6/1/2007 ~ Li River Cruise

On the Rio: Big Maceo ~ Bye, Bye Baby

The highlight of Guilin is that it is the starting point for a 4 hour river boat cruise down the Li River. Winding through green hills, it creates an image of a jade ribbon. Traveling down the river is a feast of fantastic peaks, crystal clear water, green hills, fishermen, and views of simple and unsophisticated rural households.

Please take a visual riverboat journey with me.

3/31/2007 ~ Guilin: Elephant Hill

On the Rio: Marcy Playground ~ Ancient Walls of Flowers



Today was my last day of work at Yum China. They kept me busy up until the last moment. Not too many sad moments today, but tomorrow night will be my farewell dinner/party. Some team-mates are already joking that I will need a glass to catch all the tears.


It's hard to fathom I've been here 11 months. Thanks to all of you for staying with me and reading my blog. It has meant a lot to know I have friends and family out there in cyberspace.



Another place I went in Guilin was Elephant Hill Park. The park is situated near the confluence of the Taohua (Peach Blossom) River and Li River. At the entrance to the park is a slab depicting the traditional symbol and modern symbol for the word elephant.

The highlight is the natural formation resembling a huge elephant drinking water from the Li River.

There are "elephants" in the river to entertain the boaters having lunch.

As well as decorating the bridge.

I also got to try a new beer in Guilin: LiQuan.

5/29/2007 ~ Guilin: Fubo Hill

On the Rio: Grateful Dead ~ Sugaree, 10/17/1983, Olympic Center, Lake Placid, NY

I went to Guilin for my final trip within China. I'm getting quite emotional about leaving, yet so excited to return to the U.S. and my friends and family. I cannot believe I've been here 11 months!

Guilin is to the south, just over a 2 hour flight, heading towards Hong Kong.

My first stop was Fubo Hill. This is a very nice park which includes a hefty climb up the hill for a birds-eye view of the city, as well as some caves.

Upon entering the park, an exhibition celebrating the May Labor Day holiday was still up. I love the red lanterns that one can see everywhere.

There were some plant art exhibits as well, for those of you who remember the pictures I took in Shanghai last year. This is an elephant family (elephants are very prominant in Guilin).

This is the Thousand Men Pot. Made in the second year of the reign of Kangxi emporer of the Qing Dynasty made in 1663 A.D. in Foshan, it is 1000kg in weight, 1.5 meters in diameter, and 0.8 meters in depth. It is said that the pot can cook 300 jins of rice to feed 1000 men. It is a historical cultural relic for study of casting and smelting technologies.

Next there was a Pavilion with the all too familiar bell. "Kuishui" is the ancient name of the river running through the city (and I took a cruise down the next day) now known as the Lijiang River.

I had to actually climb a hill. Boy, am I out of shape compared to when I hiked the Great Wall. I barely could make it up all the stairs; maybe it was the humidity, but I'll blame it on my winter inactivity and beer drinking. (If you see the import beer "Harbin" anywhere in the U.S. I highly recommend it - as it has German influences).

But the view from the top of Fubo Hill of the city of Guilin was fantastic!

I especially liked the leisurly life of the riverboat man.

Then I went to Thousand Buddha Cave. It was an actual Buddhish temple in the caves, complete with everything! Totally fascinating. The cave is actually two structures, with the upper level being more than 20 meters long (why is the US not on the metric system?)

Sadly, the empty spaces are carvings that have been stolen over the years.

Leaving the park there was a great statue. My guide said it represented a general who fought against the Vietnamese (sorry, no more details than that at the moment).

5/28/2007 ~ Memorial Day

On The Rio: Paul Pena ~ New Train



What is the meaning of Memorial Day? Is it merely a three day escape from our worldly duties? Or, is it the official beginning of a summer filled with bbq's, beer and lemonade? Is selling more hot dogs at the ballpark the overriding clarification?


I took a moment today to remember the many souls, not only the American soldiers, sacrificed in wars, past and present (just as breaking news reports another 12 killed in a car bombing in Baghdad).


I finished another jigsaw puzzle; the fourth since I've been in China. This one was quite difficult despite thinking it would go much faster than others.

