iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I know this is the capitol of an ostensible communist government but you’d be hard-pressed to tell sometimes

8 story mall with huge open atrium full of many escalators and shops and colored lights and advertisements and western brands

A massive modern mall with a top made to look like traditional Chinese roof. A huge ad for Pandora plays on a video screen

A towering hotel lobby fill of art deco columns and marble, with a chandelier that looks like a 12 foot multicolored faberge egg

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The Panjiayuan night market, a massive flea market & store collection. You can get the cheapest used junk or incredibly expensive jade, all in a sprawling confusing series of alleys & tents & shops

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Many interesting scenes if you keep your eyes open. A rented bike collector, a traditional Chinese restaurant built inside the 4th floor of a modern hotel, the quiet empty leafy streets of the outer 6th ring of the city, & a man walks his dog while biking

A daiquiri green electric trike full of a dozen bikes

A full on ancient looking (it’s a repro) building next to an escalator in a huge hotel atrium many floors up

Absolutely peaceful street at night, covered in lush trees scattering the street lamp light

Many electric scooters. A man rides his old fashioned bike through them while his black doodle looking puppy follows along loyally

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Speaking of food: the FOOD. Beijing is the “Empire City” & has so many varieties for all of its government workers & visiting tourists craving familiar styles from the outer provinces.

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When you finish & head back down, you of course get a chance to part with some money

A wide variety of touristy junk, commemorative brass bowls, “gold” medals, fake pistols, etc

Batches of candied and dried fruits in open air stalls

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Gorgeous blue hazed views, really just an experience of a lifetime.

A handful of people at the far end of this section have made it, we head through twisting snaking sections under stacks of blue mountains

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It was quite a workout, we managed 11 towers and went past the famous 8th tower and “Hero Slope” which is where almost everyone turns around after pausing for a photo (many of my pics have fewer people because we went past it, it was often quite crowded before then!).

A slanted battlement crenel shows a far away stretch in forested mountains

People going up a staircase that’s nearly vertical

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Obviously I need to start with the Wall. We were at the Badaling north wall near Zhangjiako, it’s close to Beijing and probably the most famous bit. I didn’t realize how STEEP much of it was, both up and down as you try to go through the full 12 beacon towers of this section

The twisty long wall goes up a mountainside

It’s incredibly steep an uneven stairs head down the mountain section, forcing people to walk backward

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Ok, some nedwalkies through Beijing & vicinity, full of food, capitalistic communism, & the Great Wall of China. 🧵

The huge tan stone wall snakes up a forested mountain under blue skies streaked with clouds, curving and following the terrain to a peak with a beacon tower in the distance

Yunnan Province style spicy mushroom stir friend on a banana leaf

A huge art deco inspired building with clock tower glows golden at night. A huge hologram of a Panda cutely frolics

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Me wearing this jacket like

It’s the Steve Buscemmi how do you do fellow kids meme but now his t shirt is Japanese dragon art

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Mine is just realism and facts, people. Realism And Facts

I have picked LA to win over Cleveland in WS. Better luck next year, Ohio

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Special bonus pic for Indy and Kell appreciators: upside down adventures

Indy the floofy border collie rolls in the grass and let’s hope that’s all it was

Kell the massive light brown and white bellied Pyrenees mix is upside down on the couch for belly rubs on his barrel chest

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“My dad has to leave for another busyness trip soon so we’re all getting special walkies. Indy’s were Friday and Wednesday is Kell’s. I had the best time, can’t you tell? See you again!”

Darby sits in a patch of lush green leaves and white flowed with yellow centers. She is so happy

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Big tree. Steep stairs.

A giant sequoia towers over a small wooden craftsman, it’s at least 6 feet across at the trunk base

Darby looks up an extremely steep stone stair to a small stucco and gray wood cottage. It’s framed by a dense hedge that goes up the terraced hill and fills the whole yard

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Hey Darby, did you hear about the fish arrested for a crime he didn’t commit? He pleaded not gillty!

Happy Darby is close under some kind of pink Lillys (?)

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“Lots of good flowers still hanging out from the end of summer!”

Darby sits by orange yellow flowers that grow from a gray green bush plus many pink roses

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Every few minutes while we walk, Darby looks up at me with hope that there will be a treato break. Then it’s back to business

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“NOW IT IS TIME FOR BOOPS”

Darby is very close and super happy, by her head is a large pink and yellow rose

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“We found a 1976 Datsun 610 Bluebird, a 1983 Mazda RX-7, & a 1990 Buick Reatta. All in a row!”

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“My dad took me to the ritzy Mt Baker neighborhood in Seattle to see if we could find some fall leaves. We did!”

Darby smiles on street corner behind her a low terraced hill is full of orange red yellow scarlet green trees

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“Do you ever think to yourself ‘gosh what a great time I had?’ That’s how I feel every minute of every day!!! Let’s have some walkies!” 🧵

Darby the most cheerful golden brown and white husky mix sits among pink cone hydrangeas and grins her happiest grin..

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At this precise moment

Indy the border collie gives me serious side eye

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It’s so good! In this pic you can see the lady stitching away in the shop, one coat at a time…

An older Japanese woman is hunched over a bright red satin jacket, stitching

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Two nice older ladies in this tiny shop do all the designs & stitching by hand. 2nd generation family business. If you want a completely custom stitching just come back when it’s ready: one year!

A narrow shop yellow awning advertising their coats with jackets hanging in front

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I got Lisa tons of gifts from Asia on my last business trip but I also got myself one special treat: an authentic satin handmade Amekaji Sukasan jacket from Prince Co in Yokosuka, Japan (est. 1947). And because I know you’d all demand it, I went with dragons. It is entirely too cool for me

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