miaofengshan

we visited a huge number of temples in china this fall. here's the hike up to miaofengshan temple.

i love jimin's outfit. in the left of the photo.

at that point, we were still enjoying the gorgeous fall weather...we hiked all the way up to the buildings on top of that mountain!

 

 

a favorite chinese scarf, bought at the dongwuyuanr (beijing zoo) clothes market for 15 or 20 kuai, which translates to less than 3 american bucks.

schoolday

this exemplifies my average roll-out-of-bed-and-sprint-to-classroom outfit in beijing, at least before it got cold. i was spoiled this fall because our classes and dorm rooms were in the same giant building.

secondhand sweater and flats. dad's t-shirt. h&m mirror necklace and lace shawl.

that excellent little scar on my leg? from doing a cartwheel in my living room last spring and landing on an armchair...doesn't matter how many rocks i climb, caves i crawl through, or parties i dance at; it's always the weird small things that get me.

nanluogu alley evening

nanluoguxiang, a haunt of nels frye of my beloved stylites in beijing, is in one of my favorite areas of the city, just east of houhai. it's a traditional-ish hutong alley that now features boutiques, restaurants, bars, and cafes. some pictures of my first time on the alley below...more to follow.

 bradford, allison, kari at evening...allison in a nice skirt, as usual.

a bar: utopianism.

allison's gold scarf, at a restaurant in a restored old courtyard house.

i'm addicted to this place.

old beijing

i am back in the usa after fall abroad, and i still have a ton of photos to catch up on! below are some shots from around beijing.

allison surveying the west beijing sunset from our building.

mid-autumn festival tea on the lake in purple bamboo park, haidian district.

 

 

at propaganda, wudaokou.

 

 

bradford using my windowsill correctly.

 

chinese wedding

lovely lovely couple taking lovely lovely wedding photos at the confucius temple. taking vanity or wedding photos in public parks is super common here...at some time or another i have seen at least ten people being followed around by professional photographers in parks.

how cute and funny would it be to be working the ticket office at a confucian temple and have a fully dressed bride and groom, plus two photographers, come up and pay the park entrance fee?\

note the blending on the dress of the western-style white and chinese-style red.

fashionista ready

hilarious h & m ad near renmin university in haidian...

lama temple

a few extra shots from my visit to yonghegong, a lamaist temple in beijing, and the nearby confucius temple earlier this fall.

chic monk?

at the confucius temple/imperial university...scarf from beijing zoo market, old-school georgetown hoyas t-shirt.

798

at 798 art district. wearing a fake hermes scarf, plus an american apparel t-shirt and a seconhand skirt.

flowers in individual plastic pots are all over china's public space in pretty displays, but as an environmental studies student it feels like a toothache to see so many disposable containers everywhere...

reflected in an exhibition piece at the "voyage/disintegration" show at 798 space.

fashion politburo

back in beijing after really enjoying xi'an!

so the factory 798/dashanzi art district is a bit played-out by now, but it's still a pretty happening place for art, food, coffee, indie boutiques, and other literati/chic things. i'd wanted to visit for ages, and i even did a presentation on it as a freshman in my chinese language class back in chicago...i finally got to live the dream.

friends wandering.

BEIJING COOL. indeed.

meditative, in the midst of old german-designed factories.

an entire exhibit by ai weiwei, perhaps the most famous chinese modern artist. i didn't realize the exhibit was happening, so when i wandered into the gallery i just about jumped up and down in excitement that i had stumbled upon it...

monks, in a different gallery

i didn't get the chance to snap a better picture, but that ad definitely says "fashion politburo."

my own autumn holiday

so i am on academic break right now. i spent the last few days in suzhou and shanghai, and next i am headed to xi'an to see the terra cotta soldiers and wander the city a bit until next week. it is nice to be back in beijing for a night. i have determined that i am much more of a beijinger than a shanghai person, although according to a friend who lives in shanghai that mostly has to do with me being a tourist and not living there long-term.

more later! i am taking pictures like a madwoman!

bradford

here are a bunch of glimpses of bradford. his clothes always have a perfect fit and strong colors, and are never fussy.

modelesque at the lama temple/yonghegong and the nearby confucius temple. love the sneakers. this is how guys should deal with warm weather.

