2008: A Year in China

Yeah, I really couldn’t come up with a better title than that. (Note: the picture is much more impressive if you click on it for the full-size version)

Man doing some exercises at Xinghai Square’s “book” monument. A year ago today I moved to Dalian, so a picture of a person all alone in Dalian seemed appropriate. Much as I grew to love the city, I have to admit that first night was rough.

Zhongshan Square, Dalian. However, this is a scene played out every night in all cities throughout China. (Apologies for the quality; it’s a night shot and my camera was in its dying stages by September)

Taken on what I refer to in my memory as “The Most Beautiful Day in Dalian” -September 24. It was a super sunny day with an incredibly blue sky! This was taken at Xinghai Square, and coincidentally, it was the only time I’ve ever seen those water fountains actually working.

My cousin’s uncle (my uncle-in-law? His sister is my aunt but we’re related by marriage….) taking a rest in front of the gorgeous view of a VERY remote village in Sichuan Province.

We’d brought the whole family out to visit distant relatives in these mountains for Chinese New Year, and spent hours after lunch making snowmen, falling down hills, and having snowball fights. I realize now I should have appreciated the pure beauty I was in a bit more…but at that point I was still adjusting to living in China, and being in such cold weather!

Guanyin was a female boddhisatva associated with compassion and in the West is known as the Goddess of Mercy. This temple or museum (I’m not really sure what it was actually but it did have MASSIVE old rock carvings) was in Guangyuan, Sichuan Province; which was where I spent a week for Chinese New Year 2008 with some extended relatives.

Seriously, NOTHING beats eating chuar on a warm September night. I mean come on, it’s food on a stick! Though perhaps the memories I associate with chuar, especially the night of this picture, can’t really be described….Fall was a good season in Dalian.
(This particular stand is by Olympic Square, next to JD’s)

One of my favorite pictures from the entire year.

An overview of the city of Fengdu from the top of one of the hills; the city is on the Yangtze River and is part of the ongoing Three Gorges Dam project. It is believed that all souls come here first after death, before moving on to ‘other’ places (wherever they may be)

On the Yangtze River, where tourist cruise ships would dock (’cruise’ in this sense means like the big white boat in the background, not Royal Carribean style!)