Those of you who follow me on Instagram (@yardagedesign) may have noticed my feed was decidedly RED last week. That's because I was actually in China, mainly Beijing. Here's a peek at some of the amazingly inspiring things I saw ...
What an amazing place :: an assault on the senses (for sure!), but utterly amazing. The architecture, history and colour blew me away. The biggest highlight for me was The Great Wall :: a major tick on my bucket list and turned out to be more impressive than I imagined (which is surprising because I had very high expectations to start with!). The Forbidden City was also beautiful and so huge that we actually visited twice and still didn't see everything. We like to wander and immerse ourselves in new places, so we spent a lot of time walking and exploring off the tourist track. We found many beautiful buildings, landmarks and parks. I also really enjoyed watching artisans make and decorate beautiful cloisonne vases at a factory we visited (it turns out that they use Australian copper to make these) ...
Beijing itself was everything I thought it would be :: an eastern city trying to be a western city. The old parts (the hutongs) were my favourite areas (see pic below), and I hope they resist the urge to remove these old streets and courtyard houses. The pollution is just as you've read about :: a brown smog blankets the city almost every day. We ate some amazing food, mostly chinese (including several Peking ducks, as you do!) but we also had one of the best Italian meals ever at a restaurant opened by an Italian a few months ago just north of the CBD (Eatalia, incase you ever go) :: unexpectedly superb!
It was 6 days of total departure from everything we know about Australia/Europe/North America. It is unlike any place I've visited, even within Asia. I thought I knew a bit about Chinese culture, but it turns out that I had no idea. If you have the chance, I highly recommend visiting.
For now, it's back to work for me. I have two markets in the next few weeks, so it's busy, busy!
GOMA Winter Design Market
Saturday 22 June 2013
9am - 4pm
GOMA Forecourt, Southbank, Brisbane
Finders Keepers Market Brisbane
Saturday and Sunday 6 & 7 July
10am - 4pm both days
The Old Museum, Herston, Brisbane
Have a wonderful week!
5 comments:
You sure do get about Nic...it looks amazing
It was great following along with some of your adventure via instagram. You did so much in six days! Thanks for sharing.
Loved seeing your pics along the way - must have been so wonderful to see the wall!!
I won't be able to come along to the market on the 22nd - as its the eldest's birthday!xxJ
Great Blog Piece :) loving the pics what a fab trip !!!
HLQ
Looks amazing Nic!!! Hope to get there one day too. Bet you're going to come up with some amazing China-inspired designs (in red!!!!) :D
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