The White Dagoba in Beihai Park just after sunset on a dramatically cloudy day.  I’ve visited Beihai Park in the past - you can see earlier photographs and read a bit of its history here and here - but this was the best visit for photography purposes.  The White Dagoba has been cleaned up since my last visit, no doubt in preparation for the Olympics.  And Beijing skies are rarely this interesting; a solid pale blue, pale gray, or pale yellow is what usually appears.

Spring blossoms in Beihai Park.  Yes, that’s a bee inspecting one of the blossoms.

Locals read today’s newspaper, posted page by page behind glass panels along a wall in Beihai Park.

Detail of the Nine Dragon Screen in Beihai Park.

Wall and tree shadows in Beihai Park.

The White Dagoba, on Qiong Islet, near sunset in Beihai Park.

Winter jasmine, in full bloom on this mid-March day.

Detail of the entrance to Daci Zhenru, the largest temple within Beihai Park.

Detail of a bell near Daci Zhenru.

The White Dagoba viewed from the western edge of Beihai Park near sunset.

Detail of a building within a section of Beihai Park known as Western Pure Land.

Tile on the entrance gate to Western Pure Land in Beihai Park.

More spring blossoms in Beihai Park.

The ceiling of one of the Five Dragon Pavilions in Beihai Park, complete with a dragon in the middle.

The White Dagoba, and a very cooperative seagull, viewed from the north side of Beihai Park.