Autumn In Beijing

Asked anyone anywhere what they know about Beijing in China and the first thought that crossed their mind would very likely be "the most polluted city on earth" and rightly so. There are days when the sun is totally hidden behind this thick smog and where the obsession of the people, foreigners in particular on a daily basis is to check the pollution index, to decide the type of activities to plan.

A huge city densely packed with so many residents which continues to grow every year, both via the migration of locals from other cities in China, hoping to find a better life as well as the influx of more foreigners, hoping to tap into the huge business potential of the China market. Despite measures taken by the government to curb the volume of cars on the road each day, there is still a steady increase of number of new vehicles added onto the already congested roads around Beijing, spewing more carbon fumes into an already very polluted city.

The reason as to why environmental friendly vehicles such as electric or hybrid vehicles are not aggressively encouraged or enforced escapes my simple logic.

With the winter's arrival, pollution would be expected to be even worse with more small businesses and household switching on their heating systems, many of which still uses huge amount of charcoal.

But Beijing can be beautiful too. On days when the air is clear, the skies are blue and the sun is out, a walk in one of their many public parks early in the morning can be a wonderful experience.

Beautiful reflections of the autumn leaves ..

Such was my experience during one autumn Sunday morning. I had wanted to capture some shots of Beijing in autumn. My wife woke me up early one Sunday and told me that the weather looks excellent and encouraged me to take a walk at the Chaoyang Park, located just opposite the place where we are staying.

A view from Chaoyang Park, and one of the city most iconic building, the CCTV building (on the left) can be clearly seen. I did not realise that I am living so near to CBD ...

Clear blue skies is something that is rather rare in Beijing ...

Lovely trees in autumn with their reflections on the artificial lake at Chaoyang Park ....

Chaoyang Park is the largest public park in Beijing and taking a walk early in the morning can be a rather peaceful experience....

While many flocked to Fragrance Hill, located near to the Summer Palace to view the beauty of autumn in Beijing, resulting in massive massive traffic jam, a simple morning walk around Chaoyang Park during a clear bright sunny autumn morning proves to be equally rewarding ...