Photo Favorites 2012

Well, 2012 is almost come to a close. It's been a fantastic and eventful year for me, with travel through Mexico, China, as well as several parts of the US. I'm eager to see what's in store for me in this coming year, and if you get the chance, check out my fundraising campaign to send me to Cambodia this summer! In no particular order, here are my personal favorite photos from 2012:

"Changing China" The Canton Tower at night in Guangzhou.

"Old St. Paul's" The Cathedral of St. Paul, MN

"When the hurlyburly's done, when the battle's lost and won."-Macbeth

"That Starlit Beacon" the Pigeon Point Lighthouse at night

"Fading Act" a man in Guangzhou demonstrates the disappearing art of Cantonese Finger Painting

"Temple Park" A man paints with water outside the Temple of Heaven in Beijing

"Peking's Secret" A maintenance bicycle parked in Beijing's Temple of Heaven

"Will You Help Them?" A girl at an orphanage in Northern Mexico

My "Wall Project" Check back a few posts to read all about it!

China Pt. 1: The Spirit of Peking

       The plane en route from San Francisco to Beijing was crowded. After 13 wrenching hours of flight, a fellow passenger stood up, looked in my direction, and shouted, “Welcome to China!” A flight attendant announced over the loudspeaker that visibility in Beijing was “Under one mile today,” with a hint of irony in her voice. People poured out of the airliner as it was being gutted to travel across the Pacific once more.

      Our van from the airport careened down a crazy, spinning Hutong alleyway. It was at this moment that I determined that China must be called the Land of the Dragon because of it's twisting roadways. Road Laws seem to be more Road Guidelines in China. The “right of way” is decided by whoever has the guts to pull into the intersection. Electric mopeds catapult across sidewalks, down streets, and through walkways in herds, like startled antelope with no where to run. Pedestrian traffic is left to take it's life into it's own hands. If you can run fast enough, you can cross the street.

      Wangfujing is Beijing's central shopping street. Grime covered buildings tower over streets caked with dusty pollution. A soft haze lends an ethereal element to the scene. While commercial centers, filled with designer Western clothiers dominate, traditional family businesses still carry on as they have for countless years. Wangfujing Cathedral stands as a black sheep; something which neither belonged in Ancient China nor it's confused identity crisis in which the nation currently rests. An unfinished shopping mall advertises Dairy Queen ice cream and Forever 21 Clothing. The notorious Beijing Night Market lies only a few blocks away.

      The Temple of Heaven, one of the landmark sights of China, shows a genius for acoustics. The little details make this site truly amazing- it's design is more simplistic than that of the Summer Palace or the Forbidden City; it's wonders are subtle. On top of the “Circular Mound Alter” (Really? Of all the names?) there is stone which lies in it's center. When standing atop this stone, you can hear your voice come from all directions. In the Hall of Echoes lie three pavement bricks, when standing on the first brick you hear your voice once, on the second brick twice, etc. The gold gilding remains as a shimmering reminder of China's wealth and power.

      Tienanmen Square. One of Communism's last outposts in the 21^st Century world. Famous for it's 1989 Massacre and it's gargantuan portrait of the country's late leader, Chairman Mao Zedong, Tienanmen Square is a testimony to a national pride unheard of in the Western World. The deceased body of Mao is on display in a glass casket, and the Monument to the People's Heroes is still the dead center of Beijing. What many Westerners mistake for a tribute to the Red State is really a place as conflicted as the rest of the nation which it represents. The Tienanmen Square Protests of '89 were actually preformed by orthodox communists, who set themselves against the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and his successors. The Square is eerie in it's very presence. Red Guards and police vans still patrol the Square regularly, as if to make sure that everyone remembered where exactly they are. As an American who is not altogether the most patriotic person, Tienanmen Square served as a truly fantastic reminder that although our nation is far from perfect, we really do have something to be grateful for.

      Rising into the smog like a majestic bird, the Hall of Supreme Harmony is one of the most awe-inspiring sights that Man has ever created. The Forbidden City, with it's elaborate gardens, soaring rooms, and incredibly attention to detail cannot be described with the inadequate English language. “Beauty” simply does not cover half of the awe of the Imperial Palace.

A monk outside the Summer Palace

      The only thing I found truly striking in the Summer Palace was a large photograph, probably from the mid-sixties, printed onto a display board. The English caption simply read, “Pu-Yi and Mao Zedong.” The photograph featured two men shaking hands. If I hadn't read up on the history of China's last emperor, the picture wouldn't have appeared any different than any other photo of Mao. There are lots of those. Pu-Yi was China's last emperor. His story is one of the most understated tragedies of modern times, and I'd highly encourage you to read a more detailed account. Something about ending up as the gardener in the palace you grew up in puts a perspective on how much control we have truly have over our own lives.

