Swans have been sited recently on wetlands in the Yellow River, in Shaanxi, Western China.
Every year nearly 10,000 swans fly from Siberia, escaping the harsh northern winter.
Sadly, however, over 200 swans were found dead in a lake in Inner Mongolia, about 300 kilometres north of Beijing. The swans were found laced with Carbofuram a type of pesticide. News reports blame poachers.
This lake, in Sanmenxa, Henan, is also a migratory stop for swans from Siberia.
The swans rest on the Yellow River in Shaanxi ….
Then take off in flight
燕雀安知鸿鹄之志
yàn què ān zhī hóng hú zhī zhì
is a common Chinese idiom
It means can the sparrow and the swallow know the will of the Great Swan?
The monochrome whites of a typical canal-side street in Jiangnan. Jiangnan is the area around the Yangtze River delta, where towns are characterised by their water-ways. People go about their daily lives, doing their washing in the canals then hanging them from their balconies – until the developers come along and gentrify, tourist-ify their homes.
a dance of red fills the evening at new year.
Red-coloured fireworks create red-coloured dust in the night sky, and reflect in the lake, turning it festive red for the New Year.
A fiesta of blues and indigos on a float at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Shades of beige in an elaborate carving depicting the story of White Snake.
Shades of green in a lotus pond
Green rails frame the lush greens of lotus leaves, the promise of pink in the emerging bud.
My favourite monochrome in gold – dragons dance on the ceiling of a bronze workshop in Hangzhou.
单铬 －dan ge is “single chronium” – or monochrome, in Chinese. What’s your favourite picture? Which one intrigues you the most?
Rainbow Bridge is a traditional style arch bridge in the small town of Mudu, near Suzhou.
Rainbow Bridge on Spaceship China
The Bridge is in the middle of the bustling ‘old town’ with historic homes and old bridges along an ancient canal.
A certain Roy G. Biv is somewhat partial to rainbows and he forms the wordpress photo challenge this week. Roy G. Biv is an anacronym for all the colours of the rainbow, beginning, of course, with
Spaceship China
Red – a colour found everywhere in China
SpaceshipChina
next on the colour spectrum is orange, a colour which signifies Buddhist Monastries
The lush green fields of Ma’anshan, Spaceship Chinathe turquoise blue plumes of a peacock at Xishuangbanna, Spaceship China
following blue comes indigo and purple…
Dancers in Xishuangbanna, China
Rainbows come shaped like an arch, and the tradtional curved bridges of northern China were shaped like a rainbow. One of the first arch bridges in China was the Anji Bridge in Hebei. This bridge was compared to a new moon rising above the clouds, a long rainbow drinking from a mountain stream by a Tang dynasty poet , and the name 虹桥hong qiao, or rainbow bridge, was given to many arching bridges whose shape was like that of a rainbow.
Rainbow Bridge in Mudu Jiangsu, China @www.spaceshipchina.com
The building in this photo is a pagoda on a hill in 天河 Tien He , the Heavenly River – a newer suburb of Guangzhou. It is inside a complex named 颐和山庄Yi He Shan Zhuang, or the Summer Palace. (Astute Readers may get the connection:) )
Garden of the Master of the Nets ~ one of Suzhou’s classical gardens, almost 900 years old. The ‘Net’ garden is smaller than many of Suzhou’s others – but it’s concentrated mix of pavilions, ponds, borrowed views and classical architecture make it a cosy, relaxing place.
Windows in Garden of the Master of the Nets
Note the symmetry of the windows, in their carpentry and positions…
Pavillion in Garden of the Master of the Nets
The perfect symmetry of the book case gives the room an aesthetic, scholarly feel.
Window in Master of Nets Garden, Suzhou
The intricately carved window frames with its balance and symmetry, the view into the garden.
Window in Wang Shi Yuan, Suzhou
The ‘borrowed view’ from the windows brings the eye to focus on the intriguing shape of the rock outside.
Suzhou Railway Station
The ancient architectural style of Suzhou with its geometric, symmetrical shapes has been honoured by modern-day architects. The Suzhou Railway Station brings visual recall of the old town, with its many classical gardens.
Roof in the Suzhou Museum
The amazing architect IM PEI, responsible for the Glass Pyramid near the Lourve, and the Bank of China building in Hong Kong, designed the Suzhou Museum to honour his hometown. The ceiling has wooden slats echoing the Suzhounese window style.
Courtyard of Suzhou Museum
The Suzhou Museum, designed by IM Pei, with it’s white-washed walls and geometric symmetry, echoing the old style of Suzhou architecture.
Classical style Jiangnan Suzhou architecture, from the ancient to the new.
dancing dragons 
spaceship china 