When I started living in China in 1991, I started my adventure of truly learning about Asia and its people. My collection of pictures of China and her culture gradually included much more about everyday life, friends, and out-of-the-way places that a tourist has no time for. You know what? Many years later I'm still finding new things to appreciate. I love it here... on most days anyway.

On this website, through our comments and pictures, my friends and I welcome you to see Asian people, culture, and scenes as we do: beautiful, frustrating, hilarious, charming, awful, and awesome. For your convenience in helping others come to know Asia, we're making all of our photos here public domain photographs, i.e. these are free public domain photos. If you use them, it would be nice to mention they came from www.asia-insider-photos.com but don't feel obligated.

Who are we? We are Canadians and Americans, plus the occasional Kiwi, Brit, etc., who teach English in Asia. Having been here for years, each of us now feels pretty much at home living in our host country, whether it's China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia. Over the years our collections of pictures and stories of Asian life have grown and we want others to enjoy these views of our adopted countries. Have fun!

What sort of public domain photographs are here? In terms of countries, most of them will be China pictures but the site will also have Mongolia pictures, Vietnam pictures, and some from Laos and Cambodia. There are pictures of children, cultural and religious practices (e.g. Tibetan culture), and everyday life (markets, street life, countryside, and city) as well as funny photos, travel photos from our own vacations in southeast Asia, and more.

I keep adding to these collections of free public domain photos from me and other Asia Insiders. If you don't see what you want, check back later or send a request via my "Contact us" page.

These photographs of Asia were all taken by amateur photographers like me who have agreed to put them into the public domain, which means you can use them as you wish -- school projects, photo displays, business purposes, whatever -- no strings attached (but note: we have no model releases from those in the photos). In most cases the photographers have decided to remain anonymous but if not, their names appear with their pictures. The text on this website is copyright with all rights reserved, but these pictures of China and elsewhere are public domain photographs.

I personally don't like the "click on the thumbnail to see the big size" idea because it ruins the flow of a sequence of photographs so the free public domain photos here are medium-resolution -- good enough to see most of the details and use in a document. Eventually I might make the high-resolution originals available if enough people want them.

Our hope is that through these public domain photographs of China and other Asian countries, you'll come to love and appreciate Asia as we do. Maybe you'll even end up here doing the sort of thing we do!

So... "Warmly welcome" to Asia!
(That's how most of my Chinese friends would say it.)