Aida in China
 

The open-air grand operatic spectacle "Aida," composed by Verdi, makes its debut in Beijing Workers' Stadium Sep 27, 2003. [newsphoto.com.cn]

Aida and her rival in love, Amneris confront each other.

Radames, the general from Egypt returns to Egypt after triumph over Ethiopia.

What a graduation ceremony!
 

A Palestinian security man opens fire next to new Palestinian policemen jumping through fire during a graduation ceremony in Gaza September 20,2003.

Play polo on elephants
 

Pricewaterhouse Coopers' Christian Edwards (yellow jersey) and Nokia Thailand's Tom Claytor (blue) battle for the ball during the final day of the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Hua Hin September 21, 2003. Nokia Thailand won in over-time 2-1 to fifth place in the tournament, held in the Thai resort town, 200 km (125 miles) south of Bangkok. In the background is Nokia player Shivraj.

1.70 meters long beard
 

Avtar Singh, 60, shows his 5.6 feet (1.70 metres) beard at his residence in the northern Indian city of Amritsar September 21, 2003. Singh, a retired Indian soldier, hopes his beard would qualify for an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Largest Halloween event coming
 

Artists dress as, left to right, Squawk, Cuite Scarewcow, Snow Spirit and Eskimo at the Hong Kong Ocean Park September 16, 2003, in preparation for the largest Halloween event in Hong Kong and Southest Asia to be held in October.

Halloween
 

Billy, when you refer to Halloween in your posts are you referring to China's National Day on October 1st, or are you referring to our Halloween which falls on October 31st?

I see opera stars are ugly in China, also.:D

Re: What a graduation ceremony!
 

Wow. I'm glad I just had to walk down an aisle in a funny hat and remember the proper way to shake hands ...

Just HKnese celibrate Halloween
 

In China few people know Halloween. Oct, 1 is P.R. China National Day. I don't know what time hK will celibrate it. But I must still take overtime work in hte holiday.

Not ugly
 

Just the photo taker did not shoot it well. I saw news on TV. The opera is wonderful as it is in other cities. You said that becasue you have no chance to see it. Really?

Party celebrating anniversary of PRC
 

Premier Wen Jiabao makes a speech at a gala celebrating the 54th anniversary of the People's Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing September 30, 2003. Wen said that the State has learned a lot from the nationwide fight against SARS earlier this year and this year's goal of reform and development will be fully realized. [newsphoto.com.cn]

Martial artists mass at Wall
 

Practitioners of tai chi perform the ancient martial art on the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing September 28, 2003. More than 10,000 people took part in the event on the outskirts of China's capital as part of a cultural festival to promote the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also a healthy lifestyle among Beijing residents. [newsphoto.com.cn]

One girl in tai chi perform

Chinese win lawsuit in Japan
 

Liu Min (left), one of the 13 Chinese plaintiffs suing Japanese Government for compensation for damages caused to their families by chemical weapons left over in China by Japanese invading troops during World War II, react to reporters after the Tokyo District Court awarded the families US$1.7 million. Liu's father was seriously injured after trying to dismantle a remaining Japanese shell in August 1995, and died later. [Xinhua]

It is a history problem

National Day Holiday
 

The Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing is decorated with flower beds as the Chinese embrace the National Day Holiday which falls on October 1-7. Floral replicas of many famous Chinese landscapes and monuments, like the Three Gorges Dam and the Great Wall, have appeared in the square. Millions of Chinese are expected to travel on public transport system to get home or go on a tour.[newsphoto.com.cn]

One man put on the lamp.

Re: Not ugly
 

I'm not saying the opera is ugly. I'm saying the people in the opera are ugly.:D

I watched "My Concubine" last weekend... turns out I'm not so keen on Chinese Opera, of course Euro-opera isn't a big magnet for me either. :)

I got the impression this was Euro opera performed in China.

China eyes experiments for moon mission
 

China plans to conduct experiments related to a moon landing, a senior science official was quoted as saying on Sunday, just days before the country is expected to launch its first manned space flight.

"China will continue to develop its space exploration plans. At a future time, China will carry out lunar landing and flight experiments," Wang Shuquan, deputy secretary of the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, was quoted as saying.

The report on the Web site of China News service said Wang had mentioned China's plans to put a man in space, but gave no details such as the exact date of the launch.

China is expected in the next few days to become only the third country to put a person into orbit after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

China's long-term space plans are expected to include an unmanned probe to the moon, followed by a manned lunar mission, experts have said.

Note to China: Skip the shuttle. They're very pretty, but very expensive...

Doesn't have to be expensive, just get a knockoff made in China. :D

Billy, just wanted to say I love your pictures and thanks for posting them.

Skydivers perform at China's No.1 tower
 

A participant in an international skydiving event in Shanghai leaps from the top of Jinmao Tower in the city, the tallest building on the Chinese mainland on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2003. A total of 16 skydivers from the United States, Norway, Sweden, Mexico and the Netherlands successfully finished a group jump on Sunday. [www.newsphoto.com.cn]

Terje Halvorsen of Norway leaps from the top of Jinmao Tower in Shanghai during the international skydiving event on Sunday. [newsphoto.com.cn]

Two skydivers prepare their gears before their leap at the top of Jinmao Tower in Shanghai. [newsphoto.com.cn]

A BASE-jumper parachutes with China's national flag after leaping from Jinmao Tower, China's tallest building in the financial capital of Shanghai October 5,2003.

