Live well, work hard, play play? 
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I see you. As I walk in the Forbidden City in the heart of a snowless winter, I see you standing there, a stairway away from me, a thousand and one alabaster steps to climb, all but hidden behind blood-red pillars. Oh but I know that face anywhere, those lips that carry promises of what we shared before. It is not forbidden, this life we could have, surely? Please. Don’t run away from me.
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Words & design by Kenny Mah. Photograph by Grace Yang.
OMG! How did you take such an amazing pic!
Didn’t you enjoy Panjiayuan?
Ah, the photograph was taken by Grace Yang (see credits above). It’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?
I loved Panjiayuan Flea Market… definitely one of the places I want to revisit, perhaps when it’s not as cold!
You saw the ghost of the Empress Dowager??? LOL
*runs away before Kenny beats me up for spoiling his beautiful prose*
Aiyo. *fainteds*
1,001 steps?!? arrgghh, is there an escalator/elevator?
I doubt it. LOL
Was Beijing enjoyable?? cold?
yummy food>?
More please! Dont torture us!!
Cold. Yummy ITALIAN food. And plenty of stories…
run, if u will, but don’t hide :>
Haha, true. Can run, cannot hide. I will track you all down like a demon/vampire hunter!
That is one magnificent shot of the Forbidden City. Nothing paints the picture of a melancholic winter and lovers spurned like a stark grey sky.
It was indeed a melancholic winter, almost a week of it, in fact. Yet there is something so irresistibly romantic at the same time. I don’t quite know how to put it into words yet. Perhaps later, once I start my Beijing series proper (if there is indeed one).
I have not been a good Han. Being to 7 major east and south cities but not yet to Beijing.. The closest was Shanghai! Please showcase Beijing thru your eyes.
Beijing is my FIRST Chinese city, so consider me a novice too! Shanghai will be next, hopefully! *fingers crossed*
Beautiful words as always. Beijing, I will be there soon.
Oh, do let me know how you find Beijing! I have mixed feelings about Beijing but this city sure is impressive!
Why yummy Italian food! Didn’t you have the amazingly delish Peking Duck? YUM YUM. And the duck tongues. And the duck livers. YUM YUM.
Why yummy Italian food? Cos for half of my time spent in Beijing, I spent it with my favourite Italian-Polish couple and their Beijing-born baby boy! Nothing tastes like Italian dishes cooked by real Italian people, I tell you that, especially when it’s made with love. Beats the Peking Duck any time!
Magnificent history from the Center of the World. Last time & now
I forgot that is what China (中国) literally means “The Middle Kingdom” but “The Centre of the World” is a nice translation too, hehe.
Can’t wait to read all abut your holidays. Think that’ll be the closest I’ll get to being to Beijing. McCutie & I would probably be lost in translation
Lost in translation? Didn’t McCutie get a nifty English-to-Chinese translator? I think in some parts of the world, they call it a dictionary…
oooh…gimme those scorpions again and again …. slurp. crunch.
Scorpions ‘R’ Us? BFS = Beijing Fried Scorpions? McScorpions?
How long were you in Beijing? Work or leisure? You say “plenty of stories” – looking forward to reading more here!
About 5 days… was definitely a vacation… and while I have no idea when I’ll get the time to blog about it, it was certainly an adventure!
snowless winter…and i was there… too!
And we missed each other? How could we? There are only about 16 million people in the city…
last time in my opinion China is only old folks visiting places, hehe ^.^
Definitely not… wait till I tell you guys about the clubs I visited…
This grace chick is really talented.. and so are you! keep em coming:)
Thanks, dear…
Amazing picture of Beijing! Did you climb the thousand and one steps and lost your breath after that? Heehe ;p
I think I lost my breath at the sheer beauty of it all…
ooohhh…”hide and seek” in the “forbidden city”. i foresee a “dim sum” post soon. hehe.
i wanna go peking!
Hahaha… Bro, you wanna go Peking or “peeking”?
So poetic. Faster faster, somemore somemore!
Faster, faster? Cannot lah… I’m not a factory production line leh…
And more than one para lar. Chis.
What’s wrong with with one paragraph? Ok, so I am lazy… Hehe.
when were you there? i heard there’s several of snowing days in beijing… or you had missed it?
Oh dear, I must have missed the snow! I was in Beijing from Dec 3-7.
I like Beijing… was living there for 2 months but then still don’t think that I’ve seen 1/2 of the city yet…. Can’t wait to see read more about your experience in Beijing!
Two months? Wow, that’s 12 times the amount of time I spent in Beijing… does that mean I’ve seen less than 1/24 of the city? Probably a lot less, methinks, haha…
The red building was magnificent. Waiting to see more photos and your holiday adventure..
The red colour is so stark and amazing against the contrast of a cold winter’s day, CK. It’s called the Forbidden City but it is so open at the same time. Maybe the “forbidden-ness” has got to do with the secrets lost behind its closed doors…
I had been to Beijing twice, once on a school trip when I was 15 and once last year and both times no less amazing. It was a feeling of being re-acquainted with an old love – you’ll always remember something intimately about her when you first knew her but as you part and the time for reunion came, it was a whole new experience. I guess I have always been a sucker for bittersweet moments.
Lovely photograph. It felt like me standing on the porch staring at the architecture all over again.
Some places that we visit and cherish with fondest memories can be as dear to us as old lovers… I know the feeling.
Run to me, run to me.
Oh I will, I will oh…
Merry Christmas and happy new year babes..see you in 2010!! muaks!
See you in 2010, dear. Have fun in Thailand! Viva la Road Trip!
Nice photography.
Grace is a gem, isn’t she?
Oh so much drama in just 1 paragraph. =P
Aren’t you glad I didn’t write more than one paragraph then? More drama than anyone could handle, haha…