Travel China: Liaoning Province

This is a picture of Shenyang Imperial Palace. Photo from Catty Lee.

Liaoning, also known as the “Golden Triangle,” consists of an area of more than 145,900 square kilometers with borders including the Yellow Sea and the Bo Hai Sea. While the area now known as Liaoning has always been significant to China because of its strategic position near these seas and Korea, the province was only created in 1954 by merging the provinces of Liaodong and Liaoxi with five other municipalities.
Liaoning can be divided into three geographical areas. The highlands, consisting of low hills including the Nulu’erhu Mountains, are located in the western portion of Liaoning. In the middle of Liaoning, flatlands with rivers such as the Liao, dominate. The eastern portion of Liaoning is mountainous and includes Mt. Huabozi, the highest point in the province. The climate of Liaoning is cold during the winter months and warm and rainy during the summer months. Windy spring and fall seasons are short in comparison to summer and winter. The economy of Liaoning has historically focused on heavy industry. The city of Anshan, known for its steel and iron production, is known as the steel capital of China. Liaoning also provides petroleum, natural gas, and salt to China. In addition, Liaoning has iron, diamond, and boron deposits that are mined. Most of the apples and peaches that China exports are grown around Dalian. In addition to apples and peaches, Liaoning is known for producing maize, soybeans, peanuts, traditional Chinese medicine, and cotton.

Dalian, a city located on the Liaodong Peninsula, is a heavily developed city that is one of China’s major ports. Other ports in Liaoning include Yingkou and Dandong. Dalian was host to the

Photo from Kendy Li.

The majority of the population of the approximately 40 million people who live in Liaoning are Han Chinese. Minorities include Manchu, Koreans, Hui, Mongols, and Xianbei. Liaoning ranks 14th in population in China as of 2004.

Liaoning’s history is turbulant but deeply connected to the development of contemporary China. During the early 1600s, the Manchu used Shenyang, the contemporary capital of Liaoning, as their dynasty’s capital. They went on to conquer the rest of China and establish the Qing Dynasty, which lasted until 1911. The 20th century was a turbulent time for Liaoning and China as a whole. Many of the important battles of the 1905 Russo-Japanese War were fought in Liaoning. The Japanese invaded the area in 1931 and would occupy Liaoning until the end of World War II in 1945.

Liaoning also features a number of places of contemporary interest. The Shenyang Imperial Palace, located in Shenyang, is a smaller version of the Forbidden City. Completed in 1636, the Shenyang Imperial Palace is more intact than is the Forbidden City today. The Benxi Water Cave National Park hosts the largest water cave in Asia. The Benxi Water Cave National Park, consisting of 45 square kilometers, includes Mt. Tiecha, the Spa Temple, and Tanggou Valley. Mt. Tiecha, also known as Jui Ding, or Nine Peaks, is thought to be where Taoism originated in northeast China. In addition to being an important trade and manufacturing city, Dalian has beaches and hosts the Dalian Spring Fireworks Festival.

China Travel: Chongqing Municipality

Photo from Thalia Kwok.

Chongqing is unique in China: it is one of only for municipalities, or cities located in provinces that reports to the national, not the local, government. The others includes Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai; however, Chongqing is the only one not on the east cost. It is also the newest municipality, incorporated in 1997, and the municipality with the greatest population: over 30 million people were counted there in a 2005 census.

The name Chongquing comes from the Jialing River that runs through the city into the nearby Yangtze River. Supposedly Chongqing was established around the eleventh century BCE by the Ba people and by 316 BCE, the State of Quin had overrun the city.

This photo of Liberation Tower is from Thalia Kwok.

Chongqing’s climate and geography are typical of areas in central China. The land surrounding Chongqing is very rough and full of many hills, making agricultural development there difficult. Chongqing has a semi-tropical climate with two seasonal monsoon variations. The annual average temperature in Chongqing is 18°C, but the summers are quite hot: temperatures reaching 45°C have been recorded in summer. The area is also known for its severe fog, which was a great tool used during the World War II for protection. In addition, the great amounts of coal burning without any controls on pollution, air pollution is a large problem.

Photo from Thalia Kwok.
Chongqing has been known historically for its large trading inland ports. However, during the mid twentieth-century Chongqing was transformed into a major industrial city. Many military industrial plants and factories began there, though recently these Chongqing’s industry has been under reform, ending production of military items and increasing production of materials for the development of the average civilian.

