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The Would Be Photographer Saves His Roll

Date: 2008-3-12 by Mark_smith; Tags: Photos

The idea is to capture not an image, but a feeling within the image.? Not a detail, but a culture within the detail.? And in Tiennanmen Square, the feeling and the culture of the place were going to be bound in a single object: a kite. Tiennanmen Square, beyond its infamy as a place of political protest, is a beloved haunt of kite enthusiasts in Beijing.? Where else can you find such an op ... View Details

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Pickpocket

Date: 2008-3-12 by Mark_smith; Tags: China Pickpocket

I was asked to signed the paperThe bus was crowded, a lurching, lumbering microcosm of China itself. Actually, I should clarify: the bottom half of the bus was crowded. The top part, where my neck was craning to keep my head from hitting the roof, was all mine. And from this vantage point overtop the sea of black hair stretching to the back, I could see all. Women taking children to school, other women and men heading to wo ... View Details

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Hutongs and Highrises

Date: 2008-3-12 by Mark_smith; Tags: Hutongs Beijing Hutongs

Beijing's HutongIs it called the Forbidden City because it is a threshold between the rich on the eastern side and the poor on the western? It certainly seemed so. When I walked out of the hair salon I was dismayed. There have been times, leftover birthday cake before me, when I have cut a sliver off the edge to even the line, and again to even that one, and so on, until only a sliver remained. To these women ... View Details

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The Genitalmen of Xian

Date: 2008-3-12 by Mark_smith; Tags: Xian

The first emperor's terracotta army in XianIf my guide had spoken no English, rather than some, he might have been easier to understand. But this was shoestring tourism, and I was lucky to have a guide at all. He was a very slight young man, with glasses so big they made him look top-heavy; bookish one might have said. I tried to ask him questions as we began our long drive through the city of Xian, and out to the countryside to the tom ... View Details

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18 Oddities to Savor Yunnan

Date: 2008-3-7 by carl; Tags: Yunnan

XishuangbannaFirst: Eggs sold in bundles People in the Longling County of baoshan area are used to tying up eggs, and into a bar with rice straw and selling them in bars in the market. Second: Young Girls Called Old Lady A custom that has developed over the recent year with Xiaguan and Chuxiong people is the Old Lady custom. Unmarried girls, aged between fourteen and eighteen years, are called Old Lady ... View Details

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