Pictures 2002

2002 was a year of big changes. I finally decides to quit my job as a senior manager for DaimlerChrysler in Beijing, and go back to university to study Mandarin Chinese. I set up my own company (trading and consultancy) and started working together with Sierk Vojacek in the film- and TV business.

Office pictures
My sister Sonja becomes a notary
Cigar Club Stuttgart
Worldcup Seoul
Commune at Great Wall
Datong
Somerset (general pictures of building & apartment)
Somerset (view from balcony)
Silver Pagoda
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Dai Snake Restaurant
Tian Mo desert
Rongchen Vineyard
Panda bears in Beijing Zoo
Trip to Inner Mongolia
INSEAD gathering Nov. '02
BeiWai university (campus, classmates)
Visit to 3 bicycle factories in Tianjin (Nov. 02)
Guang Da Hua Yuan (my new apartment)
Loading sunflower kernels in Hebei province (Dec. 02)

Office pictures

These pictures were taken before, during, and after Silke Kauer's farewell lunch. The quality of the pictures is very low, so better just view the thumbnails... 

Pictures May - Nov 2002

Some recent pictures taken during both business and private trips.

Beediging Sonja als waarnemend notaris, Rotterdam, Holland (May 2002) :Foto's genomen tijdens de beediging van Sonja in de rechtbank te Rotterdam eind Mei 2002. Ik was 3 dagen in Nederland op doorreis van Beijing naar Stuttgart.

Cigar club Stuttgart, Germany (May 2002) 
Good cigars and a good glass of wine (or beer). Enjoying life should be everyone's motto! Although I have left Stuttgart at the end of 1999 already, I have not been forgotten, and I try to meet up at least once a year during a biztrip to Germany.

World cup Seoul, S-Korea (June 2002) 
One of the nice things of working for a multinational is the fact that there are some nice benefits to the job. In June a group of Chinese car dealers went to the World Cup in Seoul to watch China loose 3-0 against Turkey. It was a fantastic 3 day trip though.

Commune at great wall, Beijing, China (June 2002)
At Shuiguan, about one hour north of Beijing (5 km south of the famous tourist spot of the Great Wall at Badaling), a new 'compound' of beautifully designed houses was built. The project  will be presented at this year's biennale. 

Datong, Shanxi Province, China (June 30, 2002)
I took a weekend trip to the Datong, a coal mining city in Shanxi province close to the border of Inner Mongolia. Some marvelous sights are located close to this city, such as a hanging temple and caves with buddha statues. For a more detailed account of this trip which I wrote for the "Oriental-List" click here

Somerset - General pictures (August 2002)
Some pictures of my apartment at Somerset Fortune Garden in Beijing, plus some pictures of the building and fitness room & swimming pool.

Somerset - view from balcony (July 2002)
View from the balcony of my apartment at the Somerset Fortune Garden, Beijing

Silver Pagoda, Iron Mountains and PLA tank museum - Beijing suburbs (July 2002)
A hot Saturday afternoon was spent at the Silver Pagodas, in the mountains to the north of Beijing. A movie was shot here as well, interesting to see how local Chinese actors manage to stand in 35 degree (Celcius) heat for at least an hour wearing thick layers of clothing without complaining and even still making jokes with one another. Afterwards I visited the Tank Museum from the PLA. I was surprised that the guards would let me (a foreigner) in. 

BFSU
Beijing Wai Guo Yu Da Xue (Beijing Foreign Studies University, Haidian District, Beijing). The university where most diplomats are educated.

Dai Snake Restaurant
A nice Friday night dinner with colleagues from Singapore and some of our trainees. On the menu among others snake, snake blood, and ants. 

Tian Mo Desert (Hebei Province)
Within 2 hours by car from Beijing, the Tian Mo desert in Hebei province is a beautiful place where desertification takes place very rapidly. The sand dunes are magnificent, but hopefully the tree planting activities which take place here every spring can avoid the spread of the desert even further.

Rongchen Vineyard
Not far from the Tian Mo desert, located directly on a lake in an astonishingly beautiful environment, lies Rongchen Vineyard. It's currently the biggest vineyard in China, and the Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines were better than expected (and much better than the infamous Great Wall wines). Clean accommodation with aircon and a great view is also available. Very friendly staff, a place I highly recommend to visit.

Panda's in Beijing Zoo
Saturday July 20 2002 was a bit cooler after a short rainstorm on Friday night (finally below 30 degrees), so I decided to pay the Beijing Zoo a visit. Although the zoo is not all that interesting (old, dark concrete buildings and relatively dirty), the main reason for going was to see the panda's.

Trip to Inner Mongolia
During the weekend of 27-28 July I went to Inner Mongolia with a group of people. The pictures taken with the normal camera are now online as well. Further there is a description of our activities during the weekend. On the way back we went also stopped at Chengde, to visit the small Potala Palace. These pictures were taken with a digital camera, and are therefore online already.

Insead Gathering
A gathering in Beijing of future and past INSEAD students, both from the Singapore and the Fontainbleau campus (visit to Wen Ru teahouse, afterwards a nice dinner in Yu Xiang Ren Jia)

BeiWai (campus and classmates)
A few pictures of Beijing Waiguoyu Daxue, the campus and some of my teachers and fellow students

Guang Da Hua Yuan
My new apartment is much smaller and less luxurious than my former residences in Beijing, but I still think it is quite nice. Take a look if you want.

30th birthday party
In October I organized a party for my 30th birthday in my new apartment

Visit to 3 bicycle factories outside Tianjin (Nov. 02)
With Grace and 2 trainees from DaimlerChrysler we went to visit 3 bicycle suppliers close to Tianjin. An interesting experience, especially the New Times factory, where a few things could probably be improved in the production process (see some of the pictures). For my business partners: the samples are here. Compare them to my own bike.

Loading of 3 containers sunflower kernels in Hebei province (Dec. 02)
For a Dutch company I checked the quality and loaded 54 tons of sunflower kernels in Hebei province. Due to some problems (freezing cold weather, fog, some snow, no electricity and some problems with weighing the bags) the day was not a complete success, but it was once again an interesting experience. Don't forget to look at the pictures from the lunch!