Uploads from Penelope's Loom, with geodata

Tiananmen Square

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:57:04 -0700

Tiananmen Square
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
Best viewed large.

This photo was taken from just above the portrait of Mao that overlooks the square. Eric took this actual photo, but the editing was a joint collaboration.

From the Lonely Planet: In the square, you stand in the symbolic centre of the Chinese universe. The rectangular arrangement, flanked by halls to the east and west, to an extent echoes the layout of the Forbidden City. As such, the square employs a conventional plan that pays obeisance to traditional Chinese culture, while its ornaments and buildings are largely Soviet inspired.

Mao conceived the square to project the enormity of the Communist Party, so it’s all a bit Kim Il Sung-ish. During the Cultural Revolution the chairman, wearing a Red Guard armband, reviewed parades of up to a million people here. In 1976 another million people jammed the square to pay their last respects to Mao. In 1989 army tanks and soldiers forced pro-democracy demonstrators out of the square. Although it seems likely that no-one was actually killed within the square itself, a well-documented slaughter occurred at Muxidi, to the west. Despite being a public place, the square remains more in the hands of the government than the people; it is monitored by closed-circuit TV cameras, and plain-clothes police are primed to paralyse the first twitch of dissent.

Bicycles cannot be ridden across Tiananmen Square – apparently tanks are OK – but you can walk your bike.

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nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:43:15 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

This Child

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:10:22 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Being carried in the Forbidden City
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Within the Forbidden City

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:18:16 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Men gathered within the gates of the Forbidden City.

At the Forbidden Palace

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:31:19 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

I snuck a shot of a girl posing for her mother. The headdresses were being sold as souvenirs. The palace grounds were so crowded that it was nearly impossible to find a corner as empty as this. In the background, you can see some of the smog that plagues Beijing.

Mr. Chairman

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:57:04 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Mao's Portrait
Gate of Heavenly Peace (aka Tiananmen)
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
See the view from the top

From the Lonely Planet: The gate is divided into five doors and reached via seven bridges spanning a stream. Each of these bridges was restricted in its use and only the emperor could use the central door and bridge.

It was from this gate that Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic on 1 October 1949. The dominating feature is the gigantic portrait of the ex-chairman, to the left of which runs the poetic slogan ‘Long Live the People’s Republic of China’ and to the right ‘Long Live the Unity of the Peoples of the World.’ The portrait was famously pelted with paint-filled eggs during the 1989 demonstrations in the square; the iconoclasts were workers from Mao’s home province of Hunan. A number of spares of the portrait exist and a fresh one was speedily requisitioned.

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nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:42:36 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Donghuamen Night Market
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007

This was the first of several visits to this night market, since it was very close to the hotel where we were staying. I couldn't stomach the idea of trying most of the foods they offered and ended up only buying a few pork dumplings on my last visit. Unfortunately, my last visit was as they were closing up shop, so the dumplings were cold and dry and I ended up throwing most of them away.

I couldn't figure out what these were, so I asked the woman selling them. Unfortunately, I didn't understand what she said in Mandarin, so I asked if she knew the English name. She thought for a minute, then said, "if you buy one, I'll tell you." I just walked away. There was no way that I would buy anything meant to be ingested that looked like that.

View the set.

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nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:43:15 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

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nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:42:36 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

1

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:43:15 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Donghuamen Night Market
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

This was the first of several visits to this night market, since it was very close to the hotel where we were staying. I couldn't stomach the idea of trying most of the foods they offered and ended up only buying a few pork dumplings on my last visit. Unfortunately, my last visit was as they were closing up shop, so the dumplings were cold and dry and I ended up throwing most of them away.

View the set.

4

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:43:14 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Steps

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 10:42:00 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Forbidden City
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Not all of the steps had these elaborate carvings on them and the ones that did were roped off so that no one could walk on them.

Rooftops

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:43:45 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Forbidden City
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

I wish there had been nice skies during my visit, but with such a horrible pollution problem, I wonder how often there actually are nice skies in Beijing. We saw horrible smog the entire time we were there. We could even see it indoors at night in places like the airport. Lonely Planet says that "health experts warn that breathing the Beijing air could be the equivalent of smoking 70 cigarettes a day." Don't think that tidbit wasn't lost on me each and every day I spent breathing in that air. Fortunately, most of what I wanted to see was outside of Beijing, so I only spent a few days in the city on my trip.

Forbidden City

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:19:00 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Entrance

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 14:42:24 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Forbidden City
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Forbidden City Detail

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:22:30 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

In the Forbidden City

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:03:33 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Forbidden Patterns

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:24:00 -0700

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Forbidden City
Beijing, China
June 19, 2007
on black at my site

Double Double Helix

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:04:26 -0800

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

Taken at a luau at the Marriott in Wailea, Maui that we went to at the end of the first full day of the Maui Mentor Series. This firedancer was the luau finale.

Model Shoot

nobody@flickr.com (Penelope's Loom) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 15:55:45 -0800

Penelope's Loom posted a photo:

At a luau in Wailea, Maui
Part of the Maui Mentor Series.