Before there was the North Capital (Bei Jing) there was Chang’an, the city of Perpetual Peace, which is now called Xi’an, Western Peace. Ten ancient Chinese dynasties had their capital in Chang’an, including the Qin Dynasty, which represents one of the most interesting and tumultuous periods in the city’s history and the start of the […]

The Moon of Pejeng, an exceptional kettle drum unlike any other, sits high in the temple grounds, guarding the village of Pejeng in Bali, Indonesia. Well cared for by the villagers, it has its own little house built up on stilts. Although it really isn’t a moon, it is as fantastic as any member of […]

One of the five remaining murals of Jose Miguel Covarrubias, “Flora and Fauna,” now on display at the San Francisco De Young Museum.
In 1939 an odd, pentagon-shaped island arose from San Francisco Bay’s murky waters to be the showcase of a rising and affluent West. Treasure Island would be host to the last great fair […]