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With Dad at Tongli
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@ Tongli
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Still @ Tongli, coffee shop I do believe. These are all pictures from my mom's camera...
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@ Tongli
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Phone booth on its side + Asian squat
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Horticulture Expo, Xi'an
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Horticulture Expo
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Oh yes, they take photos with me like I'm famoush or something. And my parents make things worse by taking photos of them taking photos of me!
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@ Horticulture Expo
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Terra Cotta Soldier copies @ Horticulture Expo
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It was hot...
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And this was our rescue effort to make the Horticulture Expo mascot stand back up again...
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BR Ice Cream :) :)
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Tastes like America...because it is!
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The fountains shot overhead and I was convinced tall people would not be able to walk underneath.
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Hence the awkward ducking -- the last thing I wanted was to get hit with water from who-knows-where
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One of those "I'm-really-hot-let's-please-keep-moving" moments...and my mom apparently captured it on camera
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Couples clothing!
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Should put up a disclaimer for this... definitely one day after lunch and grandma was just letting her grandkid take a dump on the nice shiny floor outside the Ramen place...
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Dad & Yawen in Hangzhou
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Oh and look, me too!
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So happy to be reunited in HZ
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:)
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Looking at the architecture off HZ walking street
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Dipping up 8RMB ($1.25) noodles for lunch
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3/4 of the family in HZ
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Group photo at end of HZ weekend
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At 留园/Lingering Garden in Suzhou
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Lotus in bloom -- at 留园/Lingering Garden
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Lingering Garden
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Cute slogan. However, big LED billboards with these slogans will be needed to get the attention of the masses...
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Lingering Garden
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I think this was my third (possibly fourth?) trip to Lingering Garden... still fun :)
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The classic Chinese middle-aged man look for summer: roll up the shirt, let the shlumpy parts hang out. He rolled his shirt down when he saw me glaring at him only to roll it back up as soon as I walked away.
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Lingering Garden -- forgot to mention that there were a whole bunch of architecture students there that day sketching various parts of the buildings and garden
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Lingering Garden
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Lingering Garden
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Ice Cube style glass @ Lingering Garden
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Lingering Garden -- I love this traditional style of doors!
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Lingering Garden, tea house near the bonsai garden
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E-bike madness. Not nearly as many as in Taiwan, however.
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Shan Tang street/山塘街 in Suzhou, traditional canals. Think "Venice of the East."
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looking back on the road leading to Shan Tang -- old meets new.
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Shan Tang Street
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Shan Tang Street
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The Ferris Wheel (by the lake) at night! I think we were eating Indian food and I was able to rest my camera on the table to get a picture with long exposure and no flash.
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This store had a whole series of "Gut" shirts. It could be German for 'good' but I quite prefer the English reading of "You Gut, I Gut." Too funny :D
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Time for my favorite game: Spot the IP infringement!
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I'll be bringing back the Hong Kong Fish Ball flavor Pringles for some of you as presents, you know who you are!
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Crab Pringles, yummy?
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Snack pack -- healthy much?
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Blue sky, it does exist! The lake from our apartment on a very nice (and hot) day.
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View towards town, and the pants building.
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These blue sky days are seldom seen...so all the more reason to take photos!
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple So many Buddhas carved into the rock face, but this is the most famous one.
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Funny picture -- Dad and Yawen at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple I took this picture outside the building (no pictures from inside) so the light fixture is blocking the top of the Buddha's head...
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We get the idea, I guess.
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Bamboo forest in between temples Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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To say it was hot in Hangzhou that weekend would be an understatement. It was at least 100F with high humidity. More pictures as proof to come.
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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This was my attempt to get a picture without Chinese heads in it... Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - at Lingyin Temple
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake Last time I walked a good chunk of the 13km circumference with a friend, this time we ended up taking an e-car because of the heat.
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Hangzhou has laws about yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks, and here is proof. They actually sort of yield. Miracles do happen haha.
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The aftermath at Dairy Queen.
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Hangzhou - West Lake
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Dim Sum Dinner @ Din Tai Fung. They have a location in LA.
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Happy parents!
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Yummmmmmmmy :)
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Hangzhou - Leifeng Pagoda
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I took the stairs with my dad, everyone else took the escalator
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And the stairs were faster...
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Original foundation of Leifeng Pagoda
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Top of the Pagoda (after the elevator ride up). All gold, with a lot of little stupas and Buddhas.
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Dad looking out over the lake
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View from the top of Leifeng Pagoda
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View from the top of Leifeng Pagoda
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A true man always carries a pink Snow White backpack.
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View from the top of Leifeng Pagoda
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With my mom :)
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Relic found in excavations of original pagoda foundation -- it contains the hair of Buddha. So apparently not all Buddhas are bald...
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Right by Leifeng Pagoda, there is a pond where people release their pet turtles or fish.
