One of the more interesting places we visited was the "Silver Cave" in Guilin, China. A photo of the party's tastefully illuminated monument to a harmonious society is below. I'm not sure quite what the one at left was trying to prohibit. As with most places in Asia, translation to English can be challenging (not that my translations from English to Chinese would be very accurate). S and I made something of a practice of photographing the more amusing signs. Regretably, we missed shooting one, which was probably the best. Seen on a storefront in Shenzen, China: "Powerful Person Golf Thing Monopoly Store."Guilin, home of the "Silver Cave," is a large town in a mostly rural area Northwest of Hong Kong. The Li river cuts through some very beautiful mountains in this region, which we saw from a six hour cruise down the Li. Oh yes, and a "raft ride" that dumped S and I over a few small falls. Not what we expected. One should not be taken by surprise by river water! The city of Guilin itself is somewhat prosperous due to mostly intra-country tourism, but the surrounding countryside is very poor with mostly subsistence agriculture.
I saw a range of contradictions in China. On one hand, Shenzen was far more prosperous than I would have imagined, with manufacturing facilities supporting a vibrant, mobile middle class. The factory we visited was also far cleaner, more generous, and offered better conditions than I would have imagined after hearing annecdotes. On the other hand, that was a much nicer factory than the norm. And the countrside around Guilin was many decades, if not a century behind what I am used to in the U.S. China will be a formidable economic force in years to come, but will certainly have to struggle with issues of income distribution.
The Silver Cave:
The Li River and Surrounding Mountains:
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