Photo from Thalia Kwok.

Many natural resources are available in an abundance, including coal, natural gas, and strontium. Nearly 4.8 billion tonnes of coal reserves, among the highest amounts of reserves available in China, are estimated to be in Chongqing. The city is also home to the worlds second largest strontium reserve. With all of these resources at its disposal, Chongqing is growing at a rate even higher than China’s national growth, with its economy growing at just over 12% on a yearly basis. The nominal GDP in 2005 $38.75 billion US dollars.

In addition to its strong industrial economy, Chongqing also has a powerful tourism industry, making nearly $26 million USD in this industry annually. Among the most famous tourist destinations is the Three Gorges, a breathtaking area located upon the Yangtze river and the most frequently visited canyon in China. A high number of historic landmarks cites are in the metropolitan area due to Chongqing’s role as a political and administrative center in World War II.

Chongqing also has a few quirky achievements. The worlds largest public bathroom was created in July 2007. The bathroom is a four story building with 1,000 toilets uniquely shaped. Several urinals have the look of an open crocodile mouth or a woman resembling the Virgin Mary showing her bust.

China Travel: Jiangsu Province

This photo of a Jiangsu city skyline was taken by Daryl Snow.

Jiangsu Province runs along the eastern edge of China, just north of Shanghai. The province is bordered on the north by Shandong, on the west by Anhui, and on the east by the Yellow Sea. Additionally, Jiangsu’s proximity to the Yellow Sea means the province is home to many waterways and lakes. Major cities in the Jiangsu province (or “Shu” for short) include Xuzhou, Zenjiang, Changzhou, and Yancheng.

Despite its relatively small size (Jiangsu represents less than two percent of China’s total land mass), the province is home to over 70 million people (a little over five percent of the population), many of whom live in sizable cities. The vast majority of the population is of the Han ethnic majority, with ethnic minorities representing less than one half of one percent of the population. The level of education is generally fairly high: over 99 percent of school-aged children have easy access to primary schooling. Additionally, the province is home to 94 colleges and universities.

This photo of a farmer in Jiangsu was taken by Tom Carter.

Because Jiangsu is home to the fertile Yangtze River delta as well as the Taihu and Hongze lakes (two of China’s largest freshwater lakes), Jiangsu’s land is also extremely fertile and is sometimes called “the land of rivers and lakes.” Like its neighboring provinces, much of Jiangsu Province lies within a monsoon climate zone that results in heavy summer rains. In the southern areas of the province, temperatures tend to be quite high, while the northern areas enjoy more temperate conditions. Jiangsu’s terrain is quite flat, owing to its proximity to the ocean, and because of its geography, much of the province’s land is developed for agriculture and industry. Major agricultural products include rice, cotton, and pigs, though freshwater fishing is also a major player in the area’s economy. Major industries include machinery, textiles, paper-making, and cement due to available deposits of coal, phosphorus, and pottery-quality clay.The densely populated Jiangsu Province is easy to navigate due to its well developed railway and highway systems and access to convenient water transport. The Asia-Europe Continental Bridge railway network, for example, begins in Lianyung and stretches all the way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and the city of Nanjing serves as an important highway hub that helps to connect over 100 towns and cities.

This development means travelers have convenient access to the region’s many sites of cultural and historical interest. In Nanjing, for example, visitors are drawn to Dr. Yat-Sun’s tomb, while Lianyungang draws fans of Xuanwu Lake and Yuntai Mountain. Other major points of interest include the Suzhou Garden (recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Yixing’s Three Caves, Wuxi’s Tai Lake, and Yangzhou’s West Lake. Specialty products of the area include Taihu Biluochun tea, Wuxi clay figurines, Yixing pottery, Yangzhou lacquer-ware, and pressed salted duck from Nanjing. All told, the Jiansu Province is home to 416 sites that have been designated as historically and culturally significant by either the national or local government, making this province a top destination for history-seeking tourists of all types.

China Travel: Yunnan Province

This photo was taken by Daryl Snow.

