Guangzhou Wrap

Thursday, Dec. 21.

While in Changsha I vowed that I would try to get out into the countryside and see something other than big-city sights. So, I did some web-searching for Guangzhou area tours. Found a couple of tour agencies, but no phone numbers were listed. I asked the concierge if he could provide phone nos., but the firms identified on the websites apparently did not have telephones. However, after I explained what I wanted to do, the concierge pulled out a hotel flyer that identified several tours, one of which was the Lianhua (Lotus) Mountain half-day tour. This mountain features an ancient quarry, steep cliffs, and overhanging rocks. It’s also the site of the Lianhua Pagoda and a very large gold-coated Goddess of Mercy statue. On the trip to the Lotus Mt., it said, we ”will enjoy beautiful scenery of the countryside.” Just what we needed, so I scheduled this outing for Susie and me while Jeff, Valerie, and Malia went with the group to the zoo. (Is this any way for grandparents to act? you say. Well, they have to solo some time. Actually, they are already excellent parents. We haven't had to do much serious instructing at all.)

This was a private tour – driver Mr. Chong, our guide, Grace, and us. Grace was very knowledgeable, spoke English well, and knew her stuff. Took us a while to get out of the city because of traffic and there was only a short stretch through a rural area, but the mountain was well worth the visit.

Here’s the Goddess statue (about 135 ft. high, I’m converting from meters in my head) and that’s Grace and Susie in the foreground. I chose this picture because that red hat of Susie’s became famous all around the western Mediterranean on our cruise in ’05.




This mountain and this statue overlook the mouth of the Pearl River as it enters a sea whose name I didn’t catch and haven’t looked up, which in turn empties into the South China Sea.

Next it was on to the ancient quarry. If I got the story correctly, red sandstone from here was used over the centuries by various emperors for their palaces and government buildings. The quarry site now, called the Swallow Cliffs, for the birds that nest there, features high cliffs and a lovely garden beneath them. Here are a couple of shots.


We had to walk down a considerable staircase to reach the garden level and then back up (about a 40 min. round trip). Grace said I was the only foreigner she had guided to choose to make this descent. Susie said that was worth a good tip.

Adjacent to the Swallow Cliffs is this modern set of dwellings for the farmers who work the surrounding fields.


Coming back into town, I snapped this picture of a well-loaded motorcycle. I’ve seen bicycles similarly loaded. One person in our group mentioned seeing a bicycle carrying 300 pounds of water in large water-dispensing jugs.


Grace said a big change is coming: motorcycles will be banned in Guangzhou next year. Part of the reason is traffic and safety. Part of the reason is that this is popular mode of transportation for purse-snatchers and the like. That will make a big difference, but could increase the amount of car traffic. Guangzhou is also in process of expanding its subway system. Grace says, that it's not well used, though, because of cost. You can ride air-conditioned bus anywhere now for 25 cents, US. Half that for non-air-conditioned bus.

Well, that’s it for now. I plan another posting on some loose ends and observations, maybe even some corrections, after we get back. It’s been good to get comments from many of you.

Thanks, Cheers, and Merry Christmas!

Rob and Susie