Xia Yan School

We also made a short school visit. We visited Xia Yan School on the way back to Guilin. This is a school sponsored by People to People. It is in a very poor area attended mostly by one of the Chinese minorities. This was a very different experience from the previous school we visited in Beijing. Classes were large, 40-45, and resources few. The kids were expecting us and VERY excited to have visitors. They all wanted their pictures taken. See photos!

Yangshou

Fishing Boats in Yangshou

Fisherman with his trained fisher cormorants; fisherman have trained the cormorants to fish for them.

Root system of Banyon tree

River Cruise

Sunday, October 17

Today we were again on a cultural day. That means we behave like tourists!.  We got up early, had a Western style breakfast and headed to the bus for a 30 minute ride to the Li River for a 4-5 hour cruise on one of the most scenic rivers in the world. Guilin to Yangshou – 52 miles. The shallow river winds through a mystical landscape with tall karst peaks on both sides of the river. The limestone formations have been weathered into very spectacular shapes. This is the area that inspired the set of Avatar and you can really see the similarity.  The cruise included a buffet lunch, but I stuck to rice and noodles. I have been healthy thus far and didn’t want to test myself with the boat food.

By the way, they openly charge more for the cruise to foreign tourists. They even have different boats for foreign and domestic tourists. The weather was a bit steamy. It is a rather tropical feel here compared to the weather in Beijing which was much like Iowa fall. We disembarked in Yangshou, which was a very interesting resort/fishing village. The area is changing very fast and what used to be a rather primitive fishing village is now developing as a tourist attraction.

Fisherman float on river using bamboo rafts.

Water buffalo "grazing" from the river

Phoenix bamboo trees - there are thousands of varieties of bamboo - this is only one

Arrived in Guilin

Sunday, October 17

We traveled from Beijing to Guilin. (See photo boarding Air China) I have included a photo frm the plane of my roommate, Peggy on the right and Mo from Monterey, CA on the right. We are having fun and it is great to meet so many great people! Also a photo of the Guilin Airport.  Guilin is in a rural area so very different from Beijing. I am looking forward to an all day cruise on the Li River tomorrow and a visit to Xia Yan School which is sponsored by People to People. More on that tomorrow!