On
the plane from Hong Kong, the stewardess collects all English language
newspapers. No capitalistic propaganda is allowed in mainland China.On
the plane from Hong Kong, the stewardess collects all English language
newspapers. No capitalistic propaganda is allowed in mainland China.
Having
just flown in from Hong Kong, we get our first sense of the chaotic traffic of a
typical Chinese city. Bicycles and
tricycles by the hundred surround us with cars honking their horns and often
going down the road on the wrong side and pedestrians crossing
whenever and wherever they wish. Its
amazing that people don’t get hurt more often but somehow, it works.
Our hotel, the Sheraton, is hardly 5-star by US standards, but that's not why we're here. Curiously, we can get CNN on our TV and we find out later from our guide that western hotels and official guides are permitted to watch CNN.
Today,
we are off for a cruise down the River Li. It’s a foggy and very humid day
as we make our way out of town and past rice
paddies, lush bamboo and
strange
karst limestone outcroppings.
Along with dozens of buses we arrive at the terminus where we board our boat along with about a hundred other people. We join with some 250 other boats on a cruise down the river. It's amazing how many people have come. As many as 20,000 people take this trip every day during the season. The boat conditions and honking river traffic is very unpleasant. However, we soon forget this discomfort as we drift past bizarre shapes on the river banks that have to be seen to be appreciated.
Soon the boats
separate and we are drifting more or less in the haze, past ghostly outcroppings
with heavy vegetation growing around on them and a few villages here and
there. It's quite other-worldly. Apparently about 300 million years
ago, this area was covered by the sea and its unique landscape is a result of
movements in the earth's crust. This is where so many of China’s artists
and poets have received their
inspiration.
