中国 CHINA : bonus gems...

"rulers" for visitors number 2. is good...




some of that real "haute couture".


we're all "gaijin" in china...group pic 1.


pic 2.


pic 3.

中国 CHINA : Shanghai 上海

After taking once again the night train, we were back in Shanghai. Largest city of china. We had only caught a glimpse of the city at night when we first arrived. We were to fly back from here.


The curious but intriguing skyline of the Pudong area in Shanghai.


Shanghai station plaza by day...


Pearl tower. yup, tallest 'tower' in asia.


view from the top...one end of the 'Bund'...




tallest 'building' in asia...3rd in the world...at least soon to be.


tall buildings as well as spatial voids exist in China. This is how the city works...come back in a few days and there will be another olympic stadium somewhere.




'cheap' aloo...cheap products: made in china, sold in china.


side streets...








notice how the crosswalks are literally in the air. chinese intersections are so chaotic sometimes that pedestrians have to cross on a different level...sometimes underground as well.








Chenghuang Miao: a rebuilt traditional chinese style quarter...




Shao-lum-pao??: traditional architecture calls for traditional food...


...with the circular 'rotating' table and everything...a little something for everyone. So good, we came here twice.


Zhouzhuang: the Venice of china...a little closed-off like 'island'; for tourists and more tourists.


however this little city a couple hours away from shanghai had its charm...old rural architecture surrounded by canals.


no cars, no bikes just gondolas...


wen-wen san: notre guide officielle durant notre pti séjour...respect!








la marée rouge: Koi fish...


language barrier: chinese easier than japanese?...don't think so. I guess it helps to learn one if you know the other. However, one thing for sure is that it helps to have someone that speaks chinese in your group...(merci wen!)

中国 CHINA : Beijing 北京

This two week trip started with an 11 hour train ride from Shanghai to the capital: Beijing...also known as Pekin. We almost missed the train...there was a crazy amount of people on the train station's main entrance plaza; for some reason, they would only let people in the actual station with a train ticket, therefore amongst people trying to sell you random things, people waiting for 'arrivees', people just hanging out on the plaza for no apparent reason and homeless folks, there were people like us with luggage mixed in the crowd trying to catch a train...the last one of the night. This was not the time to get lost. What a first impression. Finally in the station, we hopped into the train, ready for a nonstop ride to the north of the country...


Tian'anmen square: view of the Mao's memorial hall, and the monument to the people's heroes.


there he is!
"gate of heavenly peace making" : front entrance to the imperial city...


changing of the flags...


And here is the french 'UFO' opera house, in the middle of a huge pond. In the middle of China.


I guess that explains the 'under the water' entrance.


Herzog's nest. Ready or not...olympics are coming in what, 3, 4 months???


behind the bubble wrap is a pool


Rem's twisted geometry. A couple more nights should do it.




don't think it was flat the whole time...we hiked all the way up.


The great wall= "Banri no Chōjō" (jp)= 'ten-thousand kilometer peak'.

...hum, i'm wondering.


group pic on a peace of untouched wall...


...and we slid all the way down.yay.


798 studios. Crazy amount of blocks full of amazing art galleries.


of course.




...hum? i wonder why.


Red lanterns everywhere...




yea, it's a chain. I love the man, but... the food was less kick ass.






Temple of Heaven.




The park surrounding the temple was so animated...amazing, all sorts of activities


Domino!


Tai chi!


straight jamin' on a sunday morning...very nice.


not an official olympic sport yet, but they didn't care, there where still rockin' the red jumpsuits...


foreshadow of an expanding city; a city a little out of proportion, not to human scale.