Around Beijing

Sunset in Beijing 3

will — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:20:35 GMT

Sunset in Beijing 3

An August sunset in Beijing, on a day when the wind cleared the air out.

Sunset in Beijing 2

will — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:19:56 GMT

Sunset in Beijing 2

An August sunset in Beijing, on a day when the wind cleared the air out.

Sunset in Beijing 1

will — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:19:25 GMT

Sunset in Beijing 1

An August sunset in Beijing, on a day when the wind cleared the air out.

高高兴兴上班去，平平安安回家来

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 10:07:23 GMT

高高兴兴上班去，平平安安回家来

Happily to work, safely return home. A slightly surreal couplet slogan painted on the wall of an exercise garden in Xiazhuang village. Not a great photo, but worth capturing.

Silver Pagodas 2

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 10:00:46 GMT

Silver Pagodas 2

The figures on the corners of the eaves of the Silver Pagodas. Look out behind.

Silver Pagodas

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:58:54 GMT

Silver Pagodas

After our hike we had a picnic at the nearby Silver Pagodas, at the foot of the craggy Silver Mountain. We had the pagodas almost entirely to ourselves, a pleasant change from my previous visit when the grounds were thronged.

Jiuduhe girls 2

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:57:13 GMT

Jiuduhe girls 2

More festively attired girls in Jiuduhe, swaning for the camera. A younger brother was too shy to get close to a camera-toting laowai.

Walking through Jiuduhe

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:55:39 GMT

Walking through Jiuduhe

A villager winding his way down the paths behind the village.

Jiuduhe girls

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:54:26 GMT

Jiuduhe girls

Young girls playing in an irrigation ditch behind Jiuduhe village. They're in their finest for Qingming, the grave-sweeping festival, which was being observed on the day of our hike. The girl on the left has a scarred face, or a pigment disorder.

Mountain blossoms

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:49:33 GMT

Mountain blossoms

Either cherry or "mountain peach" (which may be whiter). Either way, they were everywhere, gorgeous, and full of bees, butterflies and birds.

Baihe cowherd

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:47:47 GMT

Baihe cowherd

This friendly gentleman, minding a few head of cattle, helpfully gave us directions toward Jiuduhe. Four wandering foreigners must have been the highlight of his week, and he seemed reluctant to let us go. As we paused at a fork two hundred meters down the path we could still hear him yelling, "straight ahead!"

Gorgeous blossoms

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:43:26 GMT

Gorgeous blossoms

And the flowers ain't bad either. My hiking companions, Mrs. Imagethief, Yeen Yee and Wai Feng, surrounded by the blooming mountain peach flowers.

Mrs. Imagethief and the view

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:41:38 GMT

Mrs. Imagethief and the view

From the ridge behind Baihe, a spectacular view across the valleys to the north, and three lines of mountains.

Baihe and the hills

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:40:08 GMT

Baihe and the hills

The view looking south along the valley toward Baihe, with the hills in the background. The village is nestled along the hills, all the buildings on an east-west axis.

The Baihe commute

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:38:32 GMT

The Baihe commute

A farmer and his young son riding their donkey in from the orchards in the valley nestled behind Baihe.

Maize in Baihe

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:37:23 GMT

Maize in Baihe

Drying maize in the village of Baihe, an hour and a half north of Beijing, from where we started a lovely hike on April 1st.

Doomed kite

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:36:12 GMT

Doomed kite

A phoenix kite trapped in a tree, flapping in the wind. The sun lights it from behind.

Ice on Xiao Xi Hu

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:35:19 GMT

Ice on Xiao Xi Hu

Fabulous patterns in the thawing ice at Xiao Xi Hu. The ice was still several inches thick in most places, but retreating from the edge of the lake.

From the watchtower

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:34:16 GMT

From the watchtower

The Huang Hua Cheng wall from inside one of the watchtowers, looking across the lake.

Xiao Xi Hu wall

will — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:33:08 GMT

Xiao Xi Hu wall

The unrestored wall at Xiao Xi Hu lake, near Huang Hua Cheng. It was the last week of Winter and the lake was still frozen, but the weather was warm.

Around Beijing

Sunset in Beijing 3

Sunset in Beijing 2

Sunset in Beijing 1

高高兴兴上班去， 平平安安回家来

Silver Pagodas 2

Silver Pagodas

Jiuduhe girls 2

Walking through Jiuduhe

Jiuduhe girls

Mountain blossoms

Baihe cowherd

Gorgeous blossoms

Mrs. Imagethief and the view

Baihe and the hills

The Baihe commute

Maize in Baihe

Doomed kite

Ice on Xiao Xi Hu

From the watchtower

Xiao Xi Hu wall

高高兴兴上班去，平平安安回家来