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another view from Xi'an roomMonday 6/27
On the way to the airport, Nichole provided some more information to us: the Ch’in were a fighting people and dynasty; their architecture was bigger. The Han were more prosperous and their architecture included more curves and painting. The Tang used the fish symbol for wealth and the water to stop fire. Ming/Ch’ing pieces are very delicate; the government builds for 30 years; the ancients built for ever. Xi’An has “only” 8.6 million people, largest in the NW. building a new train station, which is really needed. Labor holiday Oct 1-7 but cut back to 3 days; Chinese New Year everyone likes to go back home; businesses closed. Avoid visiting during national holidays.
Our morning flight to Guilin was very nice, including breakfast. Guilin dates back over 2,000 years, and is named after the famous local osmanthus tree and its flowers. A picturesque city, Guilin is famous for its elegant peaks, crystal-clear waters, enchanting rocks and fantastic caves.
Our guide here is Hou Fei, whom we called Fei. Information from her about the area: fei=flower; she’s a hometown girl; gui = osmanthus tree; ling=forest; northeast of this region, region is Guangxi: guan=vast, gxi=west; borders VietNam, Canton
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Our hotel in Xi'An to the East (Canton used to be part of Guangxi). Five million people in Guangxi (800,000 in the city, 4.2 million in suburbs), not a big city; is a secondary city. Known for the limestone hills; tourism is the #1 industry. Tropical monsoon climate from storming on the coast. Summer, May-Sept, 25-41 degrees C with 100% humidity, 2 months of fall, October and November, fairly dry, only about 60% humidity; 3 months of winter, Dec-Feb, 2-7 degrees c, no snow in the city but yes in mountains and suburbs; spring, March-April, very colorful. If the rain begins with drizzling, it stays that way for a long time; if it’s a good hard monsoon-type, it’s over in 30 minutes. Not much pollution here, misty though, green and lush; honeymoon capital of China. Unique geology, laid back way of life, 21 million Chinese tourists annually, 5 million foreigners because of the famous landscape. Second industry is pharmaceutical, lots of natural herbs, 4 major companies processing plants for traditional Chinese medicine. Third industry is Dae Woo, bus manufacturer; lots of double-decker busses in the area. Smaller industry is textile: rayon-raimie grows here which is the plant for rayon; rubber tires, lots of rubber
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see the mass of wires on the post? trees grow in the rain; also an electronics zone in the city, creating chips for Nokia and the like. In the rural area, farming: rice, sugar cane, peanuts, citrus, corn, palmellos, sweet potatoes, water chestnuts, taro root. Two rice crops per year, March to October.
History from Fei: 2200 years ago, Qin conquered these tribes and unified them, one of the 3 cities founded was Guiling. Originally closer to the sea, the Han, 200 years later, moved it to this location as it was closer to the capital at the time. Guiling became the capital 1000 years ago of South China. 800 years ago it was the cultural and educational center. Now has a campus zone with a variety of types of universities: electrical, engineering, tourism (she attended the tourism university). 400 years ago, Giuilin sheltered the last Ming court when they fled from Beijing; they lived here, tried to regain power from the Manchurians, failed, and the last Ming emperor hanged himself near the pagoda on the hill behind the Forbidden City.
In the 1940s, Guiling was a refugee point; people could easily flee to Viet Nam or hide in caves or use them as bomb shelters.
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here's a better view Her grandparents came to Giuling at that time. The population in 1941 was only 700,000. In 1944, Japan bombed the city twice and flattened the old town, the local wall, local king’s residence, etc. Now, the city is being used as a big landscape, a garden city, with the river being the centerpoint.
Region: The region is one of the five autonomous regions of China which pertains especially to the indigenous people: Zhuang, aboriginal, more related to Thai in physical characteristics and language, and live in the mountains. Have their own history, religion, culture, written language. Only for the Zhuang are special privileges such as a lower tax rate, and the regional government gets to keep 1/3 of the tax revenue. Other smaller tribes include the Yow and Miou (meow), none of which are required to follow the birth control regulations.
Karst Mountains: limestone, shell, granite, and sandstone, with caves inside. “Karst” is stony in Slavic which is where they were first named. They go all the way to the South China Sea. They originated under ocean, 300 million years ago.
First off, we visited the Reed-Flute Cave, which dates back over 1,000 years, and has been
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through the glom, you can see the new railroad station widely acclaimed as an “Art Gallery of Nature,” due to its dazzling stalactite and stalagmite formations. Artfully illuminated by multi-colored lights, including the vast Crystal Palace Grotto, capable of holding one thousand people. We have lots of caves and caverns in the Valley and this one had similar formations but the scale was vaster. One million years ago, it was under water; the underground river made the cave, dissolved limestone, and made stalactites and stalagmites and columns. 68 degrees year round, it was a welcome relief! They are also used by locals as a spot for natural fermentation and to keep things cool.
We then went to check in to our hotel before 1 p.m. because the city was having to turn off the electricity from 1-4:30 in the hotel to test something. We got in our rooms and freshened up and back on the bus to go to a great lunch, including a wonderful creamed corn soup; the area specialty is noodles.
When we returned after lunch, four of us walked down to the Guiling Department Store since one of our number needed a hat and a pair of sunglasses before the river cruise. The first floor
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the mascot for the Xi'An horticultural symposium going on this spring/summer was jewelry, watches, some men’s and women’s accessories and he found a pair of sunglasses. Up on the second floor was the shoe department!!! and men’s and women’s clothes. Had to go to the third floor for hats. Pretty much a regular department store but quite a few more attendants and when you bought something, you got a ticket written up, took it to the cashier, then returned to get our item, very much like the pearl, jade, etc., places. Walked back along the river which was very pleasant.
Night cruise: Monday evening, Deb Chester, Drew, Kenneth and I went on the optional river cruise which was lovely—all the bridges (Golden Gate, Ponte Vecchio, etc), the pagodas, gardens, hotels, were lit up beautifully. On the way, we saw a cormorant fisherman. The birds are raised as pets and only receive food from their fisherman owner. Then a ring is put around their neck so they can’t swallow. They dive, catch a fish or two, come back up, and the fisherman pulls the fish(es) out of the bird’s gullet. He then gives the bird a little fish. Later, the bird does get more food. If he doesn’t, he won’t work
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our guide talking to Nell, at the airport the next day. At the turn-around point of the cruise, there were several stages set up with groups playing and singing, including a drum show. After the cruise, Hou Fei offered to take us to a good restaurant, if we were hungry. We were and went to McFounds, just behind the hotel. It was great and CHEAP (20 yuan each for 3 main dishes, 2 beers, and a dessert). Great recommendation!
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