B E I J I N G  

I visited Beijing with my friend Scott in December 2001. Even though I live so close to it, I don't usually go there very often. Most of Beijing is boring, industrial, modern in an Asian way. But the historic sites are truly stunning, and retain the original atmosphere of a totally different way of life.

View from Tiananmen square to the entrance of the forbidden city

Mao's picture remains, but the country has moved on

Huge gates at the entrance to the forbidden city...

...which is still well-guarded

Inside the forbidden city: vast spaces, too many buildings to count. An in the middle of winter one of the few places that is not totally crowded

The guards outside their office - Russian-style uniforms are still in fashion around here...

Entrance to Tiantan park, one of the largest inner city parks imaginable

The Chinese are definitely into gates, and to be honest, they are really quite pretty

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