There just aren't any bad views in Yangshou!

The forecast in Yangshou for today is "severe clear", and it is hot! I decided to try my luck at the bamboo rafting on the Yulong river. It was peaceful and picturesque, and maybe fractionally cooler. The dramatic scenery was worth the sunburn.

This photo cannot begin to sum up the performance I saw tonight. The same director who created the Olympic opening ceremony has an even more astounding production on the river at night in Yangshou!

The bamboo grows fast and is useful for all sorts of things from food to building materials. My favorite is the rafts they make with it. I stumbled across this river today that was filled with people rafting. At 105 degrees, everyone was in or on the water.

What an idyllic place to garden! I think my farmer friend was in the process of fertilizing the rice with his "tiller". Love the subtle reflection of the mountains in the water!

My boundless curiosity has taken me to some places that haven't seen a westerner. The farmers seem as curious about me as I am of them. They are always happy to sit and attempt communication. This gentleman asked if I was a high-ranking officer! I told him I was only an artist and somehow he…

What do they call Chinese food in China?……….well, Food! Actually the Chinese word for food sounds a lot like "shoe". Some of the things I have eaten tasted like I imagine a shoe would, but some has been awesome. The Guilin area is the breadbasket of China. They grow everything in abundance here and are…

The fishermen on the Li river have trained Cormorants to fish for them. I just had to see this up close, so I hitched a ride with this kindly old man. He asked me to sing to his birds for luck in fishing. Apparently "you are my sunshine" works for cormorants too!

That's just what my shirt says. How could anyone be unhappy in a place like this?! I ran out of dry clothes and this was the first thing I could find.Who needs beer? Well, ok, the beer is probably safer than the water to drink. For some reason people keep offering me beer today! I…

I must have been summoned to this place. Something about it has been calling me for a long time.