the morning sun

day 1 - we wake early and prepare for our trip down the Li River

fisherman

On the Li River locals are going about their daily work tasks.

on the pier

Locals waiting, washing, and working.

red and green boat

More locals catching fish for the markets and themselves.

Karst peaks

Large mountainous peaks surrounded us on both sides of the river.

traffic

Unfortunately many boats were traveling down the river that day.

woman in striped shirt

Their boat actually pulled up alongside ours and gave some freshly caught fish to the cooks below.

fishing boat

fishing boat 2

The boats used by the locals were definitely well used - tattered and torn.

Karst peaks 2

More towering peaks peering out from river.

hard at work

More locals working out on the river and in the background you can see someone washing something in the river.

rowing

Not all fisherman are men, there were many women out on the boats working just as hard.

rest stop

Some boats were beached on the shore or docked at a pier where people would get on and off - a taxi boat.

boat 10031

On the boat you can see baskets of food which sometimes they would trade for other items as the fished out on the river.

riverside town

As we traveled down the river we passed a couple of small towns nestled at the base of the mountains.

Riverside town 2

This was a small town, no less than 100,000 people.

cattle

Every now and then we would pass by someone's herd which came down to the river to cool off and have a drink.

fresh vegetables

This man is carrying greens to the town nearby.

Riverside town 3

Another small town we passed by; this one looking more mediterranean than Chinese.

natural design

Orange boats, green letters, dark olive trees, and blue mountains all creating a beautiful natural pattern.

red white and green

Another long boat in somewhat better condition than others.

a fisherman's home

This tattered boat seems to be home to a fisherman who is hanging some of his nets out on land.

bamboo raft

Another easy way to travel on the river is with a small raft made out of large bamboo stalks.

hat and bike

We finally made it to Yangshou and were greeted at the entrance to the city by a nice old rusty bike.

the streets

In Yangshou the streets twisted around, the large ones full of shops for tourists as you see here.

baskets of fruit

In one area we came across a couple of women selling fruit and other little treats out of baskets they carried or carted around.

bike and cart and onlooker

Many people watched as others would purchase things, for cheap from these women.

large green fruit

Unfortunately I don't recall the name of the large green fruits which look similar to a pear.

red lanturns

The Chinese love to hang these red lanturns everywhere creating a nice contrast against the green of the trees

alley

Not many Chinese have dryers so everyone hangs their clothes outside to dry.

peaceful scenery

Yangshou was a beautiful place, with a calm river, hanging willow trees, and the majestic moutains in the background.

an old local

This man was working in the river in Yangshou, cleaning and fishing for his birds.

propaganda board

This seemed to be a propaganda board for the town and I just had to capture this man looking at it.

old bike cart

Many Chinese ride bikes so they were parked all over the town.

thank you America

Unfortunately America has come to China with its not so good tasting fast foods, however the Chinese love KFC - it's the number 1 fast food restaurant in China.

red blue white lights

The bridge nearby our hotel in Guilin was lite up everynight with these bright lights.

hanging clothes, parked bike

day 2 - Once again another set of bike with clothes.

grains

My mother and I walked down random streets in Guilin and came across people selling grains and other goods in a market.

apples

My mother and I decided to buy an apple. The lady wanted 4 yuan so we said 'no 2 yuan' and after complaining she said okay. Then another women behind us told us we paid too much.

Seven Stars Park

The view at the entrance of the Seven Stars Park in Guilin.

panda

We saw two pandas in the zoo in the Seven Stars Park - and they really love bamboo.

Seven Stars Cave

Inside the park there is also the ancient Seven Stars Cave which has many interesting rock formations that they lite up with bright colored lights.

tea time

Great story: After a long day in the park my mother and I decide to go to the art shop we saw, however we get sidetracked on the way in another store. We decide to get stamps carved with out names and while the owner is carving we look around and find another item to purchase - a jade dragon. As he continues to carve his wife comes by and he tells her to make us tea while we sit and wait. So she begins to make us osthmanthus tea, a small yellow flower from their local tree. Neither speak much english so conversing was difficult but we made do and drank a lot of tea. She poured little cup after little cup and then decided to make a different tea for us. The more tea we drank the more loopy we began to feel until finally we decided it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and left feeling like we could both float away. I bought some of that tea.

mountain side farming

day 3 - We took a bus tour out into the country side to see the rice fields and the Long Hair Tribe.

basket

The locals carry these baskets full of food and goods on their backs.

drying peppers, drying rice

To dry out peppers and rice they spread them out on pavement.

day dreaming

A young girl from the Long Hair Tribe leans out the window watching us below as we bargain with older ladies.

young boy

During one of the performances by the Long Hair women I ventured further into their homes and found a wonderful little boy to photograph.

young boy, posing

He played with this green water bottle for a long time, so fascinated in it.

fascination

I had too much fun photographing him.

windows

The windows on the house created interesting patterns with their colors and shapes.

the wedding ceremony

The Long Hair women twirl bright red umbrellas during the wedding ceremony.

The Long Hair Tribe

At the end of their performance the long hair women let their hair fall to the ground for all of us to admire. What length! Only those who were married could show their hair, the others had to always keep it in the tight bun.

twisting up

They wear their hair tied in a bun on top of their head, which I can only assume must be very heavy.

kitchen

Looking into the kitchen.

baskets

house and bridge

shoes

tile roof

This is a good example of what their roofs were made of, small pieces of tile.

chicken

We got to the tiny restaurant starving and ordered some bamboo chicken and rice. They cook the chicken and rice inside a large bamboo stalk, the local specialty. When the chicken came and they lifted off the top of the bamboo stalk this is what I saw. yum.

chicken and rice

Our wonderful lunch.

hanging clothes and lanturns

The side of a house or two high in the mountain adorned with your typical pieces of clothing and the occasional red lanturns.

town nestled in mountains

This was the small town or village where we had our wonderful lunch.

mountain side houses

As we hiked up to the Rice Fields there were many wood houses built on the edge of the mountain.

drying peppers

Many peppers laid out in the sun to dry.

Rice Fields

After a long drive through countryside and up a steep mountain and then a mini hike we finally made it to the top. This was our view, the rice fields, which had just been harvested.

Rice Fields 2

The fields created a very interesting pattern of line shape and color.

Rice Fields 3