China

Plenty of fences here, seen during a brief pause in the traffic. That building is the Qianmen, on the last remaining gate of the old Beijing inner city wall. HFF, everyone.

When we booked our China trip, we didn't realise it was their summer holiday season. As a result, the crowds at the Forbidden City palace were unsurprising. View large.

Well, this is the "Hall of Supreme Harmony" in the Forbidden City palace, and the details are indeed supreme. The crowds are kept at a distance from this (should have kept the shot for HFF). I promise I won't post a shot of all the 800 buildings in the Forbidden City. :-)

Detail of hand- embossed brass trim on a door in the Forbidden City. You have to be impressed by the craftsmanship, all those centuries ago. Best viewed large.

I wondered about the significance of this bronze of a happy turtle outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Looking up the details and significance, Wikipedia tells us that "A dragon turtle (龙龟, Lóngguī) is a legendary Chinese creature that combines two of the four celestial animals of Chinese mythology: the body of a turtle with a dragon is promoted as a positive ornament in Feng Shui, symbolizing courage, determination, fertility, longevity, power, success, and support." That sounds rather like another way of saying HFF, everyone. :-) I couldn't resist adding this musical link.

One of the more bizarre sights of our trip was finding this group of chefs and kitchen staff being put through an exercise/dance routine outside their restaurant. Second image in note. Here's some music if you'd care to try...

This elephant statue was at the Forbidden City. We saw elephant statues in other places, which intrigued me as I had not associated them with China. It turns out that there still are elephants in part of southern China, but a now extinct species (until the 14th C) once roamed most of the country.

It was something of a surprise to find these extensive gardens in Tiananmen Square. HFF, everyone.

What's a series on China without a shot of the Great Wall? Unlike most of the promotional images, you can expect that you will be sharing your visit with quite a few other people. :-)