Beijing

Kingdoms may come and go. Life will find a way and keeps on living. (Jingshan Park, 2003)

This ice-skating rink was one of the first things that I saw in Beijing. I was struck by the uncensored expressions of simplicity inside the capitol of a great nation.

Across the river from the skating rink is the Forbidden City. I was told that the architecture of this tower on the city wall is one of a kind.

Lion is a symbol of power in Chinese superstition. This particular visage has been copied widely by many businesses in Beijing.

One can only imagine what the Forbidden City used to be like during the heyday of the empire.

The last emperor of China learned how to ride a bicycle along this alley inside the Forbidden City.

The Temple of Heaven is the mascot of the city of Beijing today.

Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) is the mascot of the Chinese government.

The People's Hall in Tiananmen Square is where important meetings are held. I was standing on the ground where untold number of university students lost their lives during a democracy demonstration on June 4, 1989.

Chinese medicine is a source of national pride in China. A professor is shown here making a diagnosis by reading the pulse of a volunteer.

My dream of climbing the Great Wall was just about to become a reality.

One can buy a certificate at the highest point of this section of the Great Wall to prove one's valor if one feels so generously inclined.

All the elements of basic Chinese living are here in this picture: food, shelter and transportation.

Self-entertainment in China is simple. It may takes the form of walking, singing folk songs and playing music in the park.

Others prefer to spend their leisure time writing poems with water on the sidewalk.

This hybrid between tennis and ping-pong could very well be a modern Chinese invention.

Although ice-skating is not a Chinese invention, it is very popular among many Chinese people. (By the way, Michelle Kwan is an American figure-skater just in case you want to know.)

For many Chinese people, simple living is no longer enough. Here is a strip of expensive western malls on the so-called "Street of Gold" guarded by the People's Liberation Army.

Downtown Beijing represents the hope and the dream of China to become an economic giant.