Darlene Papier

A few pictures from my trip to China July/August 2006

Ray & I ate at a bakery in a HUGE MEGA shopping district called Wang Fu Jing,

and as you can see, there was a Starbucks behind us.

(McDonald's and KFC are also extremely popular in Beijing)

Ray after pasteries in Huge Mega Shopping Mall

Huge Mega Shopping Mall goes up several stories. There were hundreds and hundreds of high-priced stores,

but most people living in Beijing like to shop at the Silk Market where all of the name brands made in China

(Polo, Lacoste, Coach, Louis Vuitton, etc. are all sold for a small fraction of what you would pay in the USA).

Outside in the rain at Wang Fu Jing. If you look back to some of my sunny pictures, you will see that

everyone not only uses umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain,

but they also use umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun.

Lunch!

Yuck - just kidding!

Yum! Seahorse and Scorpion Kabobs!

(The Scorpions were alive on these kabobs! I am assuming the Seahorses were already dead)

Chinese Darlene! China Fashion Runways, here I come!

(A vendor inside the Silk Market)

Yong He Gong Lama Temple

Lama Temple

Lama Temple

Lama Temple (notice the animals on top of the tiled roofs for protection)

A Chinese Protector God

Wishing Well at Lama Temple

A Prayer Wheel at Lama Temple. There are thousands of prayers written on pieces of paper within the prayer wheel.

Darlene spinning a prayer wheel at Lama Temple to release the prayers contained inside

Lama Temple

Lama Temple

The intracacies of the sculptures throughout The Forbidden City and Lama temple were stunning.

A local outside market by the apartment where Ray & I have been staying in Beijing

A fruit from Southeast Asia - Dragon Tongue

Vivi & Ray buying peaches

Enjoy Coca-Cola!

Ray & Vivi buying mangos

Chinese Truck

A local farm area across from the outside market. Farmers actually live in the houses you see in the picture.

The pathway from the market back to the apartment.

It is a marriage of poverty and wealth. Allegedly, there is not much crime in China.

There are areas of extreme wealth and extreme poverty, but even the poorest areas are very safe.