Dr. Mark Nan Tu

The Huge Incense Burner on top of the DingHu Mountain

Zhaoqing is one of the famous tourist places in Guangdong Province. It is located 110 km west of GuangZhou, and on the transportation route that connects to GuangXi and Hunan provinces. It enjoys a mild subtropical monsoon climate (average 21? annually) and abundant rainfall. It offers tourists densely wooded mountains and caster landscape.

ZhaoQing is known for its historical relics and natural beauty. ZhaoQing has over 2000 years of history. The local government promotes it as the leisure getaway for city dwellers in GuangZhou and ShenZhen.

Tourist Attractions:
DingHu Mountain
Just 20km east of ZhaoQing is the DingHu Mountain. It has the China

KeYuan South China architecture

Yue Opera in KeYuan tea house

The Yellow Flag mountain park is so beautiful that it is used as place for wedding photography

Dongguan, a prosperous city in China is located 40 km east of GuangZhou and 70km west of ShenZhen in the Pearl Delta. It is where the Chinese economic miracle takes place. People of all walk of like swarm into the city pursuing their fortunes and in hope for a better life.

Tourist Attractions:
KeYuan:
Keyuan Garden, one of the four most famous gardens in Guangdong Province was built in 1850 in Daoguang reign of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). With the characteristics of a small coverage and exquisite layout, KeYuan has artistically combined residence, living room, pavilion, courtyard with flower garden and study, together in a land area of 2,204 square meters. The style imitates the ancient gardens of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, but yet KeYuan has rich South China architectural characteristics. Interlocked-structure and winding pathway, this secluded spot is known as gem of Lingnan (southern China) landscape gardens.
Yellow Flag Mountain:
Yellow Flag Mountain is situated in the center of the city. It attracts the visitors with its beautiful natural environment and historical Taoist temples. The main entrance is free and the fee for the temple is 5 RMB. The mountain is a perfect spot for leisure hiking. On top of the mountain, one can enjoy a panoramic view of the DongGuang city in the clear days.
The Human Naval Battler Museum and the WeiYuan Battery
The Humen Naval Battle Museum is located at the east end of the Human Bridge. The main hall is made up of four exhibit halls. Hall No.1 and No.2 are in the themes of ‘the Naval Battles in the Opium War’. With a series of paintings and small-sized but vivid models, the display visualizes the course of the sea war during the Opium War.
Not far from the Humen Naval Battle Museum is the site of WeiYuan battery. It is the best preserved historical battlefield in China. Through the display of the cannons and the remains of the stone structure, one can easily imagine the battle that took place 150 years ago.
The two attractions are situated in a beautiful seafront setting with the Human Bridge as the backdrop. The bridge is a truly engineering marvel that spans over the Pearl River at the exact spot where the Opium war defense line lied. The bridge clear demonstrated the ambition of the Chinese people and economic power of the country and serves as the best memorial to those who fought and died in the battery below.

Food:
The prosperity in DongGuang can be seen from its various restaurants in the city. From the food stand in the walking street to the dinning halls in 5 star hotels, DongGuang people like to eat. A visitor can find any type of food in China.

Night life and entertainment:
One can relax in the bar district which is in the east side of the city. This part of the city is populated with the grand villas, natural parks and golf courses. The bars usually get busy from 10pm and the wine and dine stretch well into the night. The walking street

The path way which leads to the starting point of the hiking trail

The leaves are turning red

Close ups of the red leaves

I took a business trip back to Beijing during the weekend. I over heard from the radio that the maple leaves in the Fragrance Hill are turning red. The annual Red Leaf festival is on. I had some time on Saturday and decided to visit the Fragrance Hill and take pictures.

We arrived around 3 pm in the afternoon. I knew a lesser known path. To avoid the usual jam in the touristy spots, we took this path. This path started at the Fragrance Hill south road and leads to the JinShan cemetery at the middle of the mountain. There is a packing lot at the JinShan cemetery. From there, we hiked to the top of the hill. The trail is build with stone steps and is a rather easy climb. We saw leaves of the vicinity trees turn red. We took pictures of the trees and leaves along the trail.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we could see the panoramic view of the Beijing. The city is covered with a dust (gaze) cap. The visibility is rather low. We walked along the mountain range and we can see more red leaves. We met some tourists but not nearly as much as those in the Fragrance Hill Park. We could see the top of the Fragrance Hill

The West Street at night

A flute seller in the West Street

There is an old Chinese saying: The scenery in Guilin is the best in the world. But the scenery in YangShuo is even better than Guilin.

Yangshuo is 4 hours by boat and 1 hour by bus from Guilin. The famous Li river connects the two cities. The surrounding countryside is incredibly beautiful and peaceful. The landscape along the Li river is sometimes referred as the 100 li (50 km) of pictorial painting. It is dotted with Karst peaks and the Li river winds its way around them.

