George Doupas: When the traditional meets the modern

George Doupas, Greek photographer: When the traditional meets the modern

My name is George Doupas. And I’m a Greek photographer living in Beijing. My wife is a Chinese. She is a Beijing Ren. We met on some website, we started to have an E-mail exchange.  Until the day when I came to Beijing, that was the first time we actually met. She became my, I can say something like, a guide in Beijing. She showed me most of the historical part of Beijing. Her job, she is a historian. So she knows pretty much about Chinese history and Chinese culture. She taught me a lot, and she showed me a lot.  And I was truly amazed by what this city has to offer Beijing has its unique blend of the old and the new. It’s really wonderful match and mix how the past of Beijing is blending with the new modern architecture. For example, if you ever visited Zhihua Temple, which is one of the oldest temples in Beijing.You can see behind the temple the new glamorous Galaxy SOHO. These two buildings, two different kinds of architectures， perfectly blend together. For a cultural event, there is a perfect example of how Beijing culture blends with modern Beijing. Here, two costumes of Peking Opera blending perfectly with modern architecture of Phoenix TV. The changes in Beijing are huge and numerous. And the biggest change I consider fantastic is the improvement of the air quality.  Beijing is packed with historical sites. No wonder it has more UNESCO world heritages sites than any other cities in the world. In Athens, historical sites have been constantly repaired. In Beijing, I have seen many changes, many improvements in the historical sites. I have watched the Forbidden City in many times have been repaired. Preservation in both cities is very strong. In 2008, I have been in Beijing. And I watched the whole ceremony. I have to admit probably one of the best opening ceremonies in the world. The Chinese character was very, very impressive. I like traditional culture, traditional art. I can go by myself and visit hutong street life, the original Beijing life which I can see only in hutong  My name is George Doupas. I’m a Greek photographer. I love China. I love Beijing. I love Chinese people. Go China. Go Beijing.