Great Wall of China (Badaling) / China · 2016 misty Chinese new year
______
just a glimpse, stay tuned for more to explore · MilesAstray unfolds in retrospect. I was living these stories full time, now I’m penning them down. Head over to the countries page for the latest places/stories.
______
a glimpse
glimpse: CRIMSON REMINDER | At daybreak, a freezing breeze cut through the January-air and left no doubt about its reign over the cubical grid-heart of Beijing. Even the sun seemed a little helpless when it rose slowly like a pallid disk whose warmth offered but the frailest shelter. But there was something the cold couldn’t oppress or conceal – a tale of warm blood spilled – and as the far star climbed towards the zenith, it flooded the flags at Tiananmen Square like an unwavering crimson reminder.
glimpse: WINTRY SUNDIAL | On this wintry morning in February the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing brimmed over with visitors; by the thousands they kept pouring in, cherishing the Chinese New Year in a place of vast cultural significance. Amid the myriad people buzzing around this sundial sat quietly as it had for centuries and just waited for its righteous moment in the rising sun.
glimpse: BLUE SKY | Drained of its natural blue, the sky over Beijing hasn’t looked like itself for years. The notorious smog is a pale witness to the world’s largest carbon emissions. Long established factories for the world, China’s metropolises hardly get to catch their breath; the less so now that the hungry domestic middleclass is just getting comfortable at the consumerist table. It’s fair enough – the West has feasted for ages, all the while belching out CO2; let India, Brazil and China have their turn! But alas, doctor’s orders are a green diet. For everybody. Right now. And, foregoing its turn at pollution, China has become one of the front runners in role modeling for renewable energy: phasing out coal mines, challenging individuals and corporations by implementing strict regulations, and blowing away the smog with more wind energy than any other country.
glimpse: 4714 MONKEY | And just like the drizzle, a passenger of the February mist, the people kept pouring in by the busloads until the Great Wall was flooded. They all had come to usher in the New Year – 4714, year of the monkey – but they had come in peace, elbowless and hasteless, moving together in collective harmony like one enormous serpentine organism.
There was the mysticism of an old empire, sometimes out in the open, sometimes tucked away in the little side streets of the capital.
_____
Beijing / China · 2016
Everything seemed well organized and structured, but if you looked close enough you could find little, beautiful, random messes everywhere.
_____
Beijing / China · 2016
__________
places / stories
yet to be written
Beijing / 72hyet to be written
Great Wall of China (Badaling) / Solidarity over StampedeShow More
Beijing / 72h
yet to be written
stay tuned
Great Wall of China (Badaling) / Solidarity over Stampede
yet to be written
stay tuned
_____
related
Show More
photos | urban
The Street Next Door
stumbling upon the grandeur of normality in everyday streets
...the grandeur of the streets compiled herein lies in their utter normality... these streets are the subtle voice of the mundane; they are the streets next door... see more
photos | people
Human Shake
what a fine blend we are
This collection is a blender, so watch out that you don’t end up in it one day. see more
Show More
photos | urban
Northeast Asia
between temples & towers
modern-day normalities colliding with cultural heritage at the intersection of eras see more
photos | landscapes
Asia
neon-rice & snowy white
In a realm so contrasting that it juxtaposes the world's highest peaks with some of its most paradisiacal beaches, there's naturally much to see: gargantuan caves, neon green rice paddies, bizarre monoliths, brackish lagoons, blue lava and a volcano inside a volcano to name but a few. see more
Japan
neat, yet quirkySouth Korea
modern and artsyShow More