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Yushu (Jiegu/Jyekundo) Photo/Video Tribute

I've been saddened by the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in the Yushu area of Qinghai Province. This was a place I had visited and spent a few days during my adventurous trip around China and Tibet. I had a wonderful experience in this region and was touched by the hospitality of the Tibetan people and the beauty of the scenery. As a tribute, I am publishing some photos and videos taken of the town and surrounding areas. Please enjoy these photos and videos of the places, people, an...

Beijing Rock Comes to DC

This weekend we were treated to a rare and special performance by some Beijing rockers. Beijing punk rock is known for its creative, aggressive, gritty, and down to earth sound. A group of bands are currently on tour in the US. The concert stop in Washington DC was a show with Xiao He and PK14 at the Velvet Lounge. Coincidentally, my own band performed at the Velvet Lounge some 10 years prior to just a small audience of friends on a quiet Sunday night. This night was different as the Velvet Loun...

Introducing GCH World LLC

Its my pleasure to introduce my latest venture, GCH World LLC. My recently formed company based in Virginia is a trading company offering import-export agent services. As a trade agency, we aim to help US companies source products from overseas as well as sell "Made in the USA" products abroad. We also provide services to Asian buyers and sellers by assisting in sourcing US made products or by selling products made in Asia here in the USA. My interest in world trade originated from my many tra...

Lost Cockatiel “Squeak”

On Sunday, August 2, 2009, my beautiful pearl cockatiel was lost off the back deck of my townhouse. If anybody has seen her please respond with information to this post. Here is a description and photo. Name: Squeak Last seen: Fairfax, Virgina zip code 22031 just south of the Vienna metro station. Species: Pearl Cockatiel Description: Stands about 6 inches tall. Yellow and grey pearl pattern on wings and tail. Has bright orange spots on both cheeks. Very friendly and may actually app...

2009 Slideshow – Part 2

My stay in China came to a close at the end of March. I will cherish the memories I've collected during my 9 months of living in China. The last few months of my stay included some special events such as a weekend trip to hot springs in Guangdong province, various day trips into Hong Kong, and attending a wedding in Hong Kong. I've accumulated enough photos to compile a slideshow for this final chapter in the 2008-2009 China stint. Enjoy![flashvideo filename=files/videos/BestOfChina5.flv /]

Tokyo, the Unintended Visit

Our stay in China came to a close after attending a relative's wedding in Hong Kong. We thought we were heading directly back to the USA. Not so fast. The day of our departure, there was a fatal airplane crash at Tokyo's Narita airport. A Fedex cargo plane slammed into the main runway and burst into flames. Its an unfortunate disaster as the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. The result was that Narita was shut down for the entire day. We waited and waited in HK for news. Finally, we b...

The Bangkok Food Photo Collage

6 Days in Bangkok

My China visa expires but I can't go back to the states before attending a wedding in Hong Kong. What to do? Well, given the geographically central location of Hong Kong to much of East Asia, how about a trip to the sunny vibrant city of Bangkok? Bangkok is a huge tourist destination. Just take a look around the airport and there are people from all over the world. Many tourists visit the fabulous beaches and resort areas. We, however, wanted to focus only on Bangkok. Here's a rundown of our...

2009 Slideshow – Part 1

I now have enough photos for the first slideshow of 2009. This slideshow covers the very end of 2008 up to mid February 2009. I didn't travel too much during this time period and so the photos include many photos from events I've attended. I spent this time period in Behai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Houjie, Guangdong. These were some great times because I had the opportunity to meet a lot of friendly and interesting people along the way. I also had the chance to meet up with friends and relatives...

Dafen, The Artist Village

I recently took a trip to Dafen which is in the suburbs of Shenzhen. This neighborhood is world famous for its production of oil paint replicas. Back in the 90s, a Hong Kong businessman brought 20 artists to what was kind of a peaceful hamlet outside of Shenzhen. They set up shop and started cranking out oil paintings which were replicas of famous paintings by Van Gough, Da Vinci, and others who have been dead more than 70 years (and thus out of copyright). Soon, more and more artists and art wo...