In March-April 2004,
I made a whirlwind trip to China and here are the photos.
I don't do travelogues, so don't expect
detailed explanations. I first flew to Beijing, then to Shanghai from where I traveled by road south towards Hangzhou
and then back again to fly back home from Shanghai. I visited
many historical sites including
the
Forbidden City, The Great Wall (where I
took my best photos), the Ming Tombs, the
Temple of Heaven and the preserved old city of Huzhan
on the way to Hangzhou.
What I discovered was a thriving
modern society with incredible construction in the works
everywhere I visited. But more striking than the
fact that China is positioned to become the major
global power of the 21st Century,
was the incredibly positive
energy I encountered everywhere I went.
With nearly 60 languages within it's own borders, I discovered
a people adept at non-verbal
communications. So, although I couldn't speak a word of
Cantonese or Mandarin I managed quite well.
If America is
fundamentally christian, China can be said to be fundamentally
buddhist in it's ways.
So, encountering
people often involved an exchange of smiles that acknowledged
our mutual buddha nature. Yes, in China atheism and
spirituality are not at odds. It's all part of a sophisticated
cultural heritage dating back some 5,000 years.
I would not easily
label the current transformation in China as 'Westernization.'
China is assimilating -- sometimes even surpassing
so-called Western technology -- and is clearly reshaping
it into it's own 21st Century
image.
These 175 photos are presented
in the order taken from SFO to Shanghai's International
airport. They do not cover all my travel since I also
shot
hours of digital video that I hope eventually to show. My video of Shanghai's Bundt district,
presents one of the world's great streets dramatically
illuminated with neon and lasers at night as it's never
been done. Perhaps it will top Broadway with it's length
and pedestrian area closed to vehicles (other than a mini-tram
on wheels). It has a
Disneyland quality with it's pristine slate and marble
floor-like street and it's shinny chrome garbage cans.
Shanghai's Bundt may well be the world's largest undomed
public shopping
and entertainment mall.
Finally,
the overflight photos at the beginning are in the vicinity
of Anchorage, Alaska,
Russia's Siberia and northeastern China, and the cute caucasian
boys at the end are classmates of Prince William who
were on Spring break from Eaton College. Counldn't resist
taking a few pictures that I've already emailed to an address
at eatoncollege.org.uk. -biron,
April 12, 2004
GALLERY