Last week, while making the trek to Tiananmen Square through multiple layers of security, I spotted this display in a souvenir shop: The return of the exalted-political-leader-on-a-plate souvenir, something we haven’t seen for a very long time. Two weeks ago, the current leader of China orchestrated a change in the constitution that will allow him […]
There’s More Than One Way to “Go Green”
In February of 2001, the International Olympic Committee made their final inspection visit to Beijing to see if the city would be up to hosting the 2008 Olympics. In preparation for that visit, the city got a major “spruce-up.” Office and apartment buildings that had been a dull gray since their construction decades before were […]
Chillin’ in Tiananmen Square
This has to be one of my favorite photos from my recent trip to Beijing — a Tibetan Buddhist monk hanging out in Tiananmen Square. The umbrella makes him look quite dapper, don’t you think?
May 35 Reading
Today is June 4, the 27th anniversary of the military assault on Tiananmen Square to clear it of student protesters. In China it is simply known as “Six Four” (the Chinese way of saying June 4), and it is such a sensitive anniversary that numbers 6 and 4 get censored on the internet. Never mind, though, […]
A Book for Today
In light of today’s date (June 4), allow me to recommend a book: The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, by Louisa Lim. From the Amazon description: On June 4, 1989, People’s Liberation Army soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians in Beijing, killing untold hundreds of people. A quarter-century later, this defining event remains buried […]
Getting Out and About — Beijing and Las Vegas
A few weeks back travel expert Kendra Thornton contacted me about doing a joint post on our favorite places to visit. It sounded like a fun collaboration, and this post is the result. I write about a few fun things to see and do in Beijing, and Kendra writes about one of her favorite destinations, […]
