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First Impressions
Entry 10 of 32 | show all | print this entry |
China: contradictory and unusual, shrouded in distance,a mysterious history, the Forbidden City, Emperors and exotic etiquette. The landscape seemed a mist of waterfalls and twisted pines: the "Shangri-la of the scroll paintings" : then, there is Chairman Mao and the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution. And almost upon us, the Olympic games. "Made in China " is part of our everyday life. What is the country like now?
Miles of highrises greeted us as we drove in from Hong Kong, via Guangzho, in buses and an overnight train: a "Hard sleeper ", but it was OK. A constant stream of food sellers meant that we lacked for nothing.The Hong kong Chinese,maintain that their pollution is due to the Mainland factories !
Arriving in Guilin, early morning, we transfered to our final bus to Yangshuo, which is a small countryside town, designated as a tourist location, some years ago.The river Li winds round Limestone karst mountains and it is said to be one of the most picturesque areas of the country.
On arrival, we boarded a boat which took us along the river with a photo opportunity at every bend.One of the scenes is on the 20 yen note. In the evening, we witnessed the cormorants. An elderly Chinese man came alongside the boat with 8 cormorants. They fished hard and he, by fair means and foul, managed to deprive them of their catch (which we ate for dinner later on )The cormorants seemed happy enough and we reckoned that there were plenty of treats for them.
Today has been perfect. We joined the hundreds of Chinese on bicycles. Peddling along the country lanes was idyllic, if rather bumpy. We saw the country life. The oxen being coerced to plough the fields, the rice being tended along with the day to day tasks. Here, tourists raft along the river on bamboo structures, but we opted to help a farmer's wife cook some traditional dishes and, obviously, ate them afterwards, a real feast.
This evening has been the Spectacular of all spectaculars. Makes one wonder what the opening of the Olympic Games will be like! For sheer size and quantity of people the Chinese can't be beaten ! With an audience of 3,000 and a cast of 600,we watched a traditional musical enacted on the river, to the backdrop of numerous limestone Karsts which were illuminated. Dancing and singing,floodlights and lasers : all very dramatic. Of course we didn't understand a word ! The oxen wandered accross the vast stage with their young and the cormorants put in an appearance ! We are loooking forward to the guide giving an explanation during the next long train journey!
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