Despite changes, Qing architecture stays in Beijing

Location: Qianmen Metro Station, Beijing, China (139°53'36"N 116°23'30"E°)
Date: 20 December 2009; 6.10pm
Camera: Canon 400D with Sigma 17-70/f2.8-4.5

The world’s weather is going haywire these days. I was in Beijing at the end of December amidst its coldest winter. I flew from a warm 32C of Singapore and landed in the freezing –16C of Beijing five hours later. However it was not as cold as it sounds. Somehow when one is psychologically prepared, the effect is softened. Beijing is changing every day. When I visited the city the first time back in 1999, it was still in the first phase of development where all the skyscrapers along the main commercial road, Chang’an Lu, are just starting their foundations. The whole road is like a war zone with building materials, rubble all spilling into the main road. Fast forward nine years later in 2008, Beijing is a modern sparkling city, rivalling the best anywhere on Earth. This time around, the city feels like somewhere in USA in the winter but very much feeling like Hong Kong amongst the fashionable crowds and high-rise in the Central Business District, especially at night when all the buildings are lighted up.