jeanne boden

martial arts in pingyao - 平遥武术

waiting for the bus

bird's nest - outside

flame or dragon

The building in the background on the left, at the Olympic area in Beijing, reflects the Olympic flame. Or is it a Chinese dragon?

bird's nest - inside

bird's nest

Looking at the Water Cube from inside the Bird's Nest.

bird's nest by day

Another one of the Bird's Nest in Beijing. It is a fabulous construction, a prime example of architecture in China. 

beijing modern dance company

© Pictures by Shang Jun (Xinhua News Agency)

With the focus of Europalia on China a number of fantastic Chinese performances could be seen in Belgium. Last week I saw one of the most beautiful dance performances I ever saw in my life. Strong images of rare beauty. 

The pictures here are from the first part of the performance. It was made up of black and white. The choreography of the second part was originally made for the Venice Biennale. It comprised five single dancers who each performed a solo dance, with a beauty seldom seen. This show proves once again that Chinese culture has matured. A few decades ago, China looked at the West but those days are long gone. Art today in China is clearly rooted in Chinese tradition. The five dancers can be seen as referring to the five elements, staging five colors - blue, red, yellow, black and white, expressing a flower, an insect, a fish, grass and a bird. Especially the dances of the 'flower' and the 'bird' were absolutely fabulous. More pictures can be seen on the Beijing Modern Dance Company website. 

© Picture by Ivan Wang (Xinhua News Agency)

macau emblem

People's Republic of China, Macau Special Administrative Region

macau coca cola

Brand names need to have a positive connotation. Coca Cola in Chinese means something like 'You drink it and it makes you happy'.