The Schoolroom

Middle China -- Yang Shuo

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March 30th 2012
March 19 and 20, we spent our last couple of days in Kunming, walking along the Dian Chi Lake and climbing rock stairs to three gates – the third is the dragon’s gate. The lake is very dry, as is most of Yunnan. We were told this is a 60-year drought, and a forest fire was being fought just outside town. (We saw large helicopters slinging water buckets from the lake.) We were lucky to have ... read more

Asia » China » Guangxi » Yangshuo

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For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more