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).