      Snaking along the hills outside of Beijing's suburban areas is China's most iconic sight: The Great Wall. It truly is amazing, and I wish I could've spent more time climbing it. “He who has not mounted the Great Wall is not a true man.” -Mao Zedong

The Hutong. The one with the yellow front was our hostel.

      Beijing's magic lies in it's subtleties. Sure, there are the awe-inspiring sights of Ancient China and modern innovation, but the true spirit of Peking is embodied somewhere deep in an unpaved Hutong alleyway, where roast sticks of tofu can be found for 1 Yuan, and people are sitting outside, enjoying the evening over a cup of tea and a game of mahjong. One of my favorite experiences in China occurred in the Hutong Hostel we were staying in. To my knowledge we were the only guests staying in the courtyard home, which had been converted into a hotel/hostel. The staff was comprised of students who all lived together in the home and managed the guest rooms. One evening, my mother and I were invited to join them for a Dragon Boat Festival Party, as it was Dragon Boat weekend, one of China's larger holidays. We were told to return in an hour, so we went for a walk around the hutong where the hotel was located and the surrounding alleys. Upon returning, we found that the lobby had been decorated and that they had baked us special lotus-wrapped dumplings that are only served during Dragon Boat. They wanted us to play a game with them, and it turned out that the game they had in mind was something similar to charades. We played charades for nearly 2 hours. Our Chinese is terrible, and their English was comparable, but we still had the time of our lives. I have the feeling that those 2 hours that I spent in a hostel in a little alleyway somewhere in the urban sprawl of Beijing playing charades will stick with me for quite a while. 

My mother and I with the staff of our hotel

China's Change

                                                                     "Transitions"

     It looked like something out of a Cultural Revolution propaganda piece. Five farmers walked with rakes and shovels in hand along the rural road about 50 kilometers outside of Beijing. Each wore an olive-drab hat, adorned with a single red star. Wheat was spread out in patches along the road, drying beneath a sun hidden by layers of pollution.

      Deep within the urban sprawl of Beijing, The Monument to the People's Heroes lies in the center of Tienanmen Square, flanked by Red Guards. Across the square, Chairman Mao smiles benevolently down at his people from the northern gate of the Forbidden City. Merchants hawk their wears, which include copies of Mao's “Little Red Book” and t-shirts sporting an image of “Obamao,” which features the President's face pasted into the Chairman's famous military uniform.

      China is a land of contradictions. In some aspects it appears to be a frighteningly regimental society, plagued by an overzealous government, while any amount of time on the chaotic streets of Beijing would make you think otherwise. 1,000 year-old temples lie in the shadow of modern skyscrapers. Communist Party buildings stand within blocks of international bank chains. Wangfujing Avenue's many malls and highrise hotels show the world's largest country's push towards Western modernization, while aspects of the ancient hutong (narrow alleys of courtyard homes, restaurants, and shops) culture remain intact.

      In the Temple of Heaven park, an elderly man and woman stood, worshipping the Tree of the 9 Dragons, a 500 year old Chinese Juniper. Meanwhile, thousands lined up in Tienanmen Square, waiting for a chance to glance at Chairman Mao, whose body is on display in a glass casket. A few kilometers from the square, in an unfinished shopping mall, Western chain stores and restaurants attracted an untold number of China's youth. International tourists are still a novelty, as Americans are often asked to have their picture taken.

      There is a “Lost Generation” in China, although it is nothing as romantic as the Parisian expats of Hemingway. Many of the elderly Chinese still cling to the fading religious customs of their ancestors, whether Taoist, Buddhist, or some combination of the two. It is difficult even for the strongest government to expel nearly 2,000 years of tradition. Tienanmen Square, with it's devotion to the deceased Chairman and his Party, is filled with many people of all ages, however, those of middle age predominate. Growing up in a “Continual Revolution” shows it's products in China's middle aged citizens. There is, however, one age group that does not yet seem anchored. The young people of China live in a continually changing nation, in it's own adolescent stages. Western chain stores and banks have taken root in urban metropolises. McDonald's stores look out on ancient streets near the centuries old Forbidden City, which is bordered with Tienanmen Square. The contrast provides young Chinese with an apparently uncomfortable choice: forsake the rigid, militaristic comforts sought by their parents, as well as the ancient ways of thought and life belonging to their grandparents, for Western ideas and culture, or keep up with the traditions of either one. Both Maoism and ancient thought require China to withdraw within itself, while succumbing to American and European ideology will ultimately destroy both of China's unique thought systems.

       The young people of China face a serious choice, as their decision will change global politics and economics- for better or for worse.

                                                                    "Temple Park" -A man paints characters with water outside the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

                                                       A very modern bridge in Guangzhou
 

                                                                   "Canton Lost"- Guangzhou's skyline.