Yunnan is located in the southwestern part of China, and borders Burma, Laos and Vietnam. Though the province is seated at the headwaters of half a dozen major river systems, including the Mekong, the Irrawaddy and Yangtze, only a small portion of Yunnan’s rivers are navigable. The landscape is varied, ranging from the mountains of the Tibetan plateau to semi-tropical lowlands, and attracts visitors and photographers from around the world. The provincial capitol, Kunnming is renowned for its “eternal spring” and mild winter weather. Yunnan is connected by air flights to domestic and regional international destinations through Kunmings’ Wujiaba Airport, although a newer airport is expected to be completed around 2015.

The rich and varied mineral and natural resources of the area was and is a magnet for human occupation and trade from the earliest times. Indeed, the oldest hominid fossil in China, the “Yuanmo Man” was discovered there in the 1960s. The trade route between China and India which passed through Yunnan was known as the “Southern Silk Road”.

The province is the most ethnically diverse in China, and is home to a large minority of ethnic Thais who once had their own kingdom of Nanchao. The Naxi people, a sub-group of the Tibetans who live around the town of Lijiang, are famous for having preserved a matriarchal society into the present day. The Xishuangbanna people, whose communities are located along the Mekong, hold a “Water Splashing Festival” over the Lunar New Year, very like Thailand’s “Songkan” festival, during which everyone must be doused with water. The popular tourist destination of Dali is renowned for the Erhai Lake, where fishermen work with “fishing bird” assistants. Dali is also famous for local horse fairs and the Pagodas of Saintly Worship, three towers that are part of a ruined temple complex over a thousand years old.

This photo was taken by Craig Leslie Hodges.

Another popular tourist destination is the Stone Forest, an area near Kunming where spectacular limestone stalagmites grow among a number of lakes. The noted geological wonder known as the “Jade Dragon Mountains,” which are said to look like a gigantic jade dragon holding up the sky, is also located in Yunnan. Tourism has developed into one of Yunnan’s major industries, aside from tobacco farming, mining of copper and other metals, and the collection of botanical and herbal samples. Traveling to Lijiang will lead you to Tiger Leaping Gorge, a long range of mountains with a amazing scenic view including a massive river and a long hiking trail with dozens of small, cozy guest houses along the way.

Cuisine tends to be rather spicy, a fact often attributed to the presence of so many ethnic cultures. A curious habits in food here are the use of flowers as food, and certain local dishes feature such things as pineapple or goat cheese. Marinated and roasted duck is also extremely popular.

Although relatively undeveloped, Yunnan is self-sufficient in agricultural production. Tobacco and rubber are among the cash crops grown there, as well as tea, its most famous product. The custom of drinking tea is supposed to have begun in the high plateaus of Yunnan. Of all the plant species found in China, over half of them can be found in Yunnan alone, ranging across the province’s four different growing zones.

Travel China: Qi Xing Yan in Guangdong Province

We woke up at 6am, climbed on a bus packed with people, and traveled to the border of Guangdong province to find a place somewhere between the spectral karsts of Guangxi and the. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect: Ms. Yue and the interns eyes brightened every time they mentioned the place. I knew that Guangdong was located in the western part of the province and was famous for its beauty and for its supposed healing properties of the mind and soul. I had to check it out.

Located in the western area of Guangdong, Qi Xing Yan 七星岩 (known in English as the “Seven Star Peaks”), the park was only recently established, though the place has a history hundreds of years old. Despite its notoriety among the Chinese, there is relatively little literature about the place in English. However, it was enjoyable to just take in the beauty of the place. In fact, the lack of information made it more possible for me to feel the calming, reassuring presence here. Akin the sense of eerie mystery that I had felt in Guangxi, Qi Xing Yan seemed to have some kind of strange power.

As we continued on the trip, I could see Miss Yue’s attitude transform. In the morning, as we had first arrived and got lost making our way there–like any good journey in China, you have to get completely lost at least once–Ms. Yue was understandably upset. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and the taxi driver seemed to have difficulty understanding where we wanted to go, despite Ms. Yue’s explanations in both sharp Mandarin and cutting Cantonese. But as we walked around the bridges and trees, Ms. Yue’s manner changed. She shifted from grumpy to pleasantly amused by the young children to a sense of wonderment as we saw a duck on the lake startle and fly away.

I didn’t fully understand Qi Xing Yan until I met Buddha pictured here. Carved from three large pieces of limestone several hundred years ago, this Buddha may not be the biggest stone sitting Buddha in the world, but it is a happy Buddha, and seemed to have the power to share its mirth with anyone who took time to watch him for a moment.

