Visit to Beijing

We had an opportunity to visit Beijing, China's capital, the last week of October.  We met with Peter, one of our students during the summer in Kunming.  We also had the chance to meet with Mark and his English class students.  Mark is the brother of a friend of ours from Kunming who is the same business as us.  Since we had the chance to help Mark, it was very nice to be able to encourage him and meet his students.  We also had the chance to see some Beijing sights.  John also had the opportunity to attend a seminar and meet some like-minded businessmen.

 This is Linda and Peter in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City adjacent to Tian-aman square.  Peter is an engineer and now works in Beijing.

This flower arrangement is over 46 feet high in the middle Tianaman Square.  I read an article stating it was in commemoration of the change in leadership that will occur in early November.  Here is the description on the placard: 

 "Blessing for our Motherland.  

The flower arrangement is 15 meters (46.5 ft) tall and 50 meters (155 ft) in diameter and uses a festive flower basket as its centerpiece which measures 11 meters (34 ft) at its widest.  The base is 2 meters (6.2 ft) high and also covered in flowers and lights up colorfully at night." 

by the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.

It was quite a sight at night!

The gate to the Forbidden City was also lit up at night.  Very elegant.

The streets at the city center are clean and bright.  This street was loaded with stores featuring world famous brands for clothing, watches and cars. 

We visited the Beijing Botanical Gardens with Mark and his students.  A huge place with plenty of gardens, pathways, lakes and places to have a picnic.

 John, Linda, Mark (for left in the picture) and his students.  

Shot one:   We had a nice picnic under in the peach tree grove.  They brought plenty of food.  John even eat a chicken foot.  It was pretty spicy.  

Shot two:  Since I was leaning against a tree (lazy) I needed 2 shots to get everyone in.

John and Linda at the water's edge of one of the several lakes in the botanical garden.  Notice it was up against the foothills.  A gorgeous setting and beautiful fall day.

Xishan Mountain on a Beautiful Day!

 John and Linda with 8 wonderful, energetic and smart students heading for a 5 mile hike up Xishan Mountain (West Mountain)

A view of downtown Kunming from part way up.  The lake is called Dianchi Lake, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the country.  This view is just a tiny piece of it.

Along the way we met this gentleman who was sitting alone playing this stringed instrument.  He is part an ethnic minority called the Yi people noted for their colorful costumes and rhythmic dancing.

It took about 3 1/2 hours to meander up the mountain.  Seems like a new adventure awaited us at every turn.  Meeting people, seeing natural springs, sights of the city,  We saw some local wildlife.  A caterpillar and a snake.  We saved both from being run over by a bus.

Near the top we had a clear view of the whole Kunming plateau.  This one picture does not do the panorama justice.

For perspective, I took this picture in the same direction as the one above but with my zoom at 24X. You can see the detail of hundreds of apartment complexes and businesses.  Many many apartment high rises.

 Here we are at the pagoda near the top.

This picture of Linda and I was also taken at the Pagoda near the top.  An excellent view of the city and crystal clear blue skies after months of rainy season.  Just beautiful.

One of the students brought his guitar and we sang at different places along the way.  At times we had on-lookers who politely smiled, took pictures and waved.

Apartment, Flowers and Street Life

Some additional pics of our apartment, the students and street life

 Here is a nice picture of the flowers that always available here 12 months a year.  They call Kunming the City of Eternal Spring.

 Just before we left for Thailand the students bought us this beautiful arrangement since it was "Teachers Day" here.

Fun with the students and friends.  Singing and games is always a part of a get-together.

The following video was taken at Green Lake Park.  Many ethnic minorities gather on weeknights and weekends to dance to their own unique music.

Here are recent pictures from sites in Kunming, Bangkok and Chiang Mai that you might enjoy:

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•                                     Linda, Esther and Alice at Green Lake Park

A new high tech laser fountain at Green Lake Park.  Computer controlled fountains choreographed     with music and laser.  The lasers make a cinematic image on a screen of water.  Very cool!

                                Linda loves the girls.  Johanna, Alice, Esther, Eileen and Dorcas

A sidewalk "friend" that helps keep the peace.  Sort of a cross between "The Day Earth Stood Still" and "Star Wars"

It was fun to attend a wedding with some of the students

 Linda and me in downtown Bangkok.  This mall reminded me of Fashion Island in Newport   Beach

                       Well here we go.  Linda and me on an elephant in Chiang Mai, Thailand

                                Can elephants be taught to paint?  Check out the next picture.

Yes elephants can be taught to paint.  This is the finished product which was being sold for about $100

Recently we visited the Yunnan Ethnic Village in Kunming.  It is a celebration of the 26 minority groups that have their primary populations right here in this province.  It was a rainy day but the afternoon show was in a covered venue.  It was a beautiful stage and many different performances and story lines.  Lots of color and dancing.  I have included some funny signs from within the village.  One sign is supposed to say "Free Admission for Children Under 120cm",  a couple signs do not require any comment (I mean....really)

The gate in front of the Ethnic Village

Weekend in Dali

Friday morning we started our bus trip to Dali for a "relaxing" weekend.  We took our student leader, Andrew, with us.  During the 4 1/2 hr ride we stopped once for rest.  We also made numerous stops on the shoulder of the highway to pick up new passengers.  Typically the door would open and the "co-pilot" would negotiate a price.  Usually they would close the door and move on.  One time a husband, wife, little girl and grandma needed a ride.  Apparently they did not have enough money.  Sad, they could not ride the bus.

Upon our arrival, we checked into the Jade Emu International Guesthouse.  An English speaking establishment where you will meet Germans, Brits, Aussies, Israeli's, French, and maybe others.  Andrew, our friend and a Chinese, felt like a foreigner here.   The price for our modest rooms was extremely reasonable and the food was tasty and also a good value.

On Saturday morning we went to Cangshan Mountain by cable car (imported from Austria) and much hiking both steep stairs and level pathways.  There was much beautiful scenery as you can see from the pictures.  The elevation is over 8000 feet.  Miraculously, Linda's back did okay!

Linda enjoyed the hiking, the very beautiful scenery, the weather was gorgeous, the local Chinese food is great and we had a good time with our student leader, Andrew,  Dali is large, clean and nice.

Andrew feels relaxed (he has many responsibilities and pressures in his role), the mountain is beautiful, the minority people in the parade were very nice.  He liked the seeing the awesomeness of God's creation but wonders why people will try to make a profit by charging a high admission fee just to see God's creation.  ($5 for local Dali people and $13 for the rest of us)

During the evening, our driver, Yang, invited us to swim in the local hot spring pool.  It's is naturally heated from the geologic (volcanic) activity in the area.  It was very relaxing.

Today (Sunday) the three of us (Linda, me and Andrew) met together.  "Where two or three are gathered together..."  It was very special.  We are relaxing today and will probably go for a foot massage later ($5 for 40 minutes).

Enjoy the Pictures!  You will see the Dali Catholic Church dated from 1927, a local grandma with a jade cross (see was selling little toys for 32 cents) and the famous three pagoda's which date to 8th and 9th centuries A.D.  One picture is of Linda and me on the Unity Bridge.  Andrew commented: "the two will be one"

John and Linda