In the Forbidden City with Mao
and his Guard

This picture was taken in Beijing in 2003. I wanted to include the soldier and the the picture of Mao in the same image. When he looked at me as I took the picture there was a moment of hesitation but I took the picture anyway and nothing happened. I have another image with him looking over the crowd but the this one is more forceful and perhaps a bit chilling. The picture, as I interpret it, shows that with all their rapid economic changes, China still remains an authoritarian government.