Yangshuo is located in GuangXi province and very close to Vietnam; It is a perfect place for weekend getaway for Chinese and the last stop in China before heading for Southeast Asia for international travelers. Many travelers find Yangshuo a worthy escape from the evils of the modern world.

Yangshuo is a laid back small town. Yet, the local tourism is surprisingly well developed with excellent choice for hotels, restaurant, and cafes. Most of the commercial activities are concentrated in a short street called the West Street.

We went for a visit to Guilin and Yangshuo during the national holiday. We flew off from GuangZhou to Guilin and spend the first night in Guilin. We then took the Li river tour, a 4 hour boat ride upstream from Guilin to YangShuo. The tour traveled through some of the most pictorial water ways along the Li river. It is definite a highlight from the whole Yangshuo experience.

We booked the Macro Polo hotel which is in the center of the West Street. The National Day holiday (golden travel week) brought many tourists. The price for our room was significantly inflated. We paid some serious money for the room which offers the best view in the West street. The West street is bustling with backpackers, travel groups and globetrotters. The noise of the disco downstairs lasted well into the late night.

We moved to the Morning Breeze hostel the second day. It is a nice little guest house on the edge of the city. It offers quite retreat, friendly staff and free bike rent. We stayed in the hostel for the next three days. We had to pay over 200RMB/night for a room that normally should cost no more than 80RMB. We spend one day in the ShiWaiTaoYuan or Shangri-La, a small village 20 km out sided the city. We also watched the night show of impression. ShanJie Liu, directed by the renowned Chinese director ZhangYiMou.

The best way to experience YangShuo is on a bike. We took bikes from our hostel and rode to the country side. It was truly an unforgettable experience. We rode on a less known track and went through some remote villages. The villagers and their cows, the local ethnic buildings are mixed with the lush vegetations in the mountains, the endless rice fields, and the tranquil rivers. The distant local folk song just added more flavor and left us an ever lasting impression.

Yangshuo is filled with restaurants which offer variety of food. We had a very good western style dinner in the Red Star caf

LongJi (or Dragon Backbone in Chinese) is famous for its large scale terrace field. The field dated back 600 years. The legend goes like this. An evil emperor wanted to extinct the Yao minority. The emperor ordered the Yao people to move into the reservation which is located deep in the mountains. He thought that they could not survive. However, Yao people build the rice field using the limited space offered by the mountainous terrace. Year after year, generation after generation, the Yao people expanded the field and it becomes the terrace farm as we see today. They lived happily surrounded by the beautiful mountains and the green terrace field.

LongJi terrace is located in the LongShen County, some 87km out of Guilin in GuangXi province. My tour bus took over two hours to negotiate the twist and turns and finally arrived as the foot of the LongJi mountain. From there, we changed to a smaller bus which took us to the middle of the mountain. We hiked the last mile by foot.

Besides the spectacular fields and impressive local village buildings, I had a rare opportunity to photograph the local Yao women combing their hair. This is not ordinary hair. The village down the mountain was certified by the Guinness World Records as the longest hair village in the world.

When I was climbing the stairs, I was followed by the five local Yao women. I later realized that they had no reason to climb to the top. Their sole objective is to offer me the opportunity to photograph them. They wanted 50 Yuan and allow me to photograph the entire process of combing their hair. I negotiated down to 30 Yuan and told them that I can not photograph all 5 of them, but can offer 30 Yuan to photograph 3 out of 5. However, they told me that they would do it for 30 Yuan.

5 of them put the basket down which they carried at the back. They let their impressive long and thick hair down. Then I noticed that they actually had two bunches of hair. The local Yao people only cut their hair once in their life time when they reach puberty at age of 16-18. They saved their cut hair and put them up together with the new hair.

I continuously pushed my shutter and recorded the whole process. I noticed that one of the women had a dark blue cloth over her hair while the others do not. She is unmarried. I told myself. One of the women told me that she was already 50. I looked at her long and thick hair and joked with her that she looked like only in her 30s. I must admit that their healthy hair make all of them look at least 10 year younger than their age.

After the show, I asked for permission to take a picture of me with the group. I gave them 100 Yuan and asked for 50 Yuan back. I wanted them to have an easy calculation. I thanked them and wished them luck. I scontinued my hike towards the top of the mountain. All but one of the women went down the mountain whom I later met in the market selling local made silver decorations.

I visited Guilin with my parents when I was very young. But I was too young to remember much. The only impression left was the Li river and elephant mountain. I spend the 2007 national holiday in Guilin and Yangshuo. I

ShiWaiTaoYuan ?or direct translation of The Peach Field Out of This World in Chinese?came from an Ancient Chinese poem. The writer Tao Qian lived in Jin Dynasty, some 1700 years ago. In his poem, he depicted a community of people who lived in harmony and surrounded by stunning scenery only seen in the paintings, an utopian to some extend. Although the actual village of his writing is never known, the word ShiWaiTaoYuan has become the synonym for the generations to search for, a place for the most livable village in China. A village 20 km out of YangShuo claims that it is such a place.