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Turtle/fish pond at Leifeng
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Old walking street in Hangzhou
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McDonalds in a 1920s era building
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Keeping it classy, Hangzhou!
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Kinda cute, I think :)
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And then it poured...
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So we hung out in the bread/cake/coffee shop, 85C.
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And my Dad started to draw on cups...
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But we finally decided to dodge the raindrops and make a break for it.
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View from Shangri-La room -- downtown Xi'an
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Xi'an city wall
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Xi'an city wall
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on the wall! just as hot as the last time we visited...
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with mom on the wall
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looking down from the wall into Xi'an...
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Xi'an city wall
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with dad on the wall, in front of one of the gates into the city
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the "moon courtyard" -- if you didn't make it back in time, you had to sleep there
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our host decided to do something special for my parents' anniversary
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the biggest knife I have ever seen, or at least for cutting a cake
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the fam (minus Kevin) -- with girls dressed a la Tang dynasty
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opening performance at the Tang theater
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DSC06856.JPG 2011-07-15
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长袖舞 -- dancers with super long sleeves (again, a la Tang dynasty)
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DSC06858.JPG 2011-07-15
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DSC06859.JPG 2011-07-15
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DSC06860.JPG 2011-07-15
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Yang Guifei/杨贵妃's dance (she's in the spotlight, a bit hard to see...)
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DSC06863.JPG 2011-07-15
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DSC06864.JPG 2011-07-15
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DSC06865.JPG 2011-07-15
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World Horticulture Expo @ Xi'an
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bridge@ expo
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one of the Chinese provincial/city gardens
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mom and dad in one of the Chinese provincial/city gardens
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Chinese provincial/city garden
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Chinese provincial/city garden
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the Yan'an garden -- I succeeded in taking a picture of the flag, pagoda, and copy of the famous statue without 20 Chinese people in it!
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umbrella hat -- almost bought one
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the pouring teapot sculpture! my mom has a photo where it appears that the teapot is pouring onto my head :)
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for once I was taking photos of other people, not them of me. these guys had hats that could be bent into like 10 different shapes. the next big trend? I think yes.
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Shanghai garden
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I think this was the Guangxi garden...
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Guangxi garden again
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another Chinese provincial garden
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this was in the Shandong garden -- Confucius' Analects were carved on a sculpture! and since I had to memorize them, this was a most fitting picture
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taking wedding pictures at the expo -- the bride waved at me haha
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Taiwan garden!!!!!!!!
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also in the Taiwan graden
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looking across the lake at the expo - to the Chang'an Pavilion (pagoda) and some other building that had a really long line...
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lunch! Taiwanese oyster pancakes w/tomato sauce
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Dai ethnic minority, found mostly in Yunnan province
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the garden that went with the Dai peoples...
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oh hi there! it was really hot...
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Chengdu, Sichuan garden
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Something you should see in Texas. This one was pure cement.
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Chang'an Flower - the expo mascot! He was lying on his side and I thought I would pick him up for a photo, but it turned out to be heavy (for being filled with air) and I got many laughs from passerby as I struggled haha
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Holland garden
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Myanmar, I do believe...
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Anniversary weekend, so only appropriate that the parents posed by the smiling heart in the Swedish garden
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Across the water...
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Spanish garden (local architecture/construction company though)
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Looking across to the SE Asia section. North Korea was hidden in there somewhere too...
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Worm sculpture! And the beginning of the SE Asia section
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SE Asia section, mostly shops/food... we were getting really hot/tired from walking the circumference of the lake
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getting closer to the exit at this point...
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the Asian squat!
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closer to the exit...
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lawn/bush sculptures like none other
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we went to this dumpling restaurant (300+ combination of dumplings) and had 20 kinds + 10 other courses. hands down the cutest dumpling I have ever seen - no turtle meat inside, for the record
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Shaanxi Provincial History Museum -- lots of cool stuff to end the Xi'an weekend
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View from the apartment -- on a particularly smoggy/hazy/humid day
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Tongli -- bridge
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Tongli
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Tongli streets
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Tongli
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Tongli - many houses were marked for being recognized as hygenic and civilized. Wonder what the standards are...?
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Tongli
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Lots of layers/history in this Tongli home
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Tongli
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Tongli - the arched tree is thousands of years old, and thus really famous!
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Tongli
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Tongli
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Map of the residential + garden property at Tongli's Tuisi Garden
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And you can pay to dress up in clothes of the emperor and have your picture taken. These kids were too cute, albeit unwilling to be photographed...
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Hand-carved 福/happiness
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Tongli
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Tongli
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Tongli
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Tongli
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Tongli
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Mom and Dad -- french dinner at Moon Harbor
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Legitimate French food -- chef from Toulouse
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So her "eat me" shirt was LED powered. I don't usually run after locals for pictures (usually it is the other way around), but this one was worth it.