucks

Starbucks wisely took town their sign outside the store located within the Forbidden City in Beijing. But there was still a Starbucks inside the Forbidden City.

Chrissy's Mao Watch

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:36:25 GMT

Chrissy's Mao Watch

Chrissy bought this classy souvenir Mao watch in Tiananmen Square.

The Forbidden City

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:27:54 GMT

The Forbidden City

This is the Forbidden City in Beijing. I am standing in Tiananmen Square, looking into the Imperial Palace.

Group Photo In Front of Mao

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:25:30 GMT

Group Photo In Front of Mao

If you go to Beijing, you have to get a picture in front on Mr. Mao. Here is our crew, Damien, Polly, Chrissy, and John. I am taking the photo.

Tiananmen Protest

bill — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:45:25 GMT

Tiananmen Protest

I obviously didn't take this picture. It is from Wikipedia. Here is their description of events:

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre,^[1] were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in the People's Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. While the protests lacked a unified cause or leadership, participants were generally critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and voiced complaints ranging from minor criticisms to calls for full-fledged democracy and the establishment of broader freedoms. The demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but large-scale protests also occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which stayed peaceful throughout the protests. In Beijing, the resulting military crackdown on the protesters by the PRC government left many civilians dead or injured. The toll ranges from 200–300 (PRC government figures), to 400–800 by The New York Times, and to 2,000–3,000 (Chinese student associations and Chinese Red Cross).

Gift of Pig and Boxed Milk

bill — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:44:33 GMT

Gift of Pig and Boxed Milk

We were given a box of milk and a small ceramic pig for prepaying for a bunch of foot massages in Beijing, China.

View of Guilin

bill — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:08:55 GMT

View of Guilin

Chrissy and I climbed up this hill to get a good view of the town of Guilin. Guilin sit on the Li River, which is very pretty being filled with jagged limestone hills.