#77 Teaching at Taizhou Teachers College, China (Guilin and a Li River Cruise)

Asia » China » Guangxi » Guilin
June 10th 2007

Published: June 10th 2007

In a new China, GUILIN is among the first of a multitude of blossoming cities. With spectacular historical and natural attractions these continue to host millions of perplexed and enchanted visitors, from every corner of the world, daily. China's doors and windows have been opened wide, and the winds of change are strong. Could any of them ever be closed to the world again? To help keep them fro... Read Full Entry

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Hans J. Schneider

Hans

After 38 years as a Foreign Language Teacher and Foreign Language Dept. Chair at Coral Gables Sr. H.S., and A.J. Professor of German at the University of Miami, I have left Florida in June of 2006, where my home is in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. I have just signed another year's teaching-contract (my 8th year now) with Taizhou University in the city of Taizhou, located about 3hrs north of Shanghai, in Jiangsu Province, CHINA. I thought it would be informative for others and rewarding for me personally, to log the progress of my efforts from beginning to end, as a Travel and Photo Jo... full info

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Goat or cat??

The locals see the horns of a goat. I saw the ears of a pussy-cat.

Cormorant fishing

For thousands of years, Cormorants have been used by the locals to catch fish. A collar around the bird's neck keeps the fish from being swallowed, and is retrieved from the beak by the fisherman. Of course the birds will get their reward, and are quite domesticated.

Traffic on the River Li

A highway of daily river traffic ferries the thousands of visitors from Guilin to Yangshuo.

The tourists are all behind me, hiding.

Scene from the piers of Yangshuo. Below is the River Li, and the peaks beggon in the distance.

Tourism is flourishing outside of Yangshuo.

The days are hot, and eager enterprising vendors do a brisk business, selling everything from water, to ice cream, to cucumbers.

"Please, no high-heels!"

New water rides and thrills are offered in this ancient part of China. For a next visit, I also saw hot-air balloons??

Minority Village among the hills.

Ancient villages among the karst hills remind visitors of a life that is about to change and enter the 21st Century.

Under the 1,000 year old Banyan Tree.

Outside of Yangshuo, the attraction is a thousand year old Banyan Tree. It's the spot to be photographed.

These geese are off to the dinner table.

The motorcycle ahead transports a flock of unsuspecting geese to their final demise. They are too tightly packed in their cages, and I cried.

"Not until I finish my ice-cream!"

Liz had a tough day, and a well-deserved rest.

And I have claustrophobia !

Assembled Dragons, Black Buddha, and New Water Caves are a series of underground caverns that were discovered in the 1990's

Garish color lights illuminate subterranean rivers.

Underground caverns are often hidden below the karst peaks, and can be viewed for a fee.

Getting to know each other.

During a needed rest, our friends from Inner Mongolia invited us to dinner later that evening.

Making our way to the Jianshan Si Temple.

Emerging from the caves, we had a last look at what we had came to marvel. The day's jouney was well worth our exhaustion. It's time to return to the city, but not until we changed busses after a tire blow-out.

Back to reality: The Big Mac is well represented in the city of Guilin.

The large pinkish building in the back-ground was my hotel with a view.

Regal entrance for a Ming Dynasty prince.

One of Guilin's great historical landmarks is in its center. Once this was the main entrance to the palace of a Ming Dynasty prince. The entire compound is shaped like a miniature Forbidden City, which now houses the Guangxi Teacher Training College. Through it not only pass its students, but also the visitors on their way to Solitary Beauty Peak.

Solitary Beauty Peak

The Solitary Beauty Peak, at 707-ft (217-m) in the center of Guilin protects the Jinjiang Princes's Palace grounds. This solitary stone-spike protects the palace from the unlucky northern direction. Caves traverse below the hill, where poets and writers composed their poems of Guilin by the hundreds, directly into the stone.

The grounds of the palace

One of the main buildings of College almost hides the Solitary Beauty Peak. Each steep, stone-step is and was climbed at a loss of serious fluids and pounds.

Examination rooms for the students during the Ming Dynasty.

In these tiny stone rooms, aspiring scholars and students tried to impress the Emperor and Prince in the scores of their examinations. Examinations are still the focus of every modern Chinese student. The red bat made of wood was always a warning. In America it was once called, the "Board" of Education.

Test Security during the Ming Dynasty

Sometimes answers were smuggled in the food. Students will always find a way!

Confucius altar and chapel

Before and after the examinations, students would pray in front of a stone tablet with the image of Confucius. His thoughts greatly influenced these examinations, and he is a man revered in the modern China.

9th June 2007

katherine
non-member comment

delightful guilin!
The photos really capture the beauty of the place, and certainly puts it on my list of places to see. Thanks for giving us this look at another fascinating place in China.

9th June 2007

Clarissa
non-member comment

wow!, Mr. Scheider, those caverns look fascinating! I've always wanted to see them in real life. are those illuminated by lights or they painted or are they naturally like that? it would be crazy if they are naturally like that. and the mountains look great. they remind me of my parents homeland :) looking forward to the next blog!

10th June 2007

lilian
non-member comment

enjoy
what a wonderful trip to guilin it is ! I am looking forward to visiting there.Thank you for your blog!

12th June 2007

Daniel
non-member comment

Welcome your coming to xiamen
Xiamen is also a beautiful city.

13th June 2007

Ashley Santiz
non-member comment

Wow. The pictures are breath taking. Its amazing to see a part of the world that is still untouched by cement and "modernization".

17th June 2007

xiaohui xu
non-member comment

guilin is an wonderful place.a small city without large population like that of shanghai or beijing, a small city without hight skyscrapers, but it offer you the quiet that can't be found in big cities .its mountains perhaps is most beautiful in the world .it is a place deserve a visit

26th June 2007

Melissa
non-member comment

wow schneider! everything over there looks beautiful. Hope you are enjoying yourself ! miss you !

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#77 Teaching at Taizhou Teachers College, China (Guilin and a Li River Cruise)

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