On our last night in Yangshuo David and I signed up for a cooking class at a local restuarant. (Aren't our hats cute?) We made sweet and sour veggies, lotus root and garlic, cashew cicken and pork and veggie dumplings. It was a lot of fun! When you guys come visit I'll be sure to make dumplings! They are yummy.

Silver Cave

Here are some photos from the "Silver Cave" in Yangshuo. Boy, do the locals know how to light up a cave or what?

Fuli Boat Trip

During our stay in Yangshuo we hired a little rickety boat to take us to a small town named Fuli. It was really nice going along the river in our loud gas powered boat. I had some doubts where this little wooden thing would get us there. Luckily, it did!

There really wasn't a lot to do in the town. Part of it looked like the buildings were on the verge of falling apart. The two interesting things about Fuli were the abundance of water buffalos and the fan factories. David and I spent a while taking photos of the water buffalos. Our tour guide must have thought we were crazy because she asked me if we had them back home.

The fan places were neat. As you walked down the street you would see large boards with silk cut into an open fan shape drying in the sun. I always wondered who made them. Now I know.

Karst Mountains

Just a glimpse of the crazy landscape in Yangshuo.....

Comorant Fisher

I know it's a real touristy thing to do, but I had to have my photo taken with this fisher.

Light Shows

Everybody told us before we headed down to Yangshuo that we HAD to see the light show. They said that it sounds cheesy, but it is an incredible thing to witness. After seeing the show, I couldn't agree more.

Every Saturday and Sunday night, and I'm sure even more often during the tourist season, 400-600 people put on the most amazing visual feast that I have ever witnessed first hand. The show was originally directed by the same guy who directed Hero, Raise the Red Lantern and the House of Flying Daggers. The show takes place on the river. The amazing mountains in the background make it a beautiful and unique setting. The hour long performance is filled with song, dance, beautiful costumes, dramatic lighting and amazing boating skills. There is really no way for me to verbally describe it. Hopefully David will post some of the video he shot. You have to see the show in action.

Creating silk

David and I just got back from our first holiday in China. We fly south to a small town called Yangshuo with several teachers from school. There are too many interesting things to put all in one post, so I will be breaking up our adventure into mini stories.

Story One: Creating Silk
Everyone knows that China is famous for its silk clothes and bedspreads, but how many people have actually wondered how that wonderful material gets made. In Yangshuo we got to see and experience just that.

On the main tourist street there was a silk store that showed the silk making process step by step. My friend Katherine and I weren't originally allowed to take photos. But then after chatting with the woman for a while and offering her a few bucks for her time, she happily allowed us to experience the process first hand.

We started off by soaking the silk work cocoons in a large bath of soapy water. The first picture shows the pile of cocoons and the bath.

Next we, tore open the cocoons and remove the silk worms. Usually there is only one worm per cocoon, but this shop used only ones that contained two worms. The double worms make a stronger silk.

The third picture shows what the poor little worms looks like. I have to say I was kind of grossed out by this site and by pulling the little worms from their homes.

Next, we took that little wad of silk and try to stretch it over a large bamboo ring. The woman in the store made it look much easier than it actually was. Hers came out perfectly. She managed to stretch the whole cocoon so that it covered the hoop with a thin layer of silk. I on the other hand was not as successful.

Repeat this entire process about 40 more times and you get one bundle of silk. The shop keepers then take these bundles (the examples are hanging from the ceiling.) and pull and stretch it as hard as they can. These bundles then become the fillings for their silk bed spreads. I'm not entirely sure how they then convert this silk into the beautiful embroidered fabric that I have come to love. I have a feeling that they then take these bundles and turn them into thread. I'm not entirely sure, so don't quote me on it!