These are the 100 or so best of the 350 or so photos I took on my recruitment trip to China in March/April 2005.

We've basically got: going to China, the Summer Palace (Beijing), a few of me in a suit, the Yellow Crane Tower (Wuhan), and a load of aerial shots on the way back - including some nice bits of Sweden. :)

Bash waiting while Dr Wu and I check in at Cardiff airport. A brisk Saturday morning. :-)

Mmmmm, danishes...

In baggage reclaim at Beijing airport; I wish I'd gone closer and got a better picture of these little plush pandas, but airport traveller paranoia gripped me and I didn't. Silly boy.

View from bedroom window, complete with light haze/smog.

View from bedroom window, complete with light haze/smog.

Wonderful sign at the Summer Palace; the cultural relics I can understand, but it's interesting that the railings are expected to stand for a thousand years also! :)

The Seventeen Arch Bridge, leading to South Lake Island at the Summer Palace.

Pedaloes for hire on Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace. Qu Bo wanted to get one but alas, it never quite happened.

Some trees, boats, and people at the Summer Palace.

Someone told me what this says, bit I forgot. Someone please remind me?

Apparently the ropes are to stop people climbing on the trees. Made it look more fun to me, but there you go...

A view down The Long Corridor, which is indeed very long.

Jiang, Jenny, and David at the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake behind.

The Marble Boat, scene of many princely gatherings with the Emperor.

I think this is the bridge to the Five Sage Shrine, but I'm not 100% sure...

This area of the Summer Palace, called "Suzhou Street", is apparently a whole load of gift shops, etc. but alas was closed when we arrived - out of season, I guess.

This area of the Summer Palace, called "Suzhou Street", is apparently a whole load of gift shops, etc. but alas was closed when we arrived - out of season, I guess.

Judging by the map, I think we're standing on the site of the Sumeru Temple, looking up at the Hall of Buddhist Tenets and the rest of the Wanshou (Longevity) Hill behind. We're about to climb up there...

Nice knots, eh?

All of the eaves of the buildings on the way up the way up Longevity Hill had these little processions at the corners. Up front, the Emperor riding a cockerel. Of course.

Yep, it's definitely a cockerel. :-)

I think this is on the Hall of Buddhist Tenets, which was literally covered with these little Buddha statues. All those within reach of ground level were headless, sadly. We attributed this to zealous tourists, but I have since been reliably informed that the removal of such heads was a widespread and deliberate act of state sanctioned vandalism perpetrated during the Cultural Revolution, and indeed there would have been a regional administrator responsible for this very task. Like, wow.

Out of easy reach of the ground, the Buddhas escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, apparently. Which seems odd: didn't they have ladders back then? Maybe they were considered counter-revolutionary...

This is the Paiyun (Cloud-Dispelling) Hall, at the top of Longevity Hill, on the south side, viewed from beside the Temple of Buddhist Virtue. You can't get any closer than this, unfortunately. In the background, faintly visible through the haze, the South Lake Island and Seventeen Arch Bridge.

Not the most beautiful or spectacular sunset ever, but there it was.

After the Summer Palace, Jiang and I were treated to a visit to the China National Acrobatic Circus, which was simply stunning. This is the only photo I took, which I kinda regret but on the other hand, if I'd been concentrating on photography I wouldn't have been sufficiently concentrating on the amazing feats of balance, flexibility, strength, agility, dexterity, control, co-ordination, and co-operation being played out a few feet in front of me. A truly incredible show, and one which I would heartily recommend to anyone visiting Beijing. Seriously - don't miss this if you have any choice in the matter whatsoever.

After my first lecture of the week, at Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao. This was the start of five days in a suit. The horror. ;-)

Flag at the aft of the ferry to Qingdao.

On the ferry to Qingdao (visible in the distance), still fully suited up...

It sure was windy on that ferry...

Qingdao, aka Tsing Tao, aka the home of Tsing Tao beer. Oh yes.

On the bus from Changsha to Wuhan, I managed to sleep through all the good stuff and beautiful scenery (once the mist lifted), and woke just as we entered the environs of Wuhan. So here's some suburban life.

My hotel room in Wuhan was on the 20th floor, and at the back, so I had a nice view of some dense city, including this artificial football pitch in the middle of everything.

My hotel room in Wuhan was on the 20th floor, and at the back, so I had a nice view of some dense city.

My hotel room in Wuhan was on the 20th floor, and at the back, so I had a nice view of some dense city.

In Wuhan.

Part of one of the very modern buildings at the university in Wuhan. Should actually be rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise, but looks better this way, I feel... :)

I could tell you a funny story about this, but I'm not going to.

Also, I look a bit evil, don't I?

As we got out of taxi to grab breakfast on Friday morning, I snapped this one off quickly. Turned out OK I guess.

Basketball seemed pretty popular among the students on the various campuses we visted.

At the entrance to the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan. The text apparently says something along the lines of "this is the best tower in all the land".

Note suit but no tie.

The Goose Pond, at Yellow Crane Tower

Or, well, some of them...

The view from the first or second level of the Yellow Crane Tower, of the "lucky bell" I had a clang at later...

:-) Actually she's just blinking, but it was too cute to miss.

Natasha and, in the background, the so called "number one bridge" (ie the first in Wuhan) over the mighty Yangtze river.

It's certainly a dragon - I'm not sure about the bird but apparently the dragon traditionally represents the Emperor, and the phoenix the Empress, so that seems reasonable.

Or at least, that's what we called it. Head like a lion, tail like a fish: it's a dragon!

Try to act casual, Andy.

... not as much as I like the next one...

... but apart from that, one of my favourite photos of the trip.

The luck bell, which we kept hearing three deep "dong"s from now and then. Turned out to be 10RMB to have 3 bashes...

Go sister!

Yay!

I didn't actually know it was a luck bell when I rang it; all I knew was it made a great loud low DONNNNGGGGGGGG...

After the Yellow Crane Tower, Li Jing and I went for a quick lunch at this little place, which was really great - everywhere else I'd eaten all week was very formal and upmarket, whereas this was much more down to earth. Of course, the food was still fantastic.

This is a very blurry surrupticious shot I took in a hurry, trying not the attract the attention of the gangsters on the other side of the room. ;-)

I've wanted to see Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, since I was a kid. This is as close as I've got so far: the western shore.

Big blue sky and a sea of clouds, in fact. :)

Pretty swirly shapes!

The shadow of our flight on the Baltic Sea, and a little bit of Russia there on the right.

This is that big island at the bottom of Sweden, in the Baltic Sea. Öland, that's what it's called.

This has got to be the bridge from Färjestaden to Kalmar, if you ask me. Route 137.

I'm having a lot of trouble identifying this... I suspect it's somewhere among the many islands near Karlskrona, but I haven't found a positive match so without going back and paying closer attention, it's hard to be sure...

This is Skanör, down at the southern tip of mainland Sweden, and home to a couple of nature reserves.

Man, I love map24.com... :)

Descending to land, human constructs smaller than ships and bridges became visible once more: here are some fields in the Netherlands.

That's a shedload of coastal wind turbines.

Salt water to the north, fresh to the south, and the A7/E22 between.

On the final leg of the journey, as the sun set over the UK: clouds.

Two fellow aeronauts, heading east over England.

Well, not quite space, but rather high up, by Jiminy. That'd be the Millenium Stadium clearly visible at the centre.

With silhouette of camera held high.

Truly a sight for sore eyes after a week away - it's the missus!

Cue a big hug.