Wild China and Guangxi Province

This weekend our family watched a new documentary, that focused on nature and wild life.  To our surprise "Wild China", part1 of 6, opened with pictures of Guilin, Guangxi Province!!  It just happens that one of our daughters is fromGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in South China.  Guilin's natural beauty is breath taking!  The stunning landscape has a kind of magic all of its own.   From strangely shaped hills or karsts, with beautiful lush vegetation ranging from bamboo to conifers along with clear waters and wonderful caves, Guilin is with no doubt a place to visit.  We visited in 2006 with a cruise down the Li River, a trip to Red Flute Cave, and last Elephant Trunk Hill.  See photos below.

Li River - Guilin, Guangxi, China

Cruise down the Li River

Selling goods on a bamboo raft. 

Beautiful pagoda!

Red Flute Cave, Guilin 

Red Flute Cave - Guilin

The beautiful hills of Guilin

Elephant Trunk Hill - behind the 2Js!
See the reflection on the water!

First Movie - "China Revealed" and other revelations!

We decided to start our "trip of discovery" by selecting some documentaries about  China. An easy way to start preparing for our upcoming trip. Or so we thought.
The goal is to learn about China as a country, its people, costumes, traditions, and do so on.
We picked "China Revealed", a documentary about 100 minutes long, which we broke into two sessions.


"Through breathtaking cinematography and personal stories from locals, delve into the people, culture and landscape that make up China, and witness the enormous changes happening in a civilization that dates back more than six millennia. From a rice farmer in a rural village to a construction magnate in Shanghai, viewers will meet a broad cross section of China's people that will illuminate the richness of modern life in this wondrous country."  from Netflix


As it started, one of the Js said " The oldest civilization in the world?! Cool!"
When the first session was over, there were questions!
"So, it said that in China people can only have one child.  Is that true?"
"Yes, it is."
"So, you have three children, which ones are you leaving behind?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Well since you can have only one child, and you have three, which ones do you have to give up?!"
"You are right, in China most people are only allowed to have one child.  However, we are not Chinese, so we can have three children.  Even when we visit China, no one is going to take you or your sisters away.  We are your parents, always and forever, we are all American citizens, so we follow American rules.  Five of us are going to China and five of us are coming back."
"Oh! I didn't know that! What if I get lost?  My Chinese isn't that good?!"
"Well, we will stick together, but just in case something happens, I will give you a note in Chinese.  It will have the name of the hotel, and our cell  number in China. What do you think?"
"OK, I think that will work. Now can we go do something else?"
"Sure."

You never know what your children are thinking!
Ok, I am thinking this is good, but heart breaking at the same time.  This is also the reason why we wanted to prepare for this trip, because we know, from previous experience, that a return trip will bring lots of questions, concerns, and a lot of uncertainty.

One day at the time, one question at time.
Fil