The thing that struck me most about Beijing was the lack of culture shock. Although a complete alien with very basic mandarin, I arrived into the Beijinger world as if into my home.

With the development of skills in hand gestures and facial expressions the expected inability to communicate quickly disappeared and instead gave way to a realisation of the similarities between myself and those I was trying to communicate with.

Overhung by air so thick at times that breathing was almost impossible, Beijing, both in its details and its expanse, showed it's beauty to me everyday. A calm circus of ordered humanity.

Difficult as it was, below are a select few of the photos I took documenting my experience, an attempt to show the depth of life behind the headlines of toxic smog.