The past half a year has been an extremely busy time for me and, now that I am back in Britain for a short while, I have been trying to sort out a little. One thing I have been trying to address is the horrible mess in which my photos have found themselves.

While there are a couple of albums still remaining to be sorted, perhaps these few will help shed some light on what I have been up to during the last 8 months:

Chinese Spring Festival

The Chinese Spring Festival, or New Year, falls towards the beginning of the Western year. Fortunately, for us, that was a week after the beginning of our assignment, giving us ample opportunity to take a look around:

The Great Wall

Visiting the Great Wall obviously forms part of the mandatory explorations in and around Beijing. If, however, you are foolish enough to go on a guided tour, you will be taken to Jade Factories, Cloisonne Factories and Chinese Medical Centres before finally reaching your intended destination:

Hong Kong

Not long after, visa woes mandated the first of many weekend trips to Hong Kong and other destinations:

Beijing Botanical Gardens

The Beijing Botanical Gardens are a fairly common destination for both foreigners and local tourists alike. If you manage to get through the crowds and traffic queues, they’re beautiful, especially in the blossoms of Spring:

Caves, Beijing

While I don’t remember the name of these caves, they provided for an amusing day out with members of our Chinese language school (BCLS) and some of their charges:

Hong Kong

Yet again. For yet more visa renewals. Yet still, an absolutely fantastic place, providing a wonderful combination of a true metropolis with small Chinese fishing islands:

All in all. A wonderful experience.