China National Day's Rose Wedding
 

Some of the more than 50 Chinese couples wave during a mass wedding called "Rose Wedding" in Shanghai October 5, 2003 coinciding with the week-long National Day holiday festivities. More couples are getting married after a new law took effect last October, wherein couples no longer need to get a letter from their employers to testify they are still single and the premarital health test in no longer required. Picture taken October 5, 2003.

Super wedding show

Chinese brides prepare for a mass wedding for some 50 couples called "Rose Wedding" in Shanghai October 5, 2003 coinciding with the week-long National Day holiday festivities. More couples are getting married after a new law took effect last October, wherein couples no longer need to get a letter from their employers to testify they are still single and the premarital health test in no longer required. Picture taken October 5, 2003.

Chinese Shadow
 

Chinese Shadow, which can also be called "Chinese Shadow Play or Chinese Shadow Puppet play", is one of the most ancient genre of drama in China. It came into being in the Han Dynasty (206B.C.-A.D.220) and has more than two thousand years' history.

Chinese Shadow

Popular among the people of China, Chinese Shadow is a dramatic form which uses lantern to project shadows on the screen. The artistic effect of the play is produced through light, screen, music, singing, and puppet operation. The shadow play is widely stated " a magic, lightning-like art" and win people's high praise in many countrys'.

The puppets in the shadow play are made of transparent leather. Chinese shadow artists first carve out the lines of the design and then dye them in bright colors. These transparent leather puppets become very lively and beautiful under the lantern light. With strong local characteristics, the shadow puppets are folk handiworks and a wisdow crystallization of Chinese shadow play artists through the ages. The exquistite shadow puppets not only can be played by yourself but also are a good choice for house ornament. Many state art museums and Chinese Shadow fans collect elegant Chinese shadow Puppets.

I can help you buy and send to you if you really want to get one.

Great
 

Fine Shoushan Stone Carvings

Beautiful Lotus painting

Living in the Mountains
 

Artist: Hsu Zheng Lu
Born in 1950 in the Sichuan Province of China, Hsu Zheng Lu is a member of the Academic Painting Acadamy of Shichuan. He graduated from the Chinese Painting University in Sichuan and for the past 30 years has traveled to all the famous mountains and rivers of china. His unique style of painting combines both his Chinese and Western painting skills. He has won the first prize twice at the China National Art Show.

Re: Living in the Mountains
 

Billy this is a beautiful picture. Do you have any idea how much a painting like this one would sell for (in US dollars)?

The shadow puppets are very interesting as well.

I also find the new marriage stuff interesting. I couldn't imagine having to get a letter from my boss asking if I could get married (if I was single). What would happen if a person was self-employed? It would seem more appropriate to get a letter from your parents, but I guess it doesn't matter now that the law is gone.

My thoughts
 

The arts need comunicate. Every one want keep all the best arts. I don't know hope any one keep the arts in home. It should ne put into musuem. But the musuem can not afford the money on all paintings.

No need company letter for marrige in law now. So you can easily marry and diorce.

A couple prepares for a group wedding held on hot air balloons yesterday in Jilin of Northeast China's Jilin Province. Yesterday, 20 couples were wed in this unique airborne ceremony.

Re: Re: Living in the Mountains
 

Probably because until recently, the concept of self employed didn't exist in China as the state controlled everything. And your parents might be in a different work camp whereas your boss knew "everything" about you. :)

Re: My thoughts
 

I think I understand what you are saying about art, but I have no intentions on buying this I was just wondering what it's monetary value was in US dollars? No matter what it costs I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway. I was just curious.

I realize you don't need a letter to get married now, I was just saying that it was strange to me that you would need a letter from your employer as opposed to your parents.

Abandoned baby taken good care of
 

Two nurses dress an abandoned baby boy at a hospital in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, October 8, 2003. The infant was born October 3 at Huashan Workers' Hospital before being abandoned by his mother. Medical staff took good care of him and some lying-in women even offered to nurse him. A medical check-up indicates the baby is healthy. [www.newsphoto.com.cn]

First Bath

How Weight?

Great nurses

Chinese and foreign models attending north China international model contest present outdoor outfits in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Oct. 6, 2003. 30 women and 10 men models will compete for the title in the final contest held on Oct. 8. Those 40 contestants are chosen from China, the United States, Britain, Russia and other countries.

Traffic accident kills 7 in Jilin,China
 

A damaged bus is being towed out of a channel in Yitong Manchu Autonomous County, Northeast China¡¯s Jilin Province, Wednesday, October 8, 2003. The bus collided head-on with another bus Tuesday afternoon, killing seven and injuring 30 others. Four of the victims were university students returning to school after the seven-day National Day holiday. [newsphoto.com.cn]

China National Seeds Trade Fair
 

A species of capsicum attracts attention at the 21st National Seeds Trade Fair which opened October 8, 2003, in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province. More than 2,000 units involved in the research, production and sales of seeds took part in the three-day event that featured over 1,000 types of grains, vegetables and fruit. [newsphoto.com.cn]

a water mellon weighing more than 20 kilograms

cauliflowers in flowerpot

Corn

1.82m-tall scallion

I'm glad to see the baby boy safe and healthy. But isn't it usually baby girls that are found abandoned? Did this particular abandoned baby make so much news because he was a boy?

Not only girls are abandoned. You think problems too simple and outdated. I know there are many abandoned children in the USA and other west countries.

Not that. We concern all the poor babys. Many warmhearted people trey to give them a safe and good home.

Riverdance in China
 

Joanne Doyle and Conor Hayes of Riverdance from Ireland perform their Chinese debut at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 9, 2003. The show will be featured at the hall every evening until October 14. Performances will be staged at the Shanghai International Art Festival in Shanghai October 17-19.[newsphoto.com.cn]

Cool

Blue