A brief excursion to Hong Kong and Macao

10 March 2009. Beijing

I spent much of last week in Hong Kong and Macao reporting and discussing research results from my China stay thus far.

Among the places we visited on our trip were the University of Macao library and the Museo de Macao. On the front wall of the library lobby was a framed excerpt of "Liyundatongpian", an ancient Chinese teaching about the ways of good behavior and rulership of the country.


The Museo de Macao contained artifacts and exhibits on the history of Macao as the commercial interface between China and the western world.


The museum is built on top of a beautiful fortress. We were able to walk in the garden during breaks in the rain.


More on this later.

Jack

First snow of 2009 in the city

17 February 2009. IVPP, Beijing.

A week after the conclusion of the Spring festival and only a few weeks into the year of the ox, Beijing city received a light coat of snow early this morning.

[A frosty dinosaur statue in front of the IVPP.]

[The front walkway to the Paleozoology Museum, with footsteps of morning strollers on the snow.]


[The parking lot on the east side of IVPP, with the student dormitory in the center; my room is the first window on the top floor just above the glass building.]

Research continues as I deal with pending manuscripts and new studies on hyena skulls.

Jack

What is this?

4 January 2009. IVPP, Beijing, China.

As I continue to work on fossils of the Tibetan Plateau, specimens collected from previous field seasons are slowly coming out of the basement storage into the bright lights of the research lab.

I was impressed by the intricate patterns shown on this specimen:


I have intentionally left out the scale bar; would you care to guess what this might be a photo of?

Jack