Kelly and I had heard of Stone Village from a couple of people. Sunday we decided it was time for us to take a look.

We started our Sunday outing by catching a bus to PuTao, a small town about half way between Yangshuo and Guilin. From PuTao we took a san lun che. The road was full of potholes which made for a very bouncy ride. It was about forty-five minutes of body bouncing and slamming that left me wondering if I will ride in such a vehicle again! In this photo taken early in the ride DuoDuo, Susan and I laugh at being tossed around.










The san lun che left us off at a village beside the road. I spotted a building made of stone and thought we had arrived. But, no. From there we had an hour climb to the “real” Stone Village. It seems wherever we go there is a climb!

About half way up we stopped to rest at this wall. The spot was cool, a nice reprieve from the muggy day. In the photo the guide and DuoDuo beckon Lyn, Kelly and Susan to the coolness in the wall opening. They called it nature's air conditioning.

The walk was quite muddy in sections. But at times we were able to raise our eyes and enjoy the quiet beauty of the surrounding nature. We passed through woods, orchards and farmlands.

When we finally reached Stone Village it was easy to see where it got its name. The old construction is made of flat stones, not the red brick of today’s construction.

We visited with an old woman in her home for a bit. She wanted to heat us water or prepare some food. But we declined. Penny made a special effort to talk with the woman. Communication wasn't easy...perhaps because she had only one tooth in her mouth? Or perhaps she simply spoke a different dialect. But Penny persevered. She said she was reminded of her Grandma.

The wall facing the door in the woman's front room was typical of walls you see in older homes. There is often a large picture of Mao...often larger than this one. She also had many red banners of well wishes and what looked like a religious poster.

The village felt quite remote. However we did learn you can get there by road. The drive takes four to five hours. Five hour drive or a one hour climb ….Guess that is remote.

This week felt full. More so than usual.

The additional events started with Duo Duo, an Owen College student, asking to come with me to my schools on Monday and then wanting to come all week. She saw it as a chance to practice her English and see how a foreigner teaches. I saw it as a chance to have a classroom assistant. Having an assistant is nice, but also not quite as carefree as blithely going my own merry way. So there was that.

Also during the first three days of the week all schools had 3 minutes of silence each day and on one day an assembly honoring the Sichuan earthquake victims. At DuTou this assembly took place on Tuesday.

The students gathered on the playground where the principal addressed them. I was told he shared a story of a child who lived in the earthquake area.

Then we had the day’s 3 minutes of silence.

This was followed by a procession of all teachers and students making a donation to the relief effort.

When the money was counted, DuTou Primary School had 1460Y to take to the Red Cross office in Yangshuo. Amazing how those yuan can add up.

On Wednesday morning there were new desks and chairs stacked in the playground when we arrived at school. They were a donation from a Hong Kong middle school that had sent a group of students on a fieldtrip to the Yangshuo area last year. Their fieldtrip included time at DuTou Primary School where the students from the two schools interacted

Now here were enough desks and chairs for two classrooms.

So it was out with the old…..

And in with the new.

Here is the third grade class last winter with their old desks.

Here they are on Wednesday with their new desks.
What a difference!







On Thursday afternoon Duo Duo, two teachers and myself took our own small fieldtrip to a local site.

Duo Duo and I traveled in one of these san lun che (3 wheeled vehicles). I used to think these were old relics from a bygone day. But recently I saw a new one on the road, with the red cloth hoping for safety tied to a mirror. Apparently there is a factory in the Guilin area and these are not relics!

Our destination on Thursday was three ponds. As Duo Duo said after the trip, “They were a bit of a disappointment.”
I myself was more interested in riding in the bouncy san lun che.

And in the old traditional architecture of Liugong, the village near the ponds.

The Li River and the surrounding karsts were also nice.

And this large old tree caught my eye. I haven't seen too many trees this size in China.
The ponds may have been so-so, but the trip was not a loss.

