Beijing

Beijing has a history that dates back 3,000 years and their Great Wall is the only manmade structure that can be seen by astronauts. We visited Tiananmen Square to photograph the unveiling of a new statue for the People’s Republic of China. At the forbidden city, which for centuries was closed to everyone but the Emperor’s Army, we visited The Imperial Palace. Here you can photograph a collection of clocks and timepieces worth a fortune plus many other artifacts.

The filming of the Last Emperor took place here and attracts visitors from all over the world. You can smell incense burning as you walk into the courtyard and see smoke rise from centuries old bronze burners.

Here’s in the largest palace and grounds in the world, with 30 foot high walls that seem forbidding, and well preserved from ancient Ming and Qing Dynasties. Twenty-four Emperor’s lived here including the Last Emperor of China. This ancient architecture with pillars lined up like tall soldiers is a pattern of Chinese influence you’ll want to expose on film.

On our way back to the Kunlun Hotel we stopped at the world famous Temple of Heaven with its unique architecture and ancient sky high cypress trees. Here you’ll focus on a 33 meter (108 foot) high cone-shaped Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. It’s an enormous wooden structure with three umbrella shaped roofs supported by 28 pieces of Nanwood. No cross beams or nails are used on this structure.

I spotted a pair of twin boys and snapped their picture. Twins are rare in China. Because of China’s over-population, citizens are restricted to only one child per couple, however, there is no penalty for an extra child when having twins. Here also is where Wcho Wall and Triple Sound Stones are tested by tourists and citizens as well, producing a unique acoustic phenomena.

Many of the temple guards forbid picture taking inside, however, a little bit of friendly persuasion and they turn their heads. You may want a higher ISO film speed to capture darker interior details.

You’ll find the night life in Beijing exciting with discos located in all the western style hotels. At the Summer Palace you can photograph the famed Marble Boat and walk the Hill of Longevity, a thousand stair steps. A mile long corridor of pillars and scenery surrounding a misty lake where colorful dragon boats and floating lily pads offer opportunities to compose your best shots.