The karst in the Guilin/Yangshuo area are spectacular. Nowhere else in China will you find this dramatic terrain. Some refer to them as mountains, some as hills and some as formations. They are the backdrop to our life here.

They are visible from my kitchen window.

They are visible from the windows at the college. The neighboring buildings compete but can't completely block the karst out.

Karst frame the view as I cross the Li River mornings on my way to DuTou.

And I am awed by them a I travel in the minivan between FuLi and Yangshuo. This picture was actually taken yesterday as a group of us biked to FuLi and then on to Xingping. Finally I was able to take some photos of the countryside I travel through on my way to school.

At one point last month I was trying to decide if I should bike to school each day. This photo shows the tunnel and the buses that were two of the many reasons I in the end decided to stick with the minivan buses. But yesterday there I was with the big buses and trucks and everything else biking through the tunneled karst. Never say never.

Xingping is on the Li River. We ate lunch at a farmer's restaurant not far from these karst. They were the inspiration for the karst on the 20 RMB note.

I have read and been told that the karst formed because their material was stronger or more compact than the limestone that surrounded them. Therefore they remained when the other limestone washed away. At least I think that's what I've read and been told. I have to admit, I don't much care. I am simply captured by their visual drama.

My eye yesterday went from the orange, persimmon and pomelo groves to the karst. From the farmers harvesting their second crop of rice to the karst. From the vegetable patches to the karst. They make an intriguing backdrop.