Here’s an initial draft of the http://888.ws (referred 888 WS) contest marketing proposal for perusal by our potential sponsors and contributors:

Marketing Proposal for 888 WS Contest

China Travel: Hubei

(This photo was taken in Wuhan University during the cherry blossom season. Chill, the photographer, is an active member of the Photography Association of Sun Yat Sen University.

Hubei Province is located in central China. This mid-sized province has no direct access to the ocean, but it is criss-crossed by several major waterways in China, including the Yangtze River. Hubei is bordered by the Shaanxi, Henan, Chongqing, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, and major population centers include Huangshi, Jingmen, Shashu, Xiangfan, Xianning, Yichang, and Wuhan. The population of the province is around 60 million people and covers approximately 185,900 square km. In the east, the world-famous Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Project, located just outside of Yichang City, is the largest water conservation project in the world. In the west, the national reservation of Shengnongjia is a dense wilderness Always mysterious, the reservation remains an enigma today after the discovery of traces of an ancient people and continues to aroused public curiosity.

Hubei Province is home to a relatively large number of ethnic minorities: according to the fifth national census, nearly 5 percent of the province’s population is a member of one of the 56 ethnic minorities. Approximately 50 of these groups (including the Tujia, Miao, Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian peoples) are present in the province, with most living in tightly woven compact communities. The Tujia, with 3.7% of the population, and the Miao, 0.7% of the population, are the two largest. The population of Hubei is concentrated in the eastern half of the province, while the western areas have a lower population density and are more agrarian. The majority of the Hubei Province population has a junior secondary education, meaning that the literacy rate in this province is among the highest in the country.

Hubei’s landscape runs the gamut from high-altitude mountainous to flat. low-lying plains. Hubei’s unique location between the second and third terraces of the overall topographical scheme of China creates this diversity in the landforms. Generally speaking, the western portion of the province has a higher elevation. Approximately 70 percent of the total land area is hilly and mountainous, with the Wuling, Wushan, Daba, Wudang, Tongbai, Dabie, and Mufu mountain ranges all located in this province, as well as Wudang Mountain, a sacred Taoist peak with hundreds of temples. The remaining 30 percent of flat land is heavily concentrated on the large Jianghan plain. The highest summit in the province is the Shennong Summit of the Shennongjia Mountains, which is also known as “the Roof of China.” The Yangtze River flows through the entire length of the province, and a large number of lakes and smaller rivers make the land rich and arable.

Hubei Province has a subtropical monsoon climate. Generally, temperatures are high, with annual temperatures averaging between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius. The plentiful sunlight, soaking rains, and long growing period (the frost-free portion of the year can number as many as 300 days) apparent in this province make it ideal for agriculture. Here, paddy rice, ramie, sesame, and wheat are grown in great abundance.

Many people are drawn to the Hubei Province due to its great natural beauty, as Hubei’s landscape is dotted with beautiful sights and awe-inspiring views. The Hubei Province is also home to a large number of cultural and historical points of interest. In Wuhan, for example, visitors can visit the beautiful East Lake and Yellow Crane Tower, while Wuhan City boasts ancient Longzhong, which was a spot of strategic military importance during past dynasties. Visitors looking for local specialties can find intricate embroidery, Siaogan sesame candy, and Suizhou sweet dates. A trip to Hubei is a great trip for those interesting in both China’s long history and its dramatic landscapes.

China Travel: Guangdong Province

Andy Lai is the photographer behind this photo. This is a mosaic photo from a Cantonese Opera.

Guangdong Province lies in the southernmost part of China. With its location on the South China Sea, the province is a natural entry point to south China and has long served as a gateway for Westerners interested in China. Bordered by Jiangxi and Hunan provinces to the north, Fujian province to the east, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to the west, Guangdong has easy access to many other key parts of south China. Guangdong province also claims 651 islands, many of which are located in the Pearl River Delta, which has recently become a center of great economic development in the region. It is estimated that Guangdong Province generates as much as a quarter of the GDP in China.

(This photo of Guangzhou’s skyline and all the photos below were taken by Shenxy.)

