A Cormorant Fisherman in China isn’t unusual but on this trip I had no plans of getting a photo of them. I finished digging through my Yangshuo pictures and I guess I did have a picture of a Cormorant Fisherman from my stop on the Yulong River. It’s not the typical sunrise picture with the lanterns that photographers pay these guys …
Yulong Bridge in Yangshuo
The Yulong Bridge in Yangshuo China feels like a real experience touching old world China. If you look under the bridge on the right side you can see a boat with a Cormorant bird on the bow. This is one of many spots along the Li River where you can see the fishermen bringing in a day’s catch with their …
Fir Lake Pagodas
The Sun and Moon Pagodas on the Shanhu (Fir) Lake in Guilin China. This wasn’t something I was looking for. I was just out for a stroll around town. I guess these light up beautifully at night, but I was on my way somewhere else and stopped just long enough to take a shot during sunset. I couldn’t find a …
Chinese Wishing Tree
Red ribbons tied on a Banyan Tree are a wishing tree or happiness tree. The higher you tie your ribbon on the tree the more happiness it brings you. When I took the photo I had no idea what the ribbons meant, I just thought it would make a nice picture. The more I travel, the more I appreciate the …
Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a stunning place to see. I’m talking about the main temple here, not the entire park. There are smaller temples and buildings scattered around the park too, but the building you really want to see is the main temple.The temple is surrounded by a giant courtyard so that anyone who wants to attend …
Beijing Architecture Honors Old Traditions
Beijing Architecture varies widely because so much history is still alive and preserved here. Everywhere you go around Beijing you will see old and new structures side by side. There are definitely plenty of high rises and office buildings that remind you this is a modern mega city. The Olympic Village and the Bird’s Nest are good examples that the …
First Visit to China’s Great Wall
This was my first visit to the Great Wall of China. I was there with a few thousand Chinese who were on vacation. What would you do on vacation? Go and see the national monuments of course. I crammed into a corner at the top of a tower and took this shot with a small point and shoot camera. I’m …
Ming Tombs in “Valley of the Kings”
This is China’s equivalent of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. The Ming Tombs was my first stop on my very first trip to Beijing. I’m itching to return here with a proper camera. This was with a little Canon point and shoot. I was trying to zoom on that temple on top of the mountain, and with a small camera …
Ping Pong Park in Beijing
So you thought they practiced Kung Fu on every street corner in China eh? Not so. There are lots of parks around China, mostly for gathering and working out in groups around one shared interest or another. This one is specifically a ping pong park. Not all of them are welcoming to just anyone and in fact this one is …
Cupid’s Span – An Unbroken Memory
Cupid’s Span is an art installation just south of Embarcadero along the San Francisco Bay. I went out this night intending to take pictures of the Bay Bridge and I didn’t even know this giant bow art installation was there. I’m sure locals and frequent visitors to San Francisco know this place already but it was new to me. This was actually the …
Shanghai Jade Temple
At the Jade Temple in the middle of Shanghai, the monks practice rituals as I imagine they have for hundreds or thousands of years. As I was taking this photo, right behind me there is a courtyard filled with tourists and locals shopping at vendor’s stalls and taking selfies. It’s amazing to me that they carry on as if none of …
Shanghai Neighborhoods
I had never been to Shanghai and didn’t know what to expect. Just down the street from a nice gated hotel where I was staying I wandered into the Shanghai Neighborhoods to see how they live. I followed a family to this street where they disappeared into the first door on the right in this picture. They live there. I’m …