Word of my untimely demise in China are exaggerated. I am, in fact, alive and well. I have been very busy with real life issues and all the drama involved with them. Forgive me for my continued lack of participation. Yes, I still teach school. Last October, I found a neat place to get a good observation of the Song Winter Palace from above. For those of you who did not see the earlier post of this magnificent structure in Zhaoqing, in Guangdong Province, this was built around the year 960 AD by the Song dynasty saw their winter palace. The Song dynasty was overthrown by Kublai Khan's armies in 1279 AD. Khans Mongol hoards were finally overcome in 1366 by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming, in turn, retreated to Zhaoqing after the fall of northern China to the Manchus in 1644. A sequence of Ming princes established short-lived regimes at various locations in central and southern China, collectively known as the Southern Ming Dynasty. For several years Zhaoqing was the seat of the last of these pretenders on the Ming throne, Zhu Youlang, styled the Yongli Emperor. I put a small inset in the right lower corner of the picture to show an up close view of the royal throne where the Emperors litter would have been carried while he held public court where he might decide the fate of criminals, conspirators, and those seeking favor from the throne. Looking closely into the middle of the throne, one can see where a fire pit was housed to warm the emperor with heat and vapors of boiling tinctures meant to increase his potency, both political and personal. Finally, in the background, you can see most of modern Zhaoqing, a small city of a mere four million souls. I hope you enjoy this image as much as I did taking it. I look forward to posting more as I ride this rising rocket called China back to the top where she once was not so long ago. This photo was taken with a Canon Powershot SR3-IS sort of point and shoot jobby.