Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
July 18th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district Well we are here now! Thanks to Rose and Nick Buckley for the ride to the station in HK. It calmed me down and was a nice way to go. The train journey was better than any of us thought. We were a bit ... [full story]
June 20th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district June 18th, 2008
If she lets me put this on her blog site, this is my turn to talk about our trip to see Lauren and a world that is like no other that one can imagine. This trip gives a whole new d ... 20 photos[full story]
June 6th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district » Central Business district Wow, so a lot has been going on here lately. And not a lot, too.
Beijing has changed. Like we say, the only constant in Beijing is change! Always people coming and going, moving here moving ... [full story]
April 29th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district Today we visited Chaoyang Park, right across the street from our hotel. Once you get inside the park, it is pretty unbelievable how much there is! We decided it would be nice to rent a motorized boa ... [full story]
May 6th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district Well…what the hell am I doing back here again? For some masochistic reason I decided to send myself back to China this summer but rather than traveling I’ll be working for China AgriCorp ... [full story]
April 25th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district The theme for today was rest and relaxation. After walking miles and miles and seeing temple after temple, we decided to be lazy and have a day inside. We stayed in our pj's all morning, watched sev ... [full story]
April 22nd 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district Jet lag caught up with us a bit today. It is such a weird feeling not knowing what time your body is supposed to be on! With tired eyes and bodies, we went in search of a relaxing, no-plan day. We ... [full story]
April 21st 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district We are at the close of our first full day in China. Wow, what an experience! We all rested very well (I got about 12 hours of sleep) and started the day off fresh. We had a "Western"-style breakfas ... [full story]
April 17th 2008Asia » China » Beijing » Chaoyang district Usually when my nose picks up an odd scent, I reach for my scarf or tug my shirt up to my face to protect my body from breathing in the odd, non-descript, often toxic stench. For example, the other da ... [full story]
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