Author Archives: Stephen Cronin

Beijing Olympic Precinct

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poeloq posted some photos of the Beijing Olympic Precinct (ie the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium and the Watercube):

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The 2008 Beijing Olympics were a wonderful spectacle. When people think back on Beijing 2008, the images which will come to mind will be of the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies and of the Beijing Olympic Precinct.

The Olympic Precinct is the area around the Olympic Stadium (containing the athletics track and commonly known as the Bird’s Nest Stadium). The Olympic Precinct also includes the Watercube, which was the pool facility.

Both the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium and the Watercube were visually striking, particularly at night, when the use of lighting and colour turned these venues into a work of art. These great photos by poeloq show this to great effect.

Photos Of The Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

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The 2008 Beijing Olympics have finished and the Closing Ceremony was just as spectacular as the Opening Ceremony. I watched it on TV and loved every minute of it.

Fortunately, someone who was there has posted a lot of great photos on Flickr, with a Creative Commons license that allows me to share them with you here. I’d like to thank rich115 for his great photos! Here are some of them. Continue reading →

Birds Nest Beijing Olympics Stadium

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Martin Dougiamas posted several photos of the Birds Nest Beijing Olympics Stadium:

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These are incredible photos of the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium. It’s the angles that make the Beijing Olympic stadium – it’s not just a great sports stadium, it’s great art.

The first photo is my favourite, showing the stadium at night – the lighting is superb. But then so is the sunlight in the other shots. Fantastic!

When I was last in Beijing, the Bird’s Nest stadium was still under construction, so I haven’t had a chance to see it closeup. Now, I really want to see it in real life. At least Martin’s photos give me a chance to see it. Thanks Martin!

The Temple Of Heaven In Beijing

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unfoldedorigami posted several photos of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing:

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The Temple of Heaven is another well photographed tourist destination in Beijing (and is well worth the visit may I add). These photos are quite artistic! The angles are great and the photos work well as a set (apart from one being the wrong shape!).

My favourite is the first one, although you probably can’t even identify it as being the Temple of Heaven. I love the door framing the photo and the people in the courtyard add action to the shot. I also love the rich, deep red paint. It so strong, and for me at least, identifies that this must be in China.

The other photos are great too. The one take from a distance has NO people in it! The photographer must have waited a long time to get the shot, because the Temple of Heaven is normally packed with people. The closeup of the interior is great too, showing the decoration in detail.

Burger King In Beijing

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China does have has Burger King stores (or Hungry Jacks as it’s called in Australia – but that’s another story).

Burger King is nowhere near as popular as McDonalds or KFC, which is the clear number 1 in the Chinese fast food market, but most of the major international fast food chains are present in China to some extent.

I’m a bit worried about the increase in obesity in China. There are a lot more overweight children in China now than when I first arrived in 2002. It’s a worrying trend.

Why is it happening? I’m pretty sure it’s related to the increase in Western dietary habits in China, ie fast food restaurants and snack food. There’ll be other reasons involved as well, but this will be the main reason. They should get Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me translated into Chinese.

Anyway, as an expat, I eat at fast food stores more often than I would at home, simply because it reminds me of home. It’s still not very often – maybe once or twice a month. I prefer Chinese food most of the time!

Beijing Olympics – Opening Ceremony

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The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was just astonishingly beautiful. It took my breath away. I’ve been waiting for some photos of it to turn up on Flickr, and here are some courtesy of ..· ✈Katherina ➳·..:

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Absolutely great stuff. Katherina has a whole heap of photos of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony on her Flickr stream. I couldn’t fit them all here, so I just grabbed a couple. Click on one of the photos above to go back to her home page and check out the rest!

As for the Opening Ceremony itself, well it was just breathtaking. I loved every moment of it, well except for all the teams coming out, because that took just too long.

The Olympic rings in lights, which were lifted up into the sky (ie the first photo), were just beautiful. And well so was the rest of it! I won’t gush too much here, but I will just mention the last photo – I don’t know how they got the people to have the correct angle!

Well Done China! Great Show!

Soldiers Near Forbidden City

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These are the soldiers who patrol the area between Tiananmen (the gate, not the square) and the Forbidden City.

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The photo of the guards practising their gongfu (kungfu) martial arts skills is a classic. Click on the photo to go to the photo’s home page on Flickr, then click on All Sizes to check out their expressions!

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When marching they look pretty impressive, but you’ll also see the human side of them. I once saw them lined up on parade, but they were all holding a variety of boutique shopping bags! Presumably the bags contained their dinner bowls (at least that’s what I was told).

They also have a basketball court there and occasionally you’ll see them out there playing. This is in-between Tiananmen and the entrance to the Forbidden City, one of the major destinations for tourists in Beijing. There are thousands of tourists there at any given moment.

In the West, these sort of things happen away from the public. In China, it’s all out there in the open. For me, that adds to the charm.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Logo

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digibard posted a photo:

Olympic Logo 2008

Okay, this is not a photo per se, it’s a logo, but it’s related to the Beijing Olympics, and it’s released under a Creative Commons license.

This means you can use it for free as long you follow the license, in this case by providing attribution. This is best done in form of a link to digibard’s Flickr home page.

So, if you need a copy of the Olympic Logo for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this may be the solution for you.

Also, I just noticed that fdecomite posted another image related to the Olympic Rings:

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The Forbidden City And Tiananmen

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The Forbidden City is one of the most photographed places in China. I see many, many photos of it on Flickr, and I normally just ignore them. I’ve chosen to post these ones, because they present the Forbidden City in an interesting light and they work well together as a set.

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Only the second one looks like the normal photos of the Forbidden City. Even that has some extra energy, coming from the people in the foreground of the photo.

I really love the first photo, of a lane in the Forbidden City – the angles are wonderful. I instantly associate the picture with the Forbidden City, because similar lanes are featured in the The Last Emperor – Director’s Cut, which is a fantastic movie. I saw it long before I actually visited the Forbidden City, which really added to the experience. Now I want to see it again!

The photo of the garbage bin is a classic. The colours, the chipped paint, make it art! The last photo is also great. Click on it to go see the original at Flickr. I’m not sure what effect unfoldedorigami is using, but there are some serious angles in the photo.