Impressions from China - Autumn in Beijing

You know, if you take away the gray haze, Beijing really is quite beautiful...

This was taken from the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall on a clear blue sunny day in mid-October.

Here is another view, this time, of mountain ranges adjacent to the Great Wall.

Awesome.

My attempt at an artistic shot - taken from one of the ramparts on the Great Wall.

In contrast, here are some pictures taken on a typical hazy day. These were taken in the Fragrance Hill & Summer Palace environs*.

View from Fragrance Hill.

This was taken on the grounds of the Summer Palace.

*for non-Mandarin speakers or those who are not terribly fluent (like yours truly), Fragrance Hills & Summer Palace are not user friendly at all. First of all, these places cover acres of ground with directions mainly in Chinese (& not very well placed either!) So if you go, make sure you hire an English-speaking guide.

The picture below was also taken at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, but at the end of October. As you see, the leaves have started turning red & yellow. What a difference two weeks make.

And to top it all off, a beautiful Autumn sunset by Roma Lake, near where we live. (This picture was taken by my fledgling photographer 13 year-old, showing off his recently acquired skills learnt during his Digital Photography module in school).