Tiananmen Square

Birthday in the Jing

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October 16th 2007
'So what do you want for your thirtieth birthday?' Alan asked me on a rainy summer's day in Dublin. I sat at my desk and looked around at the impressive array of gray files, paper-clips, staplers and three rulers to my name and thought hard. A gust of air blew in signalling the arrival of the train and we boarded, making our way to Xizhímén station where we were to pick up a bus to the Summ ... read more

Asia » China » Beijing

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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. A... ... read more