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as spring struggles to kick in, i find myself in little reminders of joy in the cold. that’s the beauty of balance, where everything has it’s advantages and disadvantages. in this cycle we live, we are soon to enter spring and summer, and we complain about the heat again (depending on where you are). the hard part is taking it from the bright side: just be happy, take the good side of it. the characters shown here are 快樂.. happiness.

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many many kites tied together in flight outside houhai in biejing.

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november welcomed beijing with a snowy sunday. everything was covered in snow, the air was clean and the sun was bright.

today was still cold though, and as i explored the first day after the first snow, i witnessed change. the air was still clean and the sun was still bright: new leaves had now fallen and new ice was already melting.

umm, grass was still grass. taller.

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so the “new china’” turns sixty today. so many ups and downs and all the generalizations people see from around the world. as i’ve lived here for a little more than a month now, all i can say is that things are just booming, and as everything in life it always has its pros and cons. regardless, the chinese remain more nationalistic than ever. i took this photo last year for the olympics and was surprised on how many new flags like this one they put up every year.

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i have always had a hard time dealing with the smell of incense, specially this kind they use for religious purposes. however, fire is one of the most intriguing elements in this world and i am always fascinated to explore how things can burn in just a flash. i find it very interesting how people make wishes upon these incenses and let them burn away, just like spiritually setting thoughts in stone.
happy happy birthday lama!

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bicycle popularity has been increasing exponentially. the production of these is up to fifty million a year and only in china there are currently more than four hundred million bicycles. the only detail here is that if fifty percent of the car rides in the u.s. are less than two miles, how come only one percent of these rides are made in bicycle? food for thought.. in holland this percentage ranges around the thirties.

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if i’m not mistaken, it’s the ‘east glorious gate’ from the forbidden city. there’s a new project just across the sreet from this, where i was actually visiting. it consists of a very old village which was torn down and rebuilt with nice touristy details. i’m still not sure how i feel about “disney” finishes.. nice i guess? more jobs? cleaner and healthier businesses? the photo was taken on august 23rd 2008, one night before the olympic closing ceremony, which explains the cloudy sky. they were able to make the clouds rain artificially to prevent it from ruining the closing event. genius detail..