I went wandering around Shanghai to see any interesting sites that remain before I depart (only one week to go!).

My first stop was the Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), founder of the Kuomintang Party that sought to replace the ailing Qing Dynasty with democratic leadership, lived here with his wife, Soong Qingling, from 1919 to 1925.

It's a fairly modest house with simple furnishings. Innumerable historic meetings were held here, including that between madame Sun's sister, Meiling, and her future husband, Chiang Kaishek.

I also went to the former residence of Zhou Enlai, who along with his wife Deng Yingchao, managed and promoted Shanghai's underground Communist movement from here in 1946-47. Meetings were held here in the ground-floor reception room, while the upper floors contained offices and dormitories for Party workers.

3/27/2007 ~ Terracotta Warriors

On the Rio: Beck~ Tropicalia

The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of all China who ascended the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC) includes life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations.

Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from these pits. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur.

The pits provide an incredible amount of information of the army's forces, dispositions such as the distribution and formation of ranks, the use of weapons and the application of military tactics. The terra cotta soldiers are remarkably realistic sculptures. The figures are mostly 1.8 meters (5 feet 11 inches) in height, the lower part of the body being solid and the upper part hollow. Originally the figures were painted in bright colors however, over the two thousand years they have silently stood guard, the color has faded and worn off.

An abundance of clay and especially large deposits of ochre-colored loess in Northern China, which the Chinese refer to as 'yellow earth' proved to be a suitable material due to its plasticity and adhesive quality.

The clay was firstly panned and crushed into a malleable form is suitable for molding. The mould was started from the bottom of the body. The feet of the warrior were formed on a square base, and legs were then added. When half-dry, clay was coiled into 3 to 5 cm ropes wound upwards to create the hollow upper body. This was carefully smoothed using a paddle on the exterior pressing against an anvil or block on the inside wall. Next, the half finished head and hands were pasted onto the body. The structure of the base prevented the figure from collapsing. Fashioning heads represented a complicated process. Facial features were achieved using a mould, with piling and sculpting to form the back. Ears were pasted to the heads prior to adding sculpted or molded hair buns.

A procedure was adopted to give individuality to each rough mould. The artisans smeared fine clay on the rough surface, then by pinching, pasting, cutting, and carving, facial details like eyes, hair, moustache, ears were elaborately represented. Excavations indicate that dozens of heads might be made from the same mould.

Skillful refinement produced the individual life like facial features and impressive stance, representative of the powerful Qin army. No two figures have an identical face; some appear solemn in deep thought while others are of a cheerful countenance. Archaeological research confirms that these facial features are truly representative of the real men.

A two wheeled chariot with a round canopy, 1.2 meters in length and 1.3 meters in width, is pulled by four pottery horses flanked by two spear men with a central charioteer. The horses measure 1.5 meters (4 feet 11 inches) in height and 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) in length. The charioteer wears a long robe under armor that protects his chest, back and shoulders. His arm extends forward as if he is holding reins.

5/22/2007 ~ More Xi'an

On the Rio: Traffic ~ Shanghai Noodle Factory

I climbed the East Gate of the Xi'an city wall. Here are some military equipment photos.

This is a view of the local market.

Here is my guide Wendy.

I liked the little girl's hair beads.

After the East Gate, I went to Banpo Village, an archeological site from 5000 B.C., built by a late Neolithic people.

Banpo had about sixty buildings and housed over 200 people from two clans. It was a matriarchal society based on farming. The houses were thatch over wood beams while the floors were sunk 2 to 3 feet into the ground. Heat was provided by a central fire for the family. They stored food in underground caves, dug deep enough to protect it from wildlife and insects.

Art, in the form of geometric designs and human and animal figures is found on many of their pots. The village had their own pottery which produced specialized pots for drinking, storage, cooking, and burial. This is a symbolic totem at the village entrance.

Adults were buried in the cemetery outside the village, some alone, some in pairs, or in groups such as this.

Children and infants were buried alongside the huts in special clay urns. I would like to know why.

And here's a self-portrait of me on my birthday last month.