Celebrating Thirty Years of East Asian Collections

Street cars at Changpan bridge, Dalian. 大连常盘桥的有轨电车

The central building stands in the corner of a crossroad where street cars come and go all the time. Crowds of Japanese and Chinese pass by each other. This is the daily scene around Changpan Bridge. The central market is nearby, where residents in Dalian get their daily necessities, including seafood. Dalian was previously known as “Port Arthur” and Ryojun (Japanese), also known as Dalniy (Russian) and Dairen (Japanese), the Chinese called it Lüshun(旅順). Located at the Southern tip of Liaoning province in Northeast China, it became a major battleground during the Russo-Japanese war. Japan won the control of the city in 1905 and invested heavily in the region, which became the main trading port between Manchuria and Japan. With the surrender of Japan in 1945, the city was passed to Soviet Union and eventually back to China in 1950.

A pier in Tianjin 天津码头

Tianjin lies 75 miles southeast of central Beijing. It is located where the Ziya(子牙) and Yongding(永定) rivers and the north and south sections of the Grand Canal(大运河) meet before merging into the Hai river, which then flows to the Bo Hai(渤海). Throughout history, the city has been an important transport and trading center in Northern China. The steam boats dock at Zizhulin (紫竹林) Pier, surrounded by and relying on foreign concessions.

Ruins of old Summer Palace 圆明园废墟

Ruins of old Summer Palace lie in the west suburb of Beijing. Once the residence of emperors of the Qing Dynasty, the palace is famous for its building architecture and collection of gardens. It was burned down by the British and French expedition troops in 1860 during their invasion of Beijing in the second Opium war. The remains of the buildings lied there and nobody came to visit the site when the photo was taken.

Mount Tai 泰山

Mount Tai, there are over 3700 stone stairs that are about 6 feet in width from the foot of the mountain to Nantianmen(南天门). Visitors can take a break midway at Ertianmen(二天门) (also known as Zhontianmen 中天门). Then visitors walk slightly downwards through Daosanpan(倒三盘) and enjoy flat path through Kuaihuosanli(快活三里), they will arrive at the foot of Wudafu Pine(五大夫松). From there visitor climb some additional steep and scary stairs to reach the summit.

Suzhou 苏州

It has been 2500 years since the city was named Gusu(姑苏). Suzhou is equally famous as Hangzhou(杭州) as a heavenly city. There are more canals than streets in Suzhou. Waterways thread through the entire city and boats carry people and cargo to every corner of Suzhou. During the Taiping rebellion in 1860s, the city was badly destroyed in the war. By the time the photo was taken, the city has restored its original beauty.

The streets in Kaesŏng (Korea) 朝鲜开城的街市

As the old capital, Kaesŏng represents five hundred years of pride and dream of Korea. Men wear traditional hats and women are covered from head to toe in a cloak on the streets, a reminder of the ancient life style.

Father and child at the entrance of a Yaodong(cave house) in Shanxi 山西窑洞门口的父子

In Shanxi Yaodong is a common form of dwelling. Houses are carved out of a hillside and trees are planted by people jointly in the front yard, providing strips of shade. An oat field is often right above Yaodong. People are busy on the threshing floor in the front yard during the fall harvesting season.