Water Urn, Forbidden City, Beijing

Water Urn, Forbidden City, Beijing
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

These massive urns would hold water which could be used to put out fires in the wooden structures that comprise most of the buildings in Beijing's Forbidden City, home to many of China's dynasties including the last emperor until his overthrow by Sun Yat Sen and the nationalists around 1911.

Some of these urns were covered with about 2.2 kilos of gold leaf and showed signs of scratches as ancient looters scraped off the gold.

Olympic Village, Beijing

Olympic Village, Beijing
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The entrance to the Olympic Village complex in Beijing. After the games these apartments will be sold as residential housing in an area of Beijing that will be home to upscale shopping and neighborhoods. I'm not sure on the pricing of these apartments though it will be considerably less than the approximately $5 million US needed for a luxury apartment at Pangu Plaza which is very near the Olympic Village complex.

I'm here with my friend Kevin Wu, a Medford Dentist who grew up in Beijing.

Great Wall at Simatai

Great Wall at Simatai
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Another shot of Simatai, the section of the Great Wall that has had somewhat limited visitation, especially by foreigners, because it is about 100km from Beijing.

The hike up the ridgeline on top of the wall was unbelievable as the wall stretched up and around the cliffs to the East and as far as you could see to the West. This section has had very limited restoration yet much of the huge structural components are largely intact, including the watchtowers where overlapping rocks hold up massive stone cielings.

Great Wall, Simatai

Great Wall, Simatai
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

The Great Wall of China is arguably the greatest of all structures reated by humans. At one time the wall stretched some 3600 miles in a generally east to west direction, guarding the southern dynasties from a potential invasion by northerners.

The wall took centuries and millions of men to build, and was guarded by over one million soldiers.

Here, at Simatai, is one of the Great Wall´s most dramatic cliffside exposures. Reconstruction is underway here but slow, leaving much of the original structure to explore. The hike is breathtaking in all directions and magnificent views of the wall are all around. The downside is a hair raising highway experience to get to Simatai, which is about 100 miles from Beijing and thus much farther than the most common viewing area at Badaling.

The Bund, Shanghai

The Bund, Shanghai
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

British influence is very apparent along the Bund in Shanghai, where there are dozens of majestic old buildings along a stretch of river where thousands stroll every day and evening.

Across the river from the bund is Pudong where growth is explosive as Chinaś economy continues to blossom.

Shanghai Gardens

Shanghai Gardens
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Yu Gardens in Shanghai offers beautiful vistas. Ming Dynasty and a must see Shanghai attraction and historical masterpiece

The History Channel Rocks!

If you haven't watched the history channel lately you've been missing some of the best television in American. Unlike years ago where historical TV was recycled, boring fare that often had been dredged from old documentaries, the History Channel offers shows with intrigue, high production values, and superb graphics to illustrate the nuances of many cities, battles, and events.

I especially enjoyed the presentation about the true story of the battle between the Greeks and Persians which is fancifully depicted in the movie 300, but far more realistically assessed by the History Channel.

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