the journey continues....: Finally - Pictures from China!

Okay, so I went to China in July, and am just now getting around to posting all my pics. They can all be seen here - there are five albums, titled China 1-5.

Here are some of my favorites:

We began our journey in Beijing (Chante' and I). This is called the Temple of Heaven. It was one of my favorite spots in Beijing because there were more locals hanging out there than tourists. Locals play cards and music there, as well as do Tai Chi and ballroom dancing (a big hit in China since Mau's been out of the picture - when he was in power, people weren't allowed to dance).

We also went to a cool bar in Beijing where we heard live Chinese rock - way cool! This was how we knew it was the BAR. ;) The interior seemed to have some western influence, as you can see.

Execution blocks used by the emperor in Henan Province. The animal heads differed based on status: The rich were executed w/the dragon; the poor w/the dog; people from out of town w/the tiger.

The picture on the left was supposed to be the group photo of the Chinese people in the group - but you know Chante' and I - of course we jumped in! The Chinese group was a lot of fun. ;) Both of these were taken at the Yellow River - this sculpture is absolutely magnificent! We had this type of hazy sky through most of our trip. It was really humid. We finally saw some blue sky in Shanghai, the last stop of our trip.

Shaolin Temple was amazing! It was incredible to be in that place of so much history. Kung Fu was invented there by the Buddhist monks, but most of you probably know that already. ;)

The Longmen Grottoes were breathtaking, and this is such a very spiritual place because of the carvers' dedication to Buddha. The carvings range from pinky-size to larger-than life.

Old Louyang was my absolute favorite place of the whole trip. There were no tourists here and this place was very authentic. This is where I felt that I made the most connection w/the people.