The provincial capital of Guangzhou has a long history of international trade and cooperated. Originally transcribed by Portugese traders as “Canton,” who took the name of the region for the name of the city, the name Guangzhou literally means “wide state.” The name Canton is still used informally for events such as the Canton Trade Fair, the world’s largest trade and outsourcing fair. Guangdong was named during the Ming Dynasty, and it was at this time that it began to serve as a major trade hub for China and Europe, with Portugal and England contributing much to the region’s multiculturalism and international fame (see our posts on Macau and Hong Kong for more information). Guangdong was famous for its hongs (trading houses) and its traders known compradors, (which comes from the Portugese word for “to purchase,” comprar). Perhaps because of the powerful international influence and centuries of contact with foreigners, Guangdong people have a long history of immigration and worldwide travel, with large groups of them moving to the US and Canada in the 1800s. To this day, Cantonese is the dominant language in many Chinatowns and Chinese communities across North America (as well as other parts of the world).

(This is a photo of Hua Nan Xin Cheng 华南新城, one of the areas of Guangzhou in Panyu District)

Though Guangzhou has a complex and interesting relationship with the outside world that has lasted for centuries, it also has a fascinating internal history of diversity. Many people who live in Guangdong are of the Han Chinese nationality, which comprises the largest single ethnic group worldwide. Still, Guangdong has a diverse, multi-cultural population, with members of forty-two different ethnic groups making their home here. In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese, the local dialect, is the most common tongue and one of the most important dialects of Chinese spoken inside and outside of the PRC. Other languages spoken include Hakka, Kejiahua, Min Nan, Xiang, Dzao Min, Zhuang, and many others.

In addition to rich environment of culture and language, Guangdong’s physical environment features a subtropical climate, with high humidity and hot weather in the summer and brisk and humid winters. Be careful about visiting during the rainy season in March and April! Due to its favorable geography and mild weather, Guangdong is the area’s major producer of rice, tea and tropical crops. Less than a quarter of all the land in Guangdong is used to produce food, so the areas that are set aside for agricultural purposes are farmed intensively.

(This is a photo of Shenzhen’s Dapeng Bay, 深圳大鹏湾).

In terms of its economy, light industry has brought an economic boom to Guangdong, and Guangzhou, not Beijing or Shanghai, boasts the highest GDP per capita in mainland China. Food processing, including sugar refining, as well as textile manufacturing and weaving are major industries here, as well as heavy industrial pursuits such as shipbuilding and repair and machine manufacturing, among others.

(This is a photo taken near Hailing Island in Guangdong Province.)

Perhaps more than anything, Guangdong is famous for its Cantonese cuisine. Because Guangzhou was a major trading port, its access to trade from all over the planet brought a wide variety of foods to the city, creating a huge amount of diversity within the cuisine. Someone once said, “the Cantonese eat every thing that flies except planes, every thing on the ground except cars, and every thing that is in water except boats,” and the saying has stuck. Fresh ingredients, mildly spiced, are favored, and the flavors are brought out with steaming, stir and deep frying. Because Guangdong is on a sea coast, seafood is often featured. Choice dishes include dim sum, hot pot, steamed eggplant, wonton noodles, fish balls, and beef brisket.

Visitors to the Guangdong province enjoy the scenic beauty of the Danxia, Zijiao, Luofu, and Dinghu mountains. In Guangzhou you will also want to visit Yuexiu Hill and Park, as well as the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, an ancient Buddhist temple. There are many beautiful temples to see in Guangdong, including the Nanhua Temple located in Shaoguan. You will also find the informative Guangdong Provincial Museum in Guangzhou. Offering examples of Chaozhou wood carving, ceramic figures, old Chinese pottery and traditional Chinese calligraphy posters, you can enjoy the best of Guangdong’s culture, past and present.

Guangdong is also the home of Coffee, Yue Ying, and the League of Extraordinary Chinese Women.

Look for posts here soon about Yanzhi and Dawei’s adventures in Baiyun Mountain and Qi Xin Yan, two of the most scenic areas in Guangdong Province.

Travel in China: Guangxi SAR

This is a photo taken by Jacco Bax, who is also this week’s China Photo Contest winner.

Guangxi SAR is an autonomous region located in the southern region of China, populated and administered predominantly by the Zhuang ethnic group. In Guangxi, “xi” is the character for West, linking this province to to nearby Guangdong province (”dong” means “east”). Other nearby provinces include Yunnan, its neighbor to the west; Guizhou, which lies to the north; and Hunan in the northeast. Guangdong borders its southeast region.

