Tag Archives: photos

The New CCTV Building In Beijing

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gongfu_king posted a photo of the new CCTV building in Beijing:

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The new CCTV building in Beijing, which has attracted worldwide attention. Note: CCTV stands for China Central Television, which is the national television network of China.

I watched while this was being built, although I didn’t know it was the CCTV building at the time. They built the two legs independently, then joined them up. For some reason, I thought they’d keep building upwards into a spire of some sort. I had an image in my mind of it being shaped vaguely like the Eiffel tower! I’m not sure where I got that from, but I was a bit surprised when I heard it was finished and that was all there was!

However, it is unique and representative of modern Beijing, which is full of interesting architecture, such as this (although most of it designed by foreigners).

Lady and Children

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Darren On The Road posted a photo:
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This is just a photo of a lady and a couple of children, but I find it interesting because it has that human element to it. It also helps show what China’s really like. I’ll probably include more shots of people in future, for that reason. Part of the purpose of this blog is to help people understand what China’s really like. A large part of that are the Chinese people.

At times, living in China can be frustrating, and as anywhere in the world, there are always people who make life harder, but I’ve found the following to be true: Anyone who visits China with an open mind and takes the time to get to know the local people, ends up making some very good friends.

Of course, photos can’t capture that side of things easily, but they can capture the visual aspect of the Chinese people. They are a large part of what makes China so interesting. When you walk out into the street in China, it’s teeming with people. Whichever way you look, you’ll always find something interesting to look at – and often it’s the people.

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.

Beijing Mantou and Baozi Stall

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poeloq posted a couple of photos of a small restaurant / food stall:

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It looks like this small restaurant / food stall is serving steamed mantou (steamed buns) or baozi (steamed buns with a filling inside). You can see the stack of bamboo steamers in the picture. There’s a chance that it’s actually steamed jiaozi (dumplings), but it’s much more likely to be mantou / baozi.

For more information on mantou, check out Wikipedia’s entry on the subject.

Anyway, I really like these photos because they capture the subject well. There are thousands of small food stalls like this in Beijing and in other cities across China and they look just like this. Also, I’m a sucker for black and white photos!

Street Crossing In Beijing

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poeloq posted some photos of a black and white Beijing street scene:

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The images are wonderful: there is great action in each of them; and they work well together.

The first picture is particularly good, because the people are crossing the street in different directions. There’s a lot going on, which makes the picture very interesting.

The second photo is also very interesting they’re all stopped there in the middle of the pedestrian crossing. It looks like they’re having a chat or doing some business there!

I also like the last photo because of the man on the bike heading towards the right and the traffic warden walking to the left, slightly behind him.

Coca-Cola = Delicious Happiness

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myuibe posted a photo:

delicious happiness

This photo is of a Coca-Cola advertisement. Why did I include it in Flickr Picks? Click on the photo to go to the photo’s home page on Flickr and read it. It has some good information on the Chinese translation of Coca-Cola.

To make it easier, I’ll include the translation here: Coca-Cola is translated to Ke kou ko le in Mandarin, which means: Delicious Happiness – at least according to the advertisment.

I can confirm that it’s called Ke kou ko le in Mandarin, but my Chinese is not so good that I can confirm the meaning!

Beijing Olympic Precinct

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poeloq posted some photos of the Beijing Olympic Precinct (ie the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium and the Watercube):

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The 2008 Beijing Olympics were a wonderful spectacle. When people think back on Beijing 2008, the images which will come to mind will be of the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies and of the Beijing Olympic Precinct.

The Olympic Precinct is the area around the Olympic Stadium (containing the athletics track and commonly known as the Bird’s Nest Stadium). The Olympic Precinct also includes the Watercube, which was the pool facility.

Both the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium and the Watercube were visually striking, particularly at night, when the use of lighting and colour turned these venues into a work of art. These great photos by poeloq show this to great effect.

Photos Of The Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

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The 2008 Beijing Olympics have finished and the Closing Ceremony was just as spectacular as the Opening Ceremony. I watched it on TV and loved every minute of it.

Fortunately, someone who was there has posted a lot of great photos on Flickr, with a Creative Commons license that allows me to share them with you here. I’d like to thank rich115 for his great photos! Here are some of them. Continue reading →

Birds Nest Beijing Olympics Stadium

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Martin Dougiamas posted several photos of the Birds Nest Beijing Olympics Stadium:

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These are incredible photos of the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. It’s the angles that make the Beijing Olympic stadium – it’s not just a great sports stadium, it’s great art.

The first photo is my favourite, showing the stadium at night – the lighting is superb. But then so is the sunlight in the other shots. Fantastic!

When I was last in Beijing, the Bird’s Nest stadium was still under construction, so I haven’t had a chance to see it closeup. Now, I really want to see it in real life. At least Martin’s photos give me a chance to see it. Thanks Martin!