Since 1998 I have been staying in Beijing,  capital of the People's Republic of China. The situation in the most populous country on earth was and still is quite a change and a real challenge for me, being more familiar with circumstances in islamic countries. Beijing has an estimated 14 million inhabitants, the whole country's population numbers up to 1.3 billion. To my personal point of view, being able to operate and to feed a fifth of the world's population is one of the biggest achievements of today's China. Sure, there are still some other points to make when talk comes about China: immense pollution, human rights etc. Nevertheless these problems are dealt with, outside and, even more important, inside of this country, nobody denies these facts nowadays. Even though many of the foreigners face some regular difficulties in every day life in Beijing, there are many things that make living in China interesting and stimulating: closing the eyes and imagining "China," at once everybody has certain associations: Emperors, Chinese cuisine, natural beauty in the south, boomtowns like Hong Kong and Shanghai, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong, these are just a few of the most common. Fact is: China was a nation that, for a long time, wrote more than one chapter in the history of world civilization. Even today, many relicts of the goneby eras can be seen and visited, still immense and filling with respect. So, if you like, you are invited to have a look at some of them.

           Copyright © 2000-2001 Matthias Toedt Photography                                                               Last update: November 15, 2001