Vietnam is southwest and the Gulf of Tonkin is south of Guangxi. The largest city in the Guangxi SAR is also its capital, Nanning, located near the Yong River. Nanning is referred to as the “Green City” due to the vast tropical foliage there, with more than 3,000 plants finding a home in Nanning. Nanning is also key to China’s involvement in ASEAN, and the city recently hosted the China-ASEAN Expo. Nanning continues to be a key city for directing China’s involvement and commitment to ASEAN and its member nations.

The subtropical climate found in Guangxi, with its hot summers, rainy weather and pleasant autumns, is excellent for growing rice, sugar cane, tobacco, maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts and wheat, as well as many types of tropical fruit. Guangxi is China’s top producer of tin, manganese and indium, and has large stores of lime. The area, most notably near the seaport of Beihai, also produces some of the most beautiful pearls found.

This autonomous region is heavily populated by the Zhuang, the largest minority ethnicity in China with approximately 15 million individuals (roughly the population of Australia). Other ethnic groups that live in Guangxi include the Dong, Miao, Yao, Hui, Yi, Shui, and Gin people groups. As you might expect, there is also a great deal of linguistic diversity. You will hear languages such as Zhuang, Pinghua, and Cantonese spoken in addition to the standard Mandarin taught in schools. Because of the diversity of cultures living in Guangxi SAR, there is also a rich cultural heritage among the people groups. The Dong people hold a yearly firecracker festival, while the Miao celebrate with a reed flute festival.

Zhuang people have three red-letter days: a Devil Festival, a Cattle Soul Festival and a Feasting Festival. The Devil Festival, which falls on 14 July on the lunar calendar and usually in August on the Western calendar, is second only to Spring Festival in importance. In celebration, families prepare chicken, duck and five-colored glutinous as sacrifices to ancestors and ghosts.

Usually following the spring ploughing, The Cattle Soul Festival is a time that every family carries a basketful of glutinous rice and a bundle of fresh grass to the cattle pen. After a short ceremony, the cattle are fed the grass and half the rice. They traditional explanation holds that the cattle have lost their souls because of the whipping during the spring ploughing and this process calls back the lost souls.

The Feasting Festival, celebrated only by people who live near the Sino-Vietnamese border, carries a legend: a group of Zhuang soldiers, having repulsed the French invaders in the late 19th century, returned in late January and missed the Spring Festival. To pay tribute and celebrate the victory, their neighbors prepared a sumptuous feast that is celebrated on this day.

Mountains will play an important part in your itinerary schedule when you visit Guangxi SAR. Here you will see stunning karst landforms, which are made from water moving against limestone over time. Made famous by early writings of Chinese poets and featured in early Chinese paintings and landscapes, these soft waves of rock make up the mountains that surround Guilin, a beautiful city in Guangxi located on the west side of the Li River. Local guides in Guilin and Yangshuo are quick to point out that the back of the 20 yuan bill features the river and karst peaks of the region.

(photo courtesy of Sophie Nye)

Guilin is also home to the historic Jingjiang Princes City. Featuring beautiful walls, its construction began in 1372 AD, and twelve generations of Jingjiang princes lived within its inner city. Along the Li River you will also find the Reed-Flute Rock, a cave with stalactites, stalagmites, and cave corals; the oldest existing canal in the world, the Lingqu Canal; as well as Elephant-Trunk Hill, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water and is the symbol of Guilin. Yangshuo, another fabulous mountain city, is a favorite hiking and backpacking destination and home to Chun Li and her Yangshuo Mountain Retreat. Yangshuo is also home to the Yangshuo Volunteer English Program, a team of teachers dedicated to empowering underprivileged students learn English and improve their standing in life.

(photo from jackfrench)

Other historic cultural destinations include the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces in Longsheng, reputed to be some of the steepest rice terraces to be found anywhere in the world; and the Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge, located in Sangiang. A close examination of the trees and forests surrounding the trails in Longsheng will reveal old love charms carved into the trees and stone shrines decorated with red ribbons and built to honor ancestors.

I have traveled to Guangxi several times and will post some of my photos and adventures on the blog in a follow-up soon.