A Tourist’s View of China

Forbidden City, Beijing

Sweeper in the Forbidden City
Lotus at the Summer Palace, Beijing
Tea in Beijing
Huang Binyan, Rabbit (after Jeff Koons), 2004, at Zhong Fang Jiao Gallery in the 798 Art District, Beijing
Yan Pei-Ming, Landscape of Childhood, displayed at UCCA in the 798 Art District
Vendor and stall at the Night Market in Beijing
Crabs at the Night Market

Vajrabhairava, 1368–1644, National Art Museum, Beijing
Boju Li, Western Zhou Dynasty, National Art Museum
Cave 7 or 8, Yungang Caves, Datong (Northern Wei)
Cave 10, Yungang Caves, Datong (Northern Wei)
Yungang Caves

Nine Dragon Screen [detail], Datong
Hanging Temple, Datong
Entrance to the Hanging Temple
Confucian statue at the Hanging Temple
Terracotta soldiers from the Qin Shi Huangdi necropolis, Xi’an
Terracotta figure of a high ranking officer from the Qin Shi Huangdi necropolis
Folk art vendors near the Qianling Tomb

One of several giant statues in the Famen Temple complex

Roof detail at the Great Mosque, Xi’an

The Great Mosque, Xi’an
Cricket cages outside a store in the Muslim Quarter, Xi’an
Bird cages in the Muslim Quarter
Trinket stall with baby booties
“Golden Monster” at the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an
Zhuang village of Ping An
Longji rice terraces
In the hills around Ping An

Bamboo near Ping An

“Minority village” near Longsheng

Merchants on the Li River
Water buffalo along the Li River
Cormorant fisherman in Yangshuo
Yangshuo
Karst formations and fields in Yangshuo

Yangshuo home

Yangshuo market

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Portraits of the Asian Art Galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago

Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara), gilt copper alloy, late 14th century, Yuan/early Ming dynasty, China
Gonzaze Myō-ō, Nakabayashi Gennai, wood with polychromy, 1680 [Edo period], Japan
Standing Attendant (Tomb Figurine), wood with traces of polychrome pigments, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 4th/3rd century BCE, China
Armored Guardian King (Tianwang), earthenware with three-color (sancai) lead glazes and traces of pigments, Tang dynasty, first half of the 8th century, China
Head of a Bodhisattva, stucco with traces of pigment, 4th/6th century, Pakistan or Afghanistan, Gandharan region
Vajrasattva Seated on Lotus Flower with Hands Grasping a Thunderbolt (Vajra) and Bell (Ghanta) with Thunderbolt Handle, gilt copper alloy, Tang dynasty, late 8th/early 9th century, China
Detail of saddle on “Camel with Rider,” earthenware with three-color (sancai) lead glazes and traces of pigments, Tang dynasty, first half of the 8th century, China
Plaque with Demonic Mask, Late Neolithic period, Longshan culture or Shang dynasty, 2nd millenium BCE
Pensive Bodhisattva, gray schist, 2nd/3rd century, Pakistan, Gandharan region
Head of a Buddhist Deity, Possibly Prajnaparamita, sandstone, Angkor period, 13th century, Cambodia
Shūkongōjin, wood with traces of polychromy, 12th/14th century [probably Kamakura period], Japan
Female Musician, earthenware with polychrome pigments, Tang dynasty, first half of the 8th century, China
Armored Guardian (Wushiyong), earthenware with polychrome pigments and gilding, Tang dynasty, late 7th/early 8th century, China
Ding (tripod food caldron) with tao-tie design, bronze, Shang dynasty, 11th century BCE, China
“Running in Advance” Mask (Shinshōtoku), wood with traces of color, 15th/16th century [probably Muromachi period], Japan
Equestrienne, earthenware with traces of polychrome pigments, Tang dynasty, 2nd quarter of 8th century, China
Four-Armed Sarasvati, Goddess of Learning, Seated in Lotus Position (Padmasana), chloritic schist, Hoyasala period, 13th century; India, Karnataka, Mysore region
Votive Plaque with God Vishnu; gilt bronze with ivory, semiprecious stones, crystal, and glass; c. 19th century; Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, sandstone, Angkor period, 12th/13th century, Cambodia
Fudō Myō-ō, wood with polychromy and gilt-bronze accessories, 12th/14th century [probably Kamakura period], Japan
Groom, earthenware with three-color (sancai) lead glazes and traces of pigments, Tang dynasty, first half of the 8th century, China
Demon Mask (Tsuina-men), wood with traces of color, 15th/16th century [probably Muromachi period], Japan
Entertainer (Tomb Figure), buff earthenware with pigment, Northern Dynasties, 6th century, China
Lakshmana, from Panel with Lakshmana and Hanuman, the Monkey God, terracotta, Gupta period, 4th/5th century; India, Uttar Pradesh
Standing Attendant (Tomb Figurine), wood with traces of polychrome pigments, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 4th/3rd century BCE, China
Sōgyō Hachiman, wood with traces of white pigment, Heian period, 10th century, Japan
Seitaka Dōji, wood with traces of polychromy, 15th century [Muromachi period], Japan
Snake Goddess Manasa, basalt, 11th century, Bangladesh or Eastern India
Zenzai Dōji, wood with glass and polychromy and metal accessories, 12th/14th century [probably Kamakura period], Japan
Twenty-Armed Dancing God Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles, buff sandstone, 11th century, India (Madhya Pradesh)
Standing Attendant (Tomb Figurine), wood with traces of polychrome pigments, Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, 4th/3rd century BCE, China
Bodhisattva, limestone with traces of polychromy, Tang dynasty, 8th century, China
Armored Guardian King (Tianwang), earthenware with three-color (sancai) lead glazes and traces of pigments, Tang dynasty, first half of the 8th century, China
Weight in the form of nested birds, gilt bronze, Tang dynasty (618-907), China

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz