北京四月天 。Beijing in April

Gear is good, vision is better. It's a mantra of David DuChemin.
i learnt it the hard way, and i don't even want to talk about it!

okay, may be a little.
i, was obsessed with gears...(that's one of the reason i stopped photography for awhile)
i carried a bulk of gears whenever i travel, most of the time, i wish i could piggy-back my dry cabinet on the go. it was silly, really. i brought my wide angle, tele lens, zoom lens, prime lens. i changed my lens more often that my friend change his girlfriends. those were the crazy days, it was tiring and nonsense. one day, God hit me on the head with light, i have to ditch all my gears and spent 4 months in rehab. now, i am comprehended.

on my Beijing trip, i brought only my 50mm.

++

it was an early bath of Spring in Tianjin & Beijing. Perfect days for traveling!
i spent my first 2 days in Tianjin, 2 days in Yutian then 3 days in Beijing.
it was almost sunset upon my touch down, the light is amazing!

Yes. it dazed me awhile, why she covered her head with that. net.

i had my dinner at the German Restaurant.
the beer and meat are overwhelming!

after checked-in, head to the Italian Town.

the little devil is my Grandnephew, yes you heard me right! i am that old. a Great-uncle.

of course! Italian Town for the beer and pizza.
Pizza sucks tho.

i do planned to catch the sunrise, but damn the sun rose at 5am.
sleep vs sunrise, sunrise lose.

took a spin at the Ancient Culture Market, it is plain beautiful.
amidst the rapid modernization of Tianjin, it kept its' own culture and ancient architecture.
that's what i love about Tianjin. Vintage.

after lunch, i'm on my way to Yutian County, Hebei for one big event!
now this is not fog nor mist, it's sand storm!
remember the lady with net? it's to save herself from sand hazard.

on the way to Yutian, it makes me realize, how awesomely vast the land in China,
still, it was govern under a rapid development into advance country.
it's not fair to compare but if i were to compare KL to Tianjin, we are at least 30 years behind them.
shameful yet awfully true.

Dinner at the best hotel in Yutian, Kai Chao.
Custom-made liquor commemorating the big event!

i took a walk around the hotel, quite. and peaceful little town.

the night before the big event! pre-wedding night!

the maid of honor.

Hallie's Wedding!!!

the one Big Day!

Wedding celebrated at lunch time in Yutian, not sure if it's apply to whole China
but that's the culture in Yutian, and we still have time to explore Yutian before dinner. =)

Lamb Steamboat for dinner!

Next Day! Beijing Zoo! 

i mean Panda!!! 

at the Beijing Zoo, it was the first time in my life seeing a tiger that huge.
it was far asleep, i have only a 50mm on Full Frame, so no pics of tigers.
it was gigantic! not sure if what i saw was a Liger but they named the hill Liger Hill,
Nope i just googled, it's a Siberian Tiger. Damn.

next stop.
the Temple of Heaven, it is where the Chinese Emperor used to worship heaven,
pray for good harvests and make sacrifices. Human sacrifices!

Beijing Roast Duck for Dinner! Yummy!

Second day in Beijing.
TianAnMen Square, the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
i was totally blown away by the details on sculptures, crafts, designs. those were stunning!

upon the peak, it is where the Ming Emperors reside; also, where the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide when the city fell.

also, we take a spin on the notorious Corrupted official of the Qing Dynasty, He Shen's crib.
well, he's smart alright, he's a favorite of Emperor QianLong, he enjoyed his freedom completely to his actions. Corrupted and perverted the law. awesome! i mean, bad boy!

he made his crib similar to the Palace, only at a smaller scale.
and i like his better.

then, just in time to catch a show at Siheyuan, Chinese quadrangles.
we were served with tea and tit-bits.

also, a ride on the trishaw! Exploring the Lao Beijng!

Dinner, Shopping and exploring the One Night in Beijing.

Subway's misfortune.

this used to be the front gate of entering Beijing.

that's one hell of a classy Starbuck!

i wish i could have stay longer for the night in Beijing,
but i have a destiny to fulfill, where i was about the be the man! who climb the one small portion of Great Wall. hey! my first 7 wonders of the world!!! the view was incredible!

me and my dad! and yes! it was raining!
but it doesn't demotivate our passion to get to the end of the great wall.

the end of the Great Wall.

she'd been bullying me ever since the day i born.
and stills, bully me after her marriage.

nothing's better than having one hot coffee at a weather this cold.
i was freezing! and soaking wet!

Energy refilled at one vintage restaurant near the Great Wall,
it makes one fine collectibles of Bronze too!

after lunch, we head to the House of Wax! Cruise through the History of Ming Dynasty. 

the fallen of Ming Dynasty on the hand of Qing.

before dinner, one tea lesson!

i took a glimpse at the National Stadium of China, Niao Chao before dinner.
to be honest, i don't heart it. i would still prefer the vintage old look of Beijing than modernization.

My China trip ended too soon.
waking up on the next morning, train ticket from Beijing to Tianjin already on my hand.
it's time to leave. Sad and Sorrow. Melancholy.

Sunset above the South China Sea.

Tianjin, Beijing are magical cities mingle amidst Vintage-New, Modernization-Regression.
Rapid developments, cities planning are far advance of the edge.

even at the old Beijing, it's still well structured. i was told, Beijing was built on the form of Ba Gua, a Taoist cosmology, literally supported on the eight diagrams. it nurtures the forces of Ying and Yang, the interrelation of balance.

well, i just hate'em smoking so-freakishly-a-lot in public area and air-con room, that was so wrong!
and some of the bad customer service, not only they're rude to customers also, they never say sorry.
oh yes! some of them just spit everywhere, even on the hotel foyer.

does the education system overwhelmed by rapid development? beat me.

-Waking up alone in a Strange town is one amicable sensation of all time-

Regards,
JW