Soluxe Courtyard: Fantastic hotel in Beijing

All photos ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

Here are some images of the courtyard of a hotel I stayed at recently in Beijing. An oasis of peace, quiet and beauty. It's built on the grounds of an old temple (two actually Guangji and Jiaci), thus the inscribed Ming and Qing Dynasty inscribed shibei and 500 year old trees. Birdcages are hung out in the corridor each day to the guest's delight (and the birds entertainment) and each room has a door out onto a lovely courtyard. Heaven in the middle of Beijing!

Soluxe Courtyard, Beijing, conveniently located by the subway station Gulou. Address: No 2 Xitao Hutong, JiuGulou Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Yunfeng Temple, Western Sichuan

All photos ©Ingrid Booz Morejohn

Yunfeng Si (Cloud Peak Monastery) is a Zen monastery tucked into the mountains of SW Sichuan. The monastery is rebuilt but the temple gardens have trees that are 1,200 years old, monks that are almost as ancient, bamboo groves, medicinal kitchen gardens and supreme tranquility. We visited at the end of June when the weather was lovely and the light absolutely magical. 

Lika som bär/Two peas in a pod

Bodhidharma meditating for nine years, staring into a blank cave wall. (Artist? Can anyone enlighten me?)

Winston Churchill with his dog, Rufus, in the gardens of his Chartwell Estate, 1951. ©Philippe Halsman/Magnum Photos

Two of the most interesting people who have ever lived.