Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

It’s been a while since I posted a photo I’ve found on Flickr, but when I came across this photo of intertwined padlocks on the Great Wall of China by nuck, it just cried out to be included here.

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Nuck’s comment on the photo is as follows:

Young couples interlock padlocks on gates dotting the Great Wall in the belief it will bring the strength of the wall to their relationships.

I never knew that! I can’t remember seeing any padlocks on the Great Wall of China, but I guess if I had seen some, I wouldn’t have thought of them as being significant.

It just goes to show that the Chinese are quite superstitious. In cases like this, I like it! It’s both romantic and endearing. There are times when the superstitions are less appealing however (like when I can’t do something because of a superstition!).

Anyway, I liked the concept when I saw the photo, but the clincher was that it was set on the Great Wall of China, a place I’ve visited and a place of such significance for China.

I’ve seen hundreds of photos of the Great Wall, but never one like this. It was unique. Most photos are just shots of the wall stretching into the distance. To see a photo which wasn’t just a photo of the wall, but was a photo of something else which just happened to be on the wall, was truly refreshing.

Likewise, the topic wasn’t something I’d normally associate with the Great Wall. When I think of it, I’m not thinking about customs and superstitions. I’m thinking about the ancient Great Wall of China, the spectacular achievement by the Chinese of long ago (and boy isn’t it something).

I’m wondering how long is the Great Wall of China, how did they build it, why did they build it, how old is it, etc or perhaps just marvelling at the magnificent engineering feat.

The Great Wall of China is really something that’s worthwhile visiting if you get the chance. Just remember to keep an eye out for the padlocks. If you see any, let me know!

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

Stas Kulesh posted a couple of photos of the Shenyang Coin Building, known in Chinese as Fang Yuan Da Sha. The distinctive feature of the building is that it’s shaped like an old Chinese coin (round with a square hole in the middle).

Stas’ first photo shows the building from the side and front:

The second photo appears to be from the back of the building (ie you cannot see the square center of the coin). It’s still a pretty impressive building though:

It’s an amazing building, at once both modern and traditional, a real fusion of Western and Chinese design. Also, I believe that building’s shape has good Feng Shui for attracting money, so it incorporates Chinese beliefs as well.

Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning province, which is situated in north-east China. The Coin Building (also known as the Circle Building) is just south of the North Train Station in Hui Gong Square. According to Synotrip.com, the coin building is home to the Shanghai Bank.

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

tmesis posted a couple of really great photos of Hong Kong:

I really like these photos, partly because they are different from the standard Hong Kong photo, partly because I love Hong Kong, and partly because they’re just great photos!

The first one is a delayed exposure shot showing the stream of headlights on the Hong Kong traffic. This is truly one of the greatest photos I’ve seen on Flickr. Click on the link, go to Flickr and view the original in full size!

The second photo captures the real Hong Kong. It’s not all fashion outlets and modern buildings – there are plenty of building that look rundown and, lets face it, a bit of a mess. If you’re staying in a hotel in Hong Kong, the view out the window is often very similar to this. I’m not sure why, but I actually like this sort of view!

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

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

The Temple of Heaven is another well photographed tourist destination in Beijing (and is well worth the visit may I add). As such, I’ll only include exceptional photos of it in the Flickr Picks series. These fit the bill. In fact, they 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.

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

unfoldedorigami posted some photos of the Forbidden City:

Okay, so 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.

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.

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

braimondi posted a photo:

The Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan) is a must visit tourist destination in Beijing. It’s huge (290 hectares or 716 acres) and this photo is only showing the walk around Kunming Lake. There’s a lot more to it.

My favourite part is the Marble Boat (Shi Fang). Here is a photo of it by flibblesan:

You may recognise it from various movies. There’s a story behind it. The Empress Dowager was supposed to put the money towards rebuilding the Chinese navy, but spent it on this instead. She had many critics, although I remember reading that one Chinese academic said that any fleet China put together back then would have been easily destroyed, but the Marble Boat is still there, so it must have been a good decision!

There’s a lot more to see and it’s all very worthwhile. Along with the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace is part of the top 3 tourist destinations in Beijing.

As you can see there are a lot of tourists in this photo. Any popular tourist destination in China is certainly going to be packed with people, which is a pity really. It’d be great if you could get the Summer Palace to yourself!

I’m sure we’ll see many more photos of the Summer Palace here on Flickr Picks, as most visitors to Beijing go there.

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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