relaxing at our local park on national day.

in the process of peeling a pomelo, one of a billion fruits available at our nearby market and at stands on the street. allison's excellent dressy skirt/orange slipper combo also made it into the photo...pure essence of college.

front gate

a trip to chic, old-beijing qianmen, south of tiananmen on the solid north-south axis of the central city. "front gate." brian, klang, and allison all in collared shirts...

red lanterns, grey beijing

purple bamboo

i visited the big local park with friends last week. it is only ten or fifteen minutes away on foot and is gorgeous and large--we were there all afternoon and i could probably spend several full days there getting lost and taking boat rides on a number of little lakes. it was hot and clear outside (clear probably due to the the fact that it was near national day--things were still pretty shut down).

american apparel t-shirt (it fits perfectly--how cliche!), chinese scarf from silk street, vintage skirt, trusty black rocket dog flats. glass earrings from my parents.

movers and shakers and quakers

i visited friends at a college near philadelphia two weeks ago. we hung out, ate outside, went to a basement concert, threw frisbee, and wandered reading terminal market and chinatown--generally excellent use of an early fall weekend.

reading terminal market craziness.

marsie relaxing in the afternoon and wearing my scarf.

more scarfness in chinatown.

light tea

rose had a tea party a while before i left the US. she served homemade food, lemonade from a variety of fancy bottles, and of course tea. her living room is perfect in the afternoon--flawless light and a gorgeous table. rose, shan, inez:

rose made her own lacy dress. making clothes is a skill i wish i had; i can cut things up but i can't sew them back together terribly well. i am wearing a super cheap dress that fits surprisingly well...i brought it with me to china and i hope i remember to wear it!

in beijing

here i am, posting from beijing!

the city is incredible. i've spent the last few days exploring everywhere, wandering with new friends by foot, taxi, bus, and subway. i have so far visited nightclubs, shopping malls, junk markets, parks, ancient pedestrian streets, and numerous restaurants. its seems like my life here is based around eating, which is of course okay. classes haven't started yet, which is why i'm making the most of my copious amounts of free time! today is the 60th birthday of the PRC, so beijing is kind of shut down; additonally, it's mid-autumn festival time, so the stores have been crazy.

a lot of things here, including clothing, can be bought by bargaining down the price...this is still difficult for me but i'm getting a bit better! it also feels good to be in a place where i can practice and hear chinese constantly, and where i can throw a few chinese words in with my american compadres and they understand.

i hope to be posting some pictures once i can borrow or buy a power converter to charge my camera! i'll also be finishing up a few pictures from summer in america.

that go-go swing

chuck brown is the man behind the beginnings of go-go, which is dc's best music: a combination of funk and rock (and, more recently, hip-hop), with lots and lots of percussion. i went to see him at the 9:30 club a few weeks ago and was in the front row. he is 73 years old and he still dresses sharp, plays hard, and makes ridiculously good dance music.

his brass section also looked great.

china

so, i'm headed to beijing for a study abroad program this fall...i would love love love to keep updating while i'm there, but blogger is currently blocked there. i'll try to figure something out and may start up a temporary blog via another blog tool, or i may be able to get onto blogger--we'll see! i'll be taking a lot of pictures, though, i hope. please keep following if you're following now!

 this obviously explains why i'm playing mad mad catch-up with photos right now.

pickle dress

pickle wearing a simple dress with a mexican-style embroidered top, and also shoes that look exactly like the black flats that i wear almost every day. black flats are essential!

chuckie

chuckie, nicknamed so for her orange glasses, doing my current favorite things: wearing a scarf AND tucking her shirt into something high-waisted.

ocean silk

i love the color of this silk (or silklike) dress--it looks dip-dyed. and she is rocking the panama hat.

darling

darling in the perfect summer colors and sandals. i love plaid.

english brights

minni wearing a long dress that she pinned up herself. this is a novel but gentle combination of colors--bright pink and pale yellow. minni always looked great this summer, even at work, when we were outside sweating and getting covered in mud and dirt. i also love her accessories: the belt is great, and she made her necklace out of plastic and wooden beads and a bear paw bottle opener from our neighborhood gas station. ah yes...and she is from england.

experimenting back at work...