Beijing

In May I moved to China for a summer quarter clinical rotation at the eye hospital of Wenzhou Medical College. My first stop in China, however, was in Beijing. I'd always wanted to one of the ancient cities of China. I knew I had to go see the Forbidden City. It is China's equivalent of England's Buckingham Palace and India's Taj Mahal. I knew I had capture it on slide film. I've never shot slide film before, but I had a roll of Kodak Elitechrome 100 that I was saving up and I knew this was the time to throw it in. I couldn't find a lab that could develop slide film for the longest time so I just brought it a local lab and had them cross process it in regular C41.

I always enjoy the way that Chinese people have given the best, most epic names of all time. This is The Hall of Supreme Harmony. It is in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It is the top dog of all the structures. Situated in the center of the walled compound that is the Forbidden City, it symbolized the imperial command of the time. The central staircase with the marble dragon screen was for the exclusive use of the Emperor. The staircases to the sides are each for his officials or family members. Again. EPIC is all I use to describe the city. Even though the site is a huge tourist attraction surrounded by souvenir vendors and tour guides, its still worth a visit. The architecture really does speak for itself.