Guilin: The Gateway to our Southern Tour

The one constant in China for us has been the excruciatingly slow internet. This has made blogging an unexpected challenge so I'm trying a new method this trip. We'll try for shorter posts along the way rather than trying to publish a novel at the end of the trip. We began on February 24th with a 24 hour train ride from Beijing to Guilin. Guilin is a pleasant departure from the pollution of Beijing. It's best known for the towering karst formations, scenic Li River, and all around natural beauty. We took a boat ride down the Li River 83 kilometers to the town of Yangshuo and visited the nearby village of YuLong. This tiny village has a small tributary running through the rice fields. The village, mostly inhabited by elders and a handful of children, still has structures built during the Qing Dynasty in the late 1800s. The parents of the children were no where to be seen and were most likely away in major cities working. We watched the fisherman with their Camarand birds and small bamboo boats go to work. These are apparently some of the last Camarand fisherman in China.

We tried the local fare. Beer fish and beer duck. Not bad but not memorable. We've realized we are far away from our Northeastern noodle based cuisine of choice. Down south they eat rice and rice noodles. Also interesting was the noticeably high rate of English speaking locals in Guilin. According to one local, its not all due to the recent explosion of tourism. Guilin was one of the first cities opened to foreigners during the reforms of the late 1970s. Unfortunately, a cold front and rain moved in so most of Day 3 was spent inside keeping warm and sipping the local brew. We departed Guilin for the Guangxi provincial capital of Nanning in the morning.

The Li River

The Camarand Bird in the background caught all of these and was able to swallow them whole. According to a local, they swim twice as fast as fish.

"Skiing with Chinese Characteristics"

It' s not Tahoe, Aspen, or Santa Fe but Beijing actually provides some decent ski slopes for families and beginners. We took advantage last weekend and went to Nanshan Ski Park. Our residential complex sponsored the all expense paid excursion which made the trip even sweeter.

In China Skiing is a relatively new recreational activity. Just a couple of decades ago this would certainly have been frowned upon as a rather bourgeois past time. Nonetheless the slopes were packed with fresh snow (manmade of course) and first timer Chinese carving it up and plowing into anything standing still. The amenities were fairly basic. There was no bloody mary bar (so what's the point of going right?) and no elaborate ski lodge but who needs it when you've got cold chinese beer, hot lamb kebabs (Western China treats) and some pretty good Korean food.

The kids had a great time and Karen and I were surprised how quickly our 5 year old and 2 year old picked it up. Within Isabelle's first 20 minutes on skis she was heading down the bunny slope on her own. Jacob, in his typical fearless fashion, insisted on going down the beginner hill on his own by the end of the day. How quickly they learn at that age! We picked the right day to go as well. No wind, the skies were blue, and the air was as fresh as itgets around Beijing. China won't be hosting the winter olympics anytime soon but you won't find skiing anywhere else in the world for the price you pay here. Of course the great value may change as China's growing middle class turns to the slopes instead of something more traditional on the weekend. Besides the great value, it's also not too common to reach the slopes from downtown "anywhere" in less than an hour and a half.

No lessons please. Just let me tear down the hill. Everyone else is.

Isabelle back in line for another go.

All in all we had a great time. It was yet another fun and interesting cultural experience. The Chinese have a growing interest in new and non-traditional forms of leisure. The concept of skiing is still gaining a foothold. Plowing into a group of people is still considered funny and a mystery rather than just plain dangerous and of course there is still that whole concept of a line that seems a bit difficult to grasp no matter what you are doing here. However, like with many other new concepts adopted in China, they will get it right eventually and without a doubt do it big. Don't know if you'll ever plan ski trips to China instead of Switzerland but look for the industry to boom in the coming years.

Momma, no more pics. Let me hit the slope.