Category > old beijing

beijing in vintage postcards from images of asia

Street cleaners wash down a city street in old Beijing. Chinese Lunch Counter on the Streets of Beijing   Chinese Water Carrier The Images of Asia stock image website combines two of my favorite things: vintage postcards and historic China. These evocative postcards, some with their original stamps, are organized by cities and by studios.  [...]

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walking the legation quarter

Earlier this week, I decided to take a walk from the Beijing by Foot series. (One of my goals, before I leave Beijing, is to go through all 40 of the walks. They are like doing a giant treasure hunt.)  I chose the Legation Quarter walk as I’ve meandered through the Qianmen area many times [...]

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“none holds for me the abiding charm that is peking”

I have just discovered the Travel Film Archive, a collection of travel footage from 1900 to 1970 available on YouTube. If you’re a fan of old newsreels, you’ll probably love this.  Complete with serious voiceovers and the slightly patronizing tone of the man on the spot to those funny foreigners, they capture a time when [...]

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China via Fodor’s, circa 1979

Now that the Olympics are over, and we in Beijing have nothing to talk about, it’s worth taking a look at how China was perceived through American eyes back in the day. Recently, I was given a copy of Fodor’s People’s Republic of China, published in 1979. Written by John Summerfield, “a long-time resident of [...]

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