hungry hickers preparing a massacre of the beijing duck after a long journey on the wall

Outside the Forbidden City and end....

fishing on side of the lake near the Forbidden City






behind these walls, the Forbidden city that i never visited...


beijing style highway toll gate

Beijing's hutongs - scenes de rue

chien pekinois












interrupting the mafia?


playing chinese chess - everybody around stops their activity to come and watch the game.

typical home front door in the hutongs

building a new traditional home? - perhaps their conception of renovating cultural heritage...

destruction.............

old and new

sunlight beauty gynecology hospital

The Great Wall

gliding down from the great wall to.... the parking lot


an ad for...
a deodorant perhaps..?

the great wall crew: a german, a quebequois, a canadian spy with a british accent, a french and a shanghainese

mind the gap

Beijing

the tourist and the local




view on the White Dagoba in Beihai Park


Factory 798 - a network of modern art galleries located at the north east of beijing.
after talking to some of the curators, discovered that some art works were still being hidden because judged too shocking for authorities. actually saw police looking people entering the galleries several times, checking that everything was in order.


there's no way you can't feel at home here.
they really tried.

Chao Ji Man Che

"the super slow train"
that's how two middle aged men referred to our train, during the 23h ride from Hangzhou to Beijing.




contemplating the landscapes through the window as "lemon tree" is being played in the train as background music.





luckily, i was able to communicate a little with the other travellers thanks to my neighbor, a young man from Sichuan who had learned english by watching hollywood movies....
he had already been travelling 40h on a hard seat from sichuan to hangzhou and was on his way to Beijing where a new job awaited him.

Hangzhou

Emily trying to swallow dragon's beard, a chinese dessert


the West Lake at dusk


view from Sudi Causeway. very peaceful place, the city noise does not reach us. relaxing sound of water. turtles come to the surface from time to time for air.


Sudi Causeway, a thin stretch of land dividing the lake into two. no cars allowed: only pedestrians, bicycles, and unfortunately a few tourist minivans circulate along the road.




hiking down the mountain, our legs can't stop shaking






a temple in the mountain


only people who order tea get a chair - Shawn and his winning combination.






the West Lake




i wonder what this reminds me of...


angels get married on the West Lake




Hangzhou train station - indoors




Hangzhou train station

train stations were one of the places that fascinated me the most in China. incredible masses of people seem to hang around there for ever. individuals or families are everywhere, waiting, talking, eating, resting, sleeping, and some even seem to be living there permanently.

apparently, people who come from the villages to search for work in the city use the train station as their temporary home... they stay there until they find a job.. or not. but how long have all these people been waiting for?

the train station becomes a dynamic place for interaction, social and commercial exchange, opportunities (?) etc; as you get off the train many many people try to sell you hotel deals; other vendors sell food, maps, ....