A few pictures from my trip to China
July/August 2006
On a bus on the way to the Village of Cuandixia, I
snapped a few photos...
The bicycle is a popular mode of transport in China.
China is very flat, so it is rare that you will see
a bike with any gears.
Mother, son and McDonald's balloon
It is very popular for not only small children to hold
hands as they are walking down the street
but also older girls as well.
Ray, Vivi & I met a Dutch couple on the bus to
Cuandixia, and we invited them
to have lunch with us at the place where we were staying.
Cuandixia is a village approximately 2 hours outside
of Beijing.
It has been preserved very well and has only recently
been opened to foreigners.
Cuandixia was built by a single family during the Ming
dynasty.
The town is in the shape of a gold ingot which you
will see in a later picture.
Another example of something that may have gotten lost
in translation.
In China, it is rare for there to be glass on a window
of a home. The preferred insulation of choice is a very thin paper.
As you can see, there are still remnants of paper on
this window of an abandoned home.
Paper Window
There are many hostels scattered around the town of
Cuandixia.
An entrance to a home in Cuandixia
This is the town name in Chinese Characters.
The place where Ray, Vivi & I stayed. Our hostess
was already preparing our dinner!
We hiked all around the abandoned town - through alleyways
and up the mountainside.
A doorway to an abandoned home in Cuandixia
Looking back down on the town of Cuandixia from a Temple
on a nearby mountain hill
The mountains surrounding Cuandixia
Ray & I outside the Temple in Cuandixia
A doorway to another home in Cuandixia.
Several photos follow of different dooways...
A man resting from a long day of work
There are fields of sunflowers all over the countryside
of China.
Sunflower seeds are a popular snack!
A home built into the side of the mountain. If you
look very closely, there is a spraypainted circle just to the
right
of the door frame (underneath the window). It means
that this structure is scheduled to be demolished.
Here you can see the town of Cuandixia in the shape
of a gold ingot!
Vivi and I found a swingset that looks to have been
built from extra construction materials.
The Temple at Cuandixia
Apparently, this is a very famous spot for pictures
in the shopping district of Wangfujing. Ray and I were waiting
to meet our bus for our trip to The Great Wall, and
at 6:45 a.m., there are not many people shopping.
Ray and I started our hike of The Great Wall in Jinshanling
and hiked approximately 6+ miles to Simatai.
The Great Wall from Jinshanling
The portion of The Great Wall that we hiked was not
very well preserved. In other parts of the wall
where more tourists tend to gravitate, the Wall has
actually been restored.
Photos from Beijing, China (part
4)
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