GUILIN

10/15-1/17/2007

We flew east from Kunming to Guilin for our next adventure. Gui=fragrant osmanthus tree and lin=forest, and the the parks and avenues around our hotel were lush with beautiful osmanthus trees.

Guilin is noted for its gorgeous scenery. Our day cruise down the Li River is not to be missed if you visit China. One sails through fairy tale limestone karst hills and mountains, the subject of so many paintings. There were a couple small photography "tours" on our boat, and they were having a great time, as we all were. And if you’re thirsty on the cruise, perhaps you would like some of the snake wine shown in the pics. Only one person in our group tasted it and that sufficed!

SHANGHAI, Do we have to leave?

10/17/2007-10/20/2007

Oh, we could spend a month here! Shanghai is a vibrant, international city referred to as the "Paris of the East," with its historic French and English areas ("Concessions") and influences. It has modernity, antiquity, scenery, culture ad infinitum, color, energy, and great shopping!

It is the most prosperous city in the whole of East Asia and has 32 million people in 1/3 the area of Beijing.

The creative architecture and skylines were quite interesting. There are 700 buildings over 80 stories, and Shanghai’s World Financial Center will be the 3rd tallest building in the world after Taipei 101, which just moved to #2 (by only 4 meters) after Dubai’s Burj Tower was recently completed.

We especially loved wandering the streets and exploring shops. We went photo crazy in the Old City (Starbucks finally, of all places!) and the serenely artistic Yu Yuan Gardens. The Bund (meaning waterfront) seen above, provided great views of contrasting eras, with modern China on one side and the traditional British architecture on the other. It was also an excellent people-watching area. We were quite taken with our visits to the Children’s Palace, a silk factory, the Shanghai Museum, and a stunning acrobatic show.

We would love to return to China. Hmmmm…….