China Trip, Summer 2004
Guilin - 07/29/04
From the busy city of Beijing, we left to Guilin and was thrown into the setting of farming villages and rice fields. It's a city surrounded by mountains. You know, the kind you see in traditional Chinese scroll paintings but never in real life. They are just as beautiful up close. As night fell, the small city lights up its river and throws light against the mountains and waterfalls. After dinner, we went on a boat to watch a fisherman catch fish the traditional way. Our motor boat followed his wooden one as his trained birds dove under water to find fish. Once in a while, one would come up with a large fish in its mouth. It was nice to have a relaxing day.
Guilin - 07/30/04
Guilin's main tourist attraction is its scenary. We went on a 4 hour boat cruise on the LiJiang River. As soon as the boat left the harbor, I walked up to the top level. The view is gorgeous, such wonderful scenary. Afterwards, we did a little shopping in the flea market. After dinner, we watched a show of traditional Chinese dances and Chinese acrobats. I've seen the acrobats many times, but it still amazes me.
Guilin and Taishan - 07/31/04
Finally! A day where we didn't have to wake up too early. After breakfast, we took a walk by the river before checking out of our hotel. We then went to a few places like Elephant Park, Reed Flute Cave, and the Pearl factory. Elephant Park is a park that has a large cliff side out in the water. People think that it resembles an elephant, hence its name. Reed Flute Cave was actually rather interesting. The shape of the rocks were very unique and quite pretty. The way they lit it up with multiple colors certaintly helped.
Towards the end of the day, we flew to Guangzhou where we were greeted by old friends of my parents. We then drove 2 hours to Taishan where the rest of my relatives (that live on the East Coast) were already staying. As we walked down the hallway of the 3rd floor of the hotel, doors opened up and we were greeted by them. Ah yes, and the four closest cousins are together again, which consists of David (cousin in CA), Andy (cousin in NY), Kevin (my brother), and I. We talked in the hallway for a bit while my dad changed our room from a standard room to a suite.
