Here are some photos from our recent trip to Tokyo and Hokkaido. The first two photos are of buildings situated inside the grand Imperial palace walls, where the castle of Edo once stood hundreds of years ago. Both buildings survive the castle, and date from he Shogunate period in Japanese history. The third photo is […]
Continue ReadingChinese New Year–The real deal (part 2)
Happy new year everyone! 新年快乐 We hiked up the side of a mountain near Xixi Lu to get good photos of the West Lake, alas there was nothing going on! The real action was back in Xuhu district (where we live), so on midnight, we observed the most outstanding fireworks I‘ve ever seen – more […]
Continue ReadingChinese New Year–The real deal (part 1)
As I alluded to recently, Chinese New Year has been fast approaching. Last night and at all hours we’ve heard sporadic fireworks, some big, some small. Today CNY kicked off with a bang – it literally feels like we’re in the middle of a war zone – and since dusk our apartment has been surrounded […]
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