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| Guilin in the evening from our hotel view |
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| Cruising the Li River |
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| Locals like to have their picture taken with Americans |
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| City Shopping |
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| Our second hotel was secluded an beautiful |
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| The views of the lake from our hotel--very beautiful |
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| Another hotel picture with the gorgeous mountains behind |
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| Our bike ride through the city and countryside of the Guilin area |
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| We stopped to visit with a local at her home. Pete washed his hands in the well. |
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| They live so different than us and have lots of work |
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| A soy bean press |
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| On our bikes and ready to explore some more |
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| The views in the rural areas were beautiful as well. Notice the sun setting? |
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| Another picture of our sweet hotel |
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| Views across the river. The locals were washing their clothes in the river |
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| Romantic views |
The Karst Mountains and caves (a name for mountains formed from acidic water) in Guilin are one of the most unique displays of mountains I've ever seen. The mountains are huge, and naturally forged. According to our guide, Guilin was once under the ocean. The hills and caves have been an ancient attraction with some inscriptions on it's walls dated 729 AD in the Tang Dynasty. The beauty of the place and its imposing structures made this an almost spiritual place to visit and experience as we cruised down the Li River. The mountains look like those in the Dr. Seuss books.
In Guilin we stayed in a fabulous hotel called, Shangri-La. It was one of the best hotels we've ever stayed. Our window looked to the river with the incredible mountains as the background. The bed was soft, something hard to find in China and the breakfast was western style. It was hard to leave there.
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| Our hotel in the evening |
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| Eating dinner at a local restaurant in Guilin |
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| Another view from our hotel |
Rhonda and I were brave and decided to try the kissing feet. Little fish who love to eat calluses on the bottom of feet are swimming in a small tub of water. We both stuck our feet into that tub of water after a little screaming and hesitation. It was a weird sensation but the results were good.
While terraced rice fields are a common sight in third-world countries, it is an uncommon sight for many of us. I think the rice fields we saw in Longsheng county are among the most amazing sites I've ever seen! The rice had already been harvested when we visited, so the terraced rice paddies were not the brilliant golden color. It was still a magnificent site. A gondola ride took us to the top of the mountain so we could see the thousands of terraced rice pads. Many of the Chinese workers were on the hillside tilling the ground. I was inspired by the beautiful landscape and the work of these sweet people.
In the evening we watched a performance on the river. It was a little like the outdoor theater at Tuacahn Amphitheater in Saint George, Utah only 100 times more magnificent. The Chinese certainly know how to perform and the entire production was done on water.
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| The Yan women don't cut their hair. The bun indicates whether they are single, married, and indicates if they have children |
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| The terraced rice paddies were all along the huge hills |
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| Beautiful views from on top of the mountains |
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| Hard workers |
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| Aren't the fields beautifully landscaped? |
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| This was our lunch, fried rice noodles and vegetables |
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| It was all very amazing! |
The views on the river cruise were great!
Wow! These pictures are absolutely stunning. Mom, your face on the bike is hilarious! Ugh..I got the willies just looking at the fish swimming around your feet. You both look healthy and happy and like you're having a great time.
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