Tag Archives: forbidden city

Blue Skies In Beijing

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Just to offset my last post about smog In southern China, here are some photos by Mario Carvajal of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City in Beijing under clear, blue skies.

blue skies in China, pollution free  DSC_0866
DSC_0861  DSC_0860

I’ve told this to people again and again: In Beijing, the pollution can be horrible (though not as bad as Guangzhou), but you’ll also get some lovely days of perfect wheather as well. These photos prove it!

It may only be about one day per week, but it does happen!

Edit 4 July 2012: Unfortunately, it seems that the pollution and air quality in Beijing has gotten steadily worse and is at a new low point. There are still a few blus sky days, but not as many as there once were. Here’s to hoping that some of the measures the Chinese government is taking actually helps them.

Starbucks in China

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Starbucks is growing rapidly in China.

I used to occasionally go to the store in the shopping centre at the top of Wangfujing in Beijing. It was always packed on Saturday, although less busy on Sunday. While quite a few Westerners were there, an equal number of Chinese people were there as well, reflecting the growing number of middle class Chinese people, who are adopting somewhat more of a Western influenced lifestyle.

Service was good and staff could speak passable English, although occasionally there’d be a little surprise.

Starbucks in China by

There are already quite a few stores in Beijing (69 stores according to the Starbucks website). I predict more will open in future (even as American and Australian stores close). There is a big demand for the product and the costs of running the stores are much lower, although the prices charged aren’t significantly lower.

There was a bit of controversy about the store in the picture, because it is inside the Forbidden City. There are varying opinions on whether this is appropriate, both amongst the Chinese and foreigners, but I for one would be happy if it was removed.

It may be convenient, but I don’t go to the Forbidden City for convenience, I go to soak up the ambiance of ancient China.

Soldiers Near Forbidden City

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These are the soldiers who patrol the area between Tiananmen (the gate, not the square) and the Forbidden City.

DSC_0193 photos by unfoldedorigami

The photo of the guards practising their gongfu (kungfu) martial arts skills is a classic. Click on the photo to go to the photo’s home page on Flickr, then click on All Sizes to check out their expressions!

DSC_0199  Marching Guards photos by unfoldedorigami

When marching they look pretty impressive, but you’ll also see the human side of them. I once saw them lined up on parade, but they were all holding a variety of boutique shopping bags! Presumably the bags contained their dinner bowls (at least that’s what I was told).

They also have a basketball court there and occasionally you’ll see them out there playing. This is in-between Tiananmen and the entrance to the Forbidden City, one of the major destinations for tourists in Beijing. There are thousands of tourists there at any given moment.

In the West, these sort of things happen away from the public. In China, it’s all out there in the open. For me, that adds to the charm.

The Forbidden City And Tiananmen

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The Forbidden City is one of the most photographed places in China. I see many, many photos of it on Flickr, and I normally just ignore them. I’ve chosen to post these ones, because they present the Forbidden City in an interesting light and they work well together as a set.

DSC_0272  DSC_0219

  DSC_0269 photos by unfoldedorigami

Only the second one looks like the normal photos of the Forbidden City. Even that has some extra energy, coming from the people in the foreground of the photo.

I really love the first photo, of a lane in the Forbidden City – the angles are wonderful. I instantly associate the picture with the Forbidden City, because similar lanes are featured in the The Last Emperor – Director’s Cut, which is a fantastic movie. I saw it long before I actually visited the Forbidden City, which really added to the experience. Now I want to see it again!

The photo of the garbage bin is a classic. The colours, the chipped paint, make it art! The last photo is also great. Click on it to go see the original at Flickr. I’m not sure what effect unfoldedorigami is using, but there are some serious angles in the photo.