Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai, China

HONG KONG

Hong Kong's hyper-capitalist skyline, viewed as we sailed into port

Some of Hong Kong's many enormous skyscrapers

Hong Kong is a curious mix of East and West, maintaining much of its Chinese culture despite years of British colonialism

Hong Kong's famous Repulse Bay

This city truly comes alive at night - life seems to begin anew sometime after 9 p.m.

BEIJING

PEKING UNIVERSITY

An old Imperial Palace, the Da Yuan Hotel now caters to statesmen and foreign visitors rather than the Emperor and his staff. Situated near the residential campus of Peking University, the Da Yuan was to be our home for the days spent in Beijing

The beautiful, scenic campus of Peking University was a pleasant change from my home university's urban environment

On several occasions, we had the good fortune to meet and interact with Chinese students; on this occasion, students from both SAS and PKU performed at a 'talent' show/karyoke night

Visit Peking University at http://www.pku.edu.cn/eindex.html

Or, visit their extensive library at http://www.lib.pku.edu.cn/enhtml/index.htm

THE MING TOMBS

The Ming Tombs, which serve as the resting place of many Ming Dynasty emperors, contain elaborate, beautiful sculptures that attest to China's rich, ancient culture

Chinese children, I believe, are the most adorable in the world; here is the first of many I photographed

Away from the massive structure that was the Tombs proper, a smaller stone path wound around the Tombs and into the surrounding foothills

THE GREAT WALL: JALONG PASS

The formidable Great Wall of China, visible even from space

While many think of the Great Wall simply as a horizontal span across the side of mountains, the gigantic structure also consists of numerous forts, passes, and other fortified structures; we visited, and climbed, Jalong Pass north of Beijing

Scenic, distant views of the Great Wall

A breathtaking view from atop Jalong Pass

That's me, stopping for a photo-op during our ascent into Jalong Pass

TIANANMEN SQUARE

A view of the busy main intersection at Tiananmen Square

A young 'princess', complete with gown, shows off for those around her as we wait in line at a restaurant

The main gate leading into Tiananmen Square

Mao Zedong's Tomb: one of the most influential men in Chinese history, Mao Zedong was instrumental in shaping the entire modern history of China, for better or worse. He transformed a country now touting 1 billion citizens from a warlord-run aristocracy to the last surviving Communist stronghold in the world.

Read Quotations from Chairman Mao for more insight into this enigmatic world leader (for those Chinese history buffs, these are English translations of the sayings found, among other places, in the "Little Red Books" carried by children during The Cultural Revolution)

A military procession through Tiananmen Square

One of the main streets running alongside the main square

Another view of Tiananmen Square

The flagpole in the left corner is the flagpole that students rallied around during the pivotal Tiananmen Square protests, both before and during the massacre where unofficially 3,000 casualties resulted. We were in Beijing several months before the 10th anniversary of the protests and killings; conveniently, Tiananmen Square was 'closed for renovations' during the six months before and after the anniversary

I encourage you all to learn more of the Tiananmen Square protests: it was a pivotal event in recent Chinese and world history, and unfortunately, the U.S. press did not do justice to the entire story surrounding the events, instead demonizing the Chinese goverment as it often does. Please visit http://www.cnd.org:8006/China89/ or http://www.cnd.org:8006/June4th/ and follow the many links/resources to learn more about this tragic yet important event

Generations: three different generations of Chinese are represented here - how different their lives have developed in the short span of 100 years. For a wonderful recount of three generations of women in China, I recommend Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang (Joan Chen)

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

The outer gate of the Forbidden City; hanging on the front is a portrait of Mao Zedong - it was atop this same gate that Mao formally declared a new Communist state, the People's Republic of China

Me, standing in front of the Forbidden City's inner gate

This gate marks the entrance to the Forbidden City's gardens

A restaurant in the middle of the gardens; we ate lunch here before entering the City proper

Another of China's adorable children

The main courtyard of the Forbidden City; five bridges cross a river that winds through the area. The emperor was the only one that could cross the central bridge

Me, posing at different locations in the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is full of gorgeous sculptures, some dating back centuries

Yet another adorable child: he approached our group and began to tell a grand story, and as he approached the climax of the story, he began raising his voice, jumping up and down, and flailing his arms. Unfortunately, we could not understand a word of what he said, but his mother and we were both amused at the child's unbounding enthusiasm and kind-heartedness

A final view of the gardens surrounding the Forbidden City

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

The beautiful Temple of Heaven, with its graceful and balanced symmetry and Feng Shui undertones

One cool kid...

SUMMER PALACE

The scenic Summer Palace

A dragon statue guards the entrance to the Summer Palace

LEAVING BEIJING

Before leaving Beijing, we were guests at a Chinese Acrobat performance

Climbing onto an Air China jet, we departed Beijing for Shanghai

SHANGHAI

Shanghai: an enormous, sprawling city of over ten million people, cosmopolitan in nature due to international coastal influence yet still Chinese in spirit. We arrived in Shanghai to learn of the accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. Protestors took to the streets of Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities, and anti-American sentiment was strong. As a result, I kept a low profile (as much as a 6 ft., 250 lb., bearded man in China can keep), and I did not take my camera into the streets - I somewhat regret this now, but where pictures are missing, memories still remain

CHINA SUNSET AT SEA

A bright sunset off the coast of China

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