Massive delays at Beijing Capital International Airport

June 18, 2010

Stranded travelers wait for news about delayed and canceled flights at Beijing Capitol Airport’s Terminal 3 in Beijing, China, on 17 June 2010. Almost all departures and many arrivals were severely delayed or canceled due to thunderstorms and hail in the area.

A flight information board displays caanceled and delayed flights at Beijing Capitol Airport Terminal 3 in Beijing, China. Almost all departures and many arrivals were severely delayed or canceled due to thunderstorms and hail in the area.

Caught on the return trip from the US to China this week, I was among the thousands of travelers stranded at Beijing Capital International Airport. Severe thunderstorms crippled the airport, delaying or cancelling hundreds of flights for a day and a half. I took a few pictures while sorting out my own travel woes. Air China, thankfully, put me up in a decent-enough hotel while I waited for the mess to unwind. More pictures are available for licensing.

A few days in Urumqi

May 15, 2010

Crowds gather outside the Urumqi Railway Station in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

A woman shakes out a sheet while doing the laundry in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

Broken glass obscures the view out a window of a hotel in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

Spent a few days in Urumqi, capital Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, covering how the city has coped with ethnic tensions half a year or so after the violence in the summer of 2009. There are still plenty of signs of strife and unrest, but the city's hustle-and-bustle economy seems to be on the mend. Now with the rumoured stimulus package planned for the region, the city hopes for a bright future. These pictures serve as a glimpse of a longer story to be published here soon.

At the edge of the city

May 15, 2010

I've been exploring the edge of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, where high-rise apartments and luxury shopping malls give way to farm fields, chemical factories, universities, and new luxury housing developments.

Outtakes: MCM Shanghai for the Wall Street Journal

May 13, 2010

Mannequins in windows display clothing and bags by MCM at the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China on Tues. Jan. 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Mannequins displaying items in the MCM Signature Cognac Visetos collection stand in a corner in the new MCM Shanghai on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

People look at MCM items on display at the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

An MCM Shanghai store employee cleans display cases and shelves before the opening of the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Mrs. Sung-Joo Kim shows film actress Joan Chen around at the opening of the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. Joan Chen was one of the first Chinese actors in Hollywood and has acted in films such as Tai Pan, The Last ?mperor, and Lust/Caution. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Mannequins and goods in the MCM Signature Cognac Visetos line on display are reflected in a curtain made of approximately 30,000 MCM serial number breastplates in the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. The MCM serial number breastplate is attached to all MCM bags and features a unique number. The MCM Signature Cognac Visetos line features the MCM logo prominently displayed. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Models prepare for to display MCM clothing at the opening of the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Red and black items exclusive to MCM China are on display during the opening at the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Mrs. Sung-Joo Kim adjusts a necklace before a portrait at the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. The necklace is remniscent of Chinese style, and was purchased more than 20 years ago in Paris, according to Mrs. Sung-Joo Kim. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Guests mingle among the displays during the store opening at the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Dinner arrangements featuring the MCM serial number breastplate wait for guests in a dining room above the new MCM Shanghai flagship store on the Bund in Shanghai, China, on Tues., Jan 26, 2010. A glamorous fashion line in the 1980s, South Korean billionaire Sung-Joo Kim has purchased the MCM luxury brand in hopes of reinvigorating the brand. Now Sung-Joo Kim is trying to replicate the brand’s Asian success in Western markets, part of a greater shift of Asian luxury brands being exported to American and European high streets. The MCM Shanghai flagship store, located on the world-famous Bund in Shanghai, was opened on Tues., Jan. 26, 2010. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal

Here are a few more from the Wall Street Journal profile of Mrs. Sun-yoo Kim and her attempts to reinvigorate the MCM luxury fashion brand. I covered the opening day/evening of the brand's flagship store in Shanghai. Here's the tearsheet.

On the road in South Korea

May 12, 2010

Young men wait for a ceremony to begin during the Jongmyodaeje Festival outside the Jeongjeon Temple at the Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul, South Korea.

While in South Korea on a commercial shoot, I had some downtime on travel days and evenings to catch a few glimpses of the streets of Seoul and Busan.

Outside the Expo

April 30, 2010

Migrant workers wait for a midnight train in the Shanghai Railway Station in Shanghai, China.

The 2010 World's Expo has opened in Shanghai, China, but just out of view behind the beautiful buildings is the army of workers making it possible. Fast-paced construction, increased security, and the need for more streetsweepers and other vital jobs has brought thousands to the city to make sure the Expo goes as planned.

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