I spent most of my October in the motherland visiting my relatives, and as many who return to the place of their birth, I explored and tried to reconnect with my roots. China is barely recognizable as the place I left when I was 9 years old, and every time I return, it changes even more. In a country that’s steeped in the values of tradition, everything is shifting with the flow of money. Everywhere I go, there is new construction. A new highway that wraps around town, a new tourist resort to lure travelers from far away, a new subway line to connect to a out of way part of town, a new shopping mall, a new apartment complex. Dust is everywhere, its ubiquitous. It hangs in the air and settles on everything, and mixes with the fog and wind and sometimes blocks the sun. Taxis and cars line the streets, some are broken down and chugging along while some are shiny and new. Ferraris, Bentleys, endless Audis, Volkswagens and Range Rovers, non are idling or cruising, everyone has a destination to go to. Its an ordered chaos, or I should say in the chaos there is order.

I love China, after all it’s my origin. To everyone I’ve met along the way there, to the girl from Yanbian who misses delicious organic eggs from across the border, to the bartender named Alfred who loves what he does and hopes to become a manager one day, to the student from Jiang Su studying for her masters trying to make it in finance, to the old taxi driver who’s been driving the streets of Beijing for 27 years and witnessed all that’s changed, I wish you all luck, and hopefully, see you all again, very soon.

My journey started out in the city of Hohhot, where my mother was born.

A Hui mosque, in a Muslim area in Hohhot.

young couples set off lanterns in a large plaza

during my stay in Inner Mongolia we took a trip out to the steppes

Mongols practice Tibetan Buddhism

constructing a road and tourist resort someone on the steppes

An Ovoo, used for navigation and prayer dot the steppes, usually found on tops of hills

Breakfast with Mongolian milk tea, the yellow is butter, the tea is creamy and salty. The white chunks on the side is “milk-tofu” some sort of cheese. White cream in the middle is refined from the fat found in the skin of cooling milk.

Next my trip took me to Changchun, a busy industrial city in the middle of Jilin province.

much of Changchun is changing into the likes of a major city, but in the back alleys and older parts you can still walk around and find locals going about their daily lives.

a local market

Changchun is located next to the beautiful song river.

Finally I arrived in Beijing.

this is my child hood neighbourhood, where I lived most of my early days.

The backdoor to the kindergarden that used to be across the street.

the house of my childhood best friend, Xiao Yie, I’ve lost contact a long time ago.

798 used to be a military factory, in the same yard as the research institute that my parents worked, I’ve spent much of my time here as a kid. It has since then been decommissioned and re appropriated as a art district.

Tienanmen square.

Tienanmen, the entrance to the forbidden palace.

The north west corner of the palace.

The Temple of Heaven, constructed with out the use of any nails or metal

tourists from all over China as well as the world come and visit the sights in Beijing. Some tourists taking a break on the steps to the circular altar.

the Temple of Heaven is surrounded by literally a sea of trees, when one is standing on top of the altar, the tree tops appear endless in every direction.

park entrance is free for elders, so many spend their time in the park enjoying the greenery and play chess and cards.

my first 3 days in a Hutong hotel.

Hutongs (alleys) are a part of old Beijing and a diminishing sight. A very small portion of hutongs have been preserved and some of the more famous ones have been converted for commercial use into stores and hotels and trendy bars.

Smog on a bad day

constant traffic and activity, Beijing is a busy city.

more photos to come!