Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China must be one of the most photographed locations in the country if not the world. It has captured the imaginations of generations with the shear enormity of the project. Given the number of photographs of this sight, it is refreshing to come across one that is a little different form the others. This photo has been treated in photoshop to give it a texture reminiscent of an oil painting. I'm not usually a fan of such effects as they either make are done to improve a mediocre shot or else spoil an otherwise excellent shot. However it does seem to have worked here.

Across the Chinese Countryside

An unusual shot of China, not the usual cities of famous cultural landmarks. Instead some unnamed hills and a fantastic sky.

888 by Denis Collett

It's now a bit over two years since the Beijing Olympics. The above shot of the Olympic rings in fireworks above the birds nest stadium. The Olympics opened on August 8th 2008, or 2008-08-08 or 888. This is an auspicious date in Chinese custom.

CCTV Building in Beijing, China

Cranes In The Sky by Jakob Montrasio.

The year 2008 saw the completion of many large building projects in Beijing, China. There was of course, the Olympics and the stadiums related to that. But also other buildings such as this one, the CCTV tower. The building is in the east end of Beijing. It has become one of the modern icons for the development of China. The building is now the home of of China Central Television.

Beijing 北京 Restaurant

This photo from Flickr user Luo Shaoyang shows a Chinese girl standing by a doorway. It is a typical Chinese scene outside restaurants where a waitress will wait at the door to great guests. This looks a particularly well built and clean restaurant. I have to wonder where it is? All I know is it's somewhere in Beijing.

Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Temple of Heaven, originally uploaded by Studio494 (Simon).

I was surfing through some flickr photos looking for some interesting shots of Beijing, and this one just caught my eye. The Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a very colourful building. The thing that usually catches people's attention is the colours. Thus most pics you see of this building extenuate these colours. So what made me pick out this photograph, was the lack of colour. Though not a monochrome picture, this has a monochromatic feel to it. The lighting from behind has be perfectly executed and the detail throughout is fantastic. I have to wonder how this shot was taken. There are no tourists visible. Usually this site is crowded with tourists, but this photograph is devoid of people.