Xiling Gorge 西陵峡

Xiling Gorge is the largest of three stunningly beautiful canyons through which the Yangtze passes in southern China. This spectacular canyon, located in Hubei Province, is the eastern most of the three and is composed of four separate mountain ranges.

The 4-day river excursion I took was timed to bring us through each of the three gorges in daylight in order that we capture their beauty. We entered this gorge at dusk before our final night on the river.

Zhao Xing Village, Dong People, Guangxi, China, October 2011

People of China - Yangshuo, Guangxi Province

Guilin, Guangxi Province, China October 2011

Guangxi Province, China - October 2011

The ancient rice terraces of Tiantouzhai and Ping'An were constructed over a period of seven hundred years by non-Han Chinese minority tribes, the Yao and Zhuang, who inhabited this remote mountainous region of Guangxi Province in China's rural southwest. The minority people claimed the Longji Mountain as their own by introducing terraced agriculture. Traveling by bus, I visited this region after the rice harvest, unfortunately, but was able to lodge in one mountain village in order to make an early morning hike along trails through the now barren terraces.

Welcome to Chengdu!

On my first visit to People's Park in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan Province, I watched this woman draw Mandarin characters with intensity. It felt safe to photograph her skillful calligraphy as she occasionally acknowledged me with a smile, with acceptance. (The "ink" appeared to be water with a bit of coloring added to it, but it faded after some time and left no mark on the granite.)

Soon I noticed that she was speaking with some people standing nearby, young Chinese who were also observing her calligraphy. While speaking with them, she would glance toward me and smile. Then she began to draw an additional row of characters, all the time watching me.

Then one of the young men came to me, smiled and asked if I knew what the characters meant. Of course, I didn't know. He beamed at me and said, "It reads, 'Welcome to Chengdu!'"

People's Park, Chengdu

While traveling in China, I was constantly in search of venues where I could talk with the Chinese, places where people might feel comfortable to approach me. I soon learned that parks, gardens, museums and historical sites created a sense of comfort and license for people to approach foreigners. In Chengdu, I went to People's Park at the end of the workday to enjoy throngs of Chinese relaxing and socializing.