|
  |
|
|
Li River China
Li River China Because of the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics, China is taking "center stage" as the saying goes in the news. The people and culture of this mysterious country called, China, have always been of interest to us. Not being conversant with their language or their customs, however, made us leery of traveling there on our own. We quite frankly were concerned for our safety. Since it was 2002, we still had haunting visions in our minds of the incident in Tiananmen Square. Therefore, we took an escorted tour. A 15-day tour from September 9 to September 23, 2002; the weather was wonderful. Make sure you have your travel documents in order, and check the government web site for any travel warnings and health issues (http://www.cdc.gov/travel/). The group on our tour included only 12 people. A father (a very successful New York lawyer) and daughter (just starting her legal career); a noted artist and his adoring wife from New York (They also had homes in Europe and South America.); a newly married couple who worked in the family gem business; a couple from Denver (The husband was an executive with a well-known food company.); a married couple from Michigan (Very nice down-to-earth people from the mid west celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.); and us (We were from Denver at that time.) We were accompanied most of the time by our tour guides (The tour company arranged for local guides in each area of the country we visited who were very knowledgeable.); and a government party member who aided us in getting through all the security screening areas easily. Bestours, Inc. (http://www.bestour.com) handled the planning of our tour of China so that we flew into the north part of China at Shanghai, and we gradually moved south through the country visiting many wonderful, ancient cultural sites. We were able to fly out of Hong Kong to go home.
We took a Li River cruise starting in downtown Guilin from the dock near what is called Liberation Bridge. Our trip was more than 52 miles long, and it took about eight hours. We didn't mind the length because we could sample various Chinese dishes and drinks. Some of the dishes included fried crickets and crabs, and one of the drinks was snake whiskey. Let me say the people in the tour group enjoyed sharing our impressions of the cruise experience along the way. The scenery was magnificent, and the guide related interesting stories or fables that are famous in the area. It is impossible to cover all the sites along the Li River in this article in detail; however, these are some of the highlights. The Li River is divided into three sections according to Chinese tradition. Guilin-Ox Gorge which includes: Elephant-Trunk Hill, Rooster Fighting Hill, Pagoda Hill, Jingping Hill, Forest of Odd Shaped Peaks, Daux Ancient Town, Millstone Hill, and Ox Gorge. Some of the names are apparent as you view the landscape, others you must leave to your imagination. Elephant Trunk Hill is on the west side of the river. It looks like and elephant drinking water from the river with its long trunk. This hill is most closely associated with Guilin. Not far down the river from Elephant Trunk Hill on the same bank is a pagoda on top of a hill named Longevity Buddha Pagoda or "Shoufo Ta" built around 1368-1644 (Ming Dynasty). Daxu town is on the north bank of the river and dates back to the Ming Dynasty. Ox Gorge to Water-Dropping Village is section two and this includes: Wangfu (Yearning-for-Husband's Return), Crown Cave, Embroidery Hill, Half-Side Ferry, Yangdi Village, Wave-Stone View, Mural Hill, Yellow Cloth Shoal, and Xingping Landscape. Guanyan (Crown Cave) is a hill that has a crown-like crag, and it has a 12-mile long cave because of water erosion. Crusing from Yangdi to Xingping is the part where you pass many distinct peaks and bamboo groves. You see water buffaloes in the fields, fishermen using cormorants to catch fish, and many ducks enjoying the river. By the way when taking photos in China, don't be surprised that the Chinese will ask for fee. They are very commercial, and they know the value of their picture. Water-Dropping Village to Yangshou is section three of the Li River. This includes: Snail Hill, Green Lotus Peak (Bilian Peak), Schoolboy Hill (Shutong Hill), and Snow Lion Ridge (Xueshi Ridge). Yangshou is the small town where the river cruise ends. We were told it is a good place for hiking and cycling. The scenery along the Li River does not disappoint you; it is well-worth visiting. We were in constant amazement when touring the sites in China and this was one of many highlights. This is the eighth of several articles relating our experiences and impressions of a 15-day escorted tour of China we took in September of 2002.
|
|
 |
|
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
The copyright for this content entitled "Li River China" has been specified by the contributor as:
All Rights Reserved
This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.
|
|
|
This intel was contributed by The MUSEUM
The MUSEUM
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