YangShuo is known for its beautiful mountains, lush green and running river. There is a Chinese saying that the best scenery in China is in Guilin that is until you see YangShuo. Meaning the scenery in YangShuo is even better than Guilin. The small village 20km out of YangShuo has all the beautiful surrounding as YangShuo without the typical problems of the city. That is why it is called the ShiWaiTaoYuan and claimed to be the best livable small village in China. The place is currently been developed as a tourist attraction and yet the villagers still maintain the same peaceful life style that they had enjoyed for thousands of years.

The entrance ticket is 60 Yuan which includes a 20 minutes boat ride. Much like the boat ride in the everglades in Florida, visitors can enjoy the green ambient decorated by thick vegetations and colorful flowers. Visitors can also watch some local folk dance performance from the boat. The dance is shown at the stages by the river back. In my opinion, these shows are not well designed as the boat zoomed across water at such as speed and leaves no time for visitors to enjoy the show.

What really impressed me was the visit to the guest house after the boat ride. The guest house was very well designed to blend the local architecture and the surrounding rice field. From the upper level of the guest house, one can see the local villagers farming with the backdrop of the famous landmark such as the BiJa Mountain. Visitors can have an up close and personal view of the artistry work done by the local artisans. They can also buy these beautiful pieces such as weaving cloth and the colorful costumes of the local minority people.

I went to the ShiWaiTaoYuan during my recent trip to YangShuo. I took the bus from YangShuo and stayed in the village for about 1.5 hours. I give a 4 out of 5 stars for this location and recommend it as a worthy place to see in YangShuo. The scenery, the service, the location, the historical significance, the culture display, the transportation and infrastructure are all good. The only thing that I dislike is the local folk dance shows. They are poorly designed and coordinated, and certainly not suitable to be viewed from the moving boat.

Custom made shoes (ads by locals)

The wooden door to the courtyard

Cuandixia Village is located in Mentougou District, about 90 kilometers from downtown Beijing. It was built in the Ming dynasty and has about 400 year history. It was preserved almost in the original state. The village has about 70 courtyards with 500 rooms which were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The village, surrounded by mountains, stands on the northern gentle slope of the hills and, having being built in harmony with the terrain of the mountains. There are mainly quadrangle dwellings and a few courtyards with houses on three sides. On the walls, remain the maxims of managing family, inscriptions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as the slogans of Anti-Japanese War period. Walking in the village, visitors will feel they have entered a historical village that has not been changed in hundreds of years, a contrary to the modem high rises in downtown Beijing only 100 km away. The village is surrounded by lush grass and trees and secluded by the mountains and connected by easy access road. It is an ideal place for weekend getaway for Beijing city residents. There are many bed and breakfast in the village. At evening, there are varied amusements, such as outdoor movies and campfire parties.

The legend has it that the ancestors of the village migrated from Shanxi Province during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. Because the village is located on the junction between Shanxi and Beijing, it was very prosperous during the Qing Dynasty. However, the village was declining after the new roads were built in the late Qing Dynasty and the old road was less travelled. Today, most of the able bodied people left the village to pursuit better life in big cities such as Beijing. That has changed a bit during the recent years as the Beijing resident and international tourists began to flock in. There are some local businesses that are mainly geared towards tourism, such as tea houses and bed band breakfast. The village was made famous as a Chinese hit movie: Cell phone (shouji) by famed director Feng Xiaogang was shot here.

By Bus: About 150 meters west of Pingguoyuan Subway Station, take Bus No.929 Zhi (929 ?) to Cuandixiacun Lukou at 7:30, or 12:40.

Recommended itinerary: A two day trip.
Day 1: Downtown to Baihua Mountain. Try to start early and get there before lunch time. Hike up the mountain or take a cable car. Get down before sunset. Stay in one of the local hotels. Baihua Mountain has satisfying facilities for dining, accommodations and entertainment. The Baihuashan Hotel is located at the base of the mountain.
Day 2: Visit the Dragon Gate Valley (Longmen Jian) in the morning and head for the Chuandixia village (a village dated back to Ming Dynasty). Head back to Beijing late afternoon.

Most of the scenic sites are newly build

Longmen Jian is a 15 km valley. It is located in the Mentougou district. It is in proximity to the Baihua Mountain and the Cuandixia Village (a village dated back to Ming dynasty). If you are already in the Mentougou district and have 2 hours to spare, you can visit this valley.

Among many scenic spots around Beijing, Longmen Jian is not outstanding and often ignored even by local outdoor enthusiastic. However, that gives Longmen Jian its

A hike from the entrance to the highest peak will take more than 3 hours.

View from the top

Grassland on the high mountain

Baihua Mountain, the northern end of Mt. Taihang, is located in the Mentougou District. It is 110 kilometers on the west of the downtown Beijing. The nature reserve covers an area of 30 million square meters, 90 per cent of which is covered by forest. The 1,977-metre-high Baicaopan is the third highest peak highest in Beijing.