Video: Tai Chi

It is a common sight to see people doing exercises outdoors, either individually or in groups. One evening in Guilin, I came aross two groups practicing tai chi in the park. Bear in mind that these are not performers. They are just men and women doing their usual evening exercises. This is my first attempt to shoot a videos and post them to the blog, so this is a technical experiment as much as anything else. Clicking on the image will start a 30-second video clip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/TaiChi#

On the Money

Apparently, we have unwittingly planned our travels according to the pictures on the backs of Chinese banknotes. Here are pictures of the 100, 50, and 20 RMB bills and the corresponding pictures from our blog. If we continue to follow this currency-driven itinerary, it appears that we will visit Xihu Lake in the southern city of Hangzhou (1 RMB), the peak of Taishan Mountain (5 RMB), and the Three Gorges canyon on the Yangtze Valley (10 RMB).
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Currency#

Guilin: Wedding Culture

This gallery begins with a few final pictures from Yangshuo and Guilin, but most of it concerns the topic of Chinese weddings. The wedding business has become an enormous industry in China. Shops for wedding consultants can be found all over Dalian. In good weather, at least a dozen of them are crowded together in the outdoor market area at Victory Square. The wedding consists of three main phases: legal registration with the government, several days of professional portrait-making in different locations and different costumes, and a banquest that combines various Western and Chinese customs. Because of its ideal climate and scenery, Guilin seems to be a favorite wedding destination.

Our friend Steve Keith has told us that in Dalian's Laodong Park anxious parents gather on weekends with posters of their single adult children, trying to accomplish a little old-fashioned parental match-making. Maybe we will witness that when the weather thaws out a bit.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Weddings

Li River Cruise

A cruise down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo takes about four and a half hours but provides a lifetime of memories. The wide, shallow river cuts through incredible limestone formations for mile after mile. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. It turns out that the fantastic cliffs seen in traditional Chinese scroll paintings are not imaginary after all.

The river is not just for tourists. Many people live and work on the water. We saw farmers on the shore, fishermen with trained cormorants, and intrepid ferrymen on bamboo rafts.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/LiRiver#

Guilin: Jinjiang Prince's Palace

In 1372, a palace was built in Guilin for the princes of the Ming dynasty. Jinjiang Palace served as the home for fourteen successive princes and later became the headquarters of Dr Sun Yat Sen. Today, the palace grounds form part of a green, peaceful university campus. Solitary Beauty Peak rises more than 700 feet above the palace grounds. A path leads to the summit and affords fantastic views of the surrounding city.
http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/GuilinJinjiangPrinceSPalace#

Guilin: Street Scenes

From Pingyao, we traveled to southern China and set up our base camp in Guilin, a city of 600,000 in the midst of China's amazing karst landscape. Karst peaks are limestone formations created by subsiding caves and sinkholes underground and by rapid erosion above ground. The peaks rise like a stone forest above the Li River valley. They have inspired poets and painters for centuries. Guilin is nestled among these peaks at the confluence of two rivers.

Guilin itself is a clean, modern city characterized by lakes, rivers, bridges, and limestone peaks. The name "Gui Lin" means "Osmanthus Forest," and many of the city's broad avenues and lakeside walkways are shaded by these sweet-smelling fruit trees. The streets are filled with quiet electric scooters instead of madly honking cars. In short, it is a very attractive small city in a warm, damp tropical climate.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SteveDC505/Guilin#

Pingyao: Walls and Doors

The characteristic type of architecture in Pingyao is the courtyard complex like our inn. Essentially, a high wall faces the street, behind which one finds a series of interlocking courtyards surrounded by small rooms and outbuildings. As a result, when you walk through the streets of Pingyao, you often see little more than high brick walls punctuated at long intervals by doors and gateways. Here is a little gallery showing some of the variety of entrances into the hidden worlds of the courtyards.
http://picasaweb.google.com/trucknmama/PingyaoDoors#