After Beijing, Mom and I headed for Guangzhou to meet with some relatives and check out all the southern metropolis had to offer. We dropped off Phillip in Shanghai with Gramps due to my brother’s becoming more and more of a pain during our travels in Beijing. Understandably, climbing the Great Wall is a bit much to ask of a ten-year-old. He was a bit miffed when we told him that his reward for a day of hard climbing was a trip to some garden.
In Guangzhou, we hit up some parks–the highlights being the statue of the five divine rams that purportedly brought good luck and fertility to the city
and countless koi that swarm visitors at the slightest wave of a hand.
I gotta say, the shopping in Guangzhou is quite enjoyable. Of all the places I’ve been in China, I have yet to see such steeply discounted prices for remarkably attractive products.
Then, Mom and I took a break from the urban sprawl and jetted to Guilin, known for its devastatingly beautiful mountains and rivers. Noteworthy places we visited were:
Elephant Mountain,
the scaleable Gudong Cascades,
Silver Cave,
some sort of tribal reservation where the natives were especially friendly,
and a raft-level view of the awe-inspiring Li Jiang which winds through Guilin’s seemingly neverending mountains.
(I’m not terribly good at taking panoramic shots, but I’m sure you get the idea.)
From Guilin, we went on to visit yet more relatives in Zhuhai, a developing city that borders Macau. I was hoping to catch some rays in this beach-flanked town and got more than my fair share playing in the sand with my little cousin.
We took home matching shells and sunburns.
It’s been a glorious month of sightseeing, relative visiting, and culture appreciating. I still have until the 27th to experience more of China and will report back with stories as soon as I go collect some adventures.
Hope your summer is floating along nicely!
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