Strolling around the capital of the ancient Middle Kingdom, I was a bit impressed by the relative quietness of the city. Traffic is fairly intense in Beijing, although not as much as it may be in Athens, Paris or Barcelona, or even LA, but, in contrast, the level of noise did seem rather low to me.

I was also a bit surprised by the level of courtesy the locals showed toward each other and toward foreigners as well, which seemed to me a bit higher than in other Chinese cities I’ve been to.

None of the photos shown in this page is unique in its content, except perhaps for the fact that yours truly appears in some of them. But if you have been to the places depicted there, you know how it feels to step on grounds that were labored hundreds of years ago, like the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, or on grounds that have such significant political meaning as Tiananmen Square does.

The meaning of these photos, therefore, is emotional rather than visual.

To view larger versions of the photos just click on any of them and keep clicking "next."