The week ended with an impromptu concert in the staff room at DuTou. Mr. Zhao is in charge of the school’s maintenance. Last September on Teachers’ Day, after a bit of the baijou (local alcohol) he started singing a traditional folk song. I was amazed at the operatic quality and strength of his voice. So on Friday when he appeared at school during the lunch break, I told Duo Duo about that earlier experience. She soon had him singing. He really does have a showman’s talent.

It was a fun week. But it’s OK with me if this next one is a bit less full!

I’ve been sick this week. Came home on Tuesday after lunch and have stayed here since. I am getting better. It’s only been a doozie of a cold. Something that is responding to plenty of liquids and rest.

So I have been home more than normal. And still I have only seen a few items about the earthquake that hit north of here. I haven’t seen much because my day here does not include news. I don’t read a paper and I don’t watch TV. Sometimes the news is on in the dining hall, but I’ve learned to tune it out. So to get info on the quake, I tuned into the news at dinner and looked on the Internet.

You don’t have to see much to know the situation in Sichuan is terrible. When Mother Nature strikes, she can be devastating. Anywhere in the world. We all remember Katrina.

I was looking through a file of photos today. It reflects the traditional ways people here often try to protect themselves from danger.



Firecrackers scare evil spirits away.

Red fabric tied on new vehicles protects the vehicle from damage.

Door banners invite in goodness or perhaps they just declare the owners’ well wishes.


Mirrors above doors keep evil from entering once it sees its own reflection.

Gods on the doors protect the home and its occupants.

Four red papers, here in a new well area, represent the peoples’ wishes for happiness, success, peace…you know, the good things in life


Of course none of these traditional practices stopped the damage done during the 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan this past Monday.

What would?

May 1 was Labor Day in China, as it apparently is in most of the world. Most schools in China closed for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. However they had school on Sunday to make up for the missed Friday. But not the primary school in DuTou. The teachers of DuTou took an extended holiday to travel. We left Wednesday after classes and did not return to school until Tuesday. For five days we, fourteen teachers, traveled south. Only one or two had ever been as far south as Nanning, the capital of Guangxi. None had been to the Vietnam border.

I had forgotten how crazy train stations are in China. Here we are in the Guilin station waiting for the train to Nanning. There are no trains through our part of Guangxi, so Wednesday after school we took the bus to Guilin where we spent the night. Bright and early we left the hotel, stopped for a bowl of Guilin mi fen (noodles) and were in this packed room at the station by 8:00.

For most of the teachers, the train ride to Nanning was four and a half hours of card playing. I occupied myself with reading and looking out the window.

As soon as we arrived in Nanning, two of the teachers went to find a hotel. Miss Huang was my roommate throughout the trip. She knows a bit of English and is encouraging of my feeble attempts in Chinese. Our hotel room always included a bathroom with a shower, towels, soaps, toothbrushes and toothpaste, an electric pot to heat water and tea and cups. I was impressed and perhaps a bit surprised. I hadn't known what to expect.

We spent the afternoon in Nanning at the People’s Park. Here three of the teachers pose in front of a clipped hedge with an English message. I took nearly100 photos on this trip. Most of them of teachers in front of something! I was considered the official photographer even though there were two or three other cameras and a cell phone taking pictures too.

That evening we walked along the river enjoying the Nanning skyline and the riverfront park. I was impressed by the amount of construction in the city. And the riverfront was beautifully developed. It reminded me in a grander way of Ankang’s riverfront walk.

Friday morning we caught a train to Pingxiang, a town near the border of Vietnam. A quick taxi ride had us at the border where we then spent several hours.

There were pictures to take.

And there was a climb to make. I have to admit I didn’t complete the climb. My backpack was too heavy. The steps were too steep. They were going too fast. It was too hot. I had a million excuses. The simple truth is I made it about half way, looked at the next set of steep steps in the hot sun, turned around and joined those who were enjoying the scenery at the Immigration check point.


Next it was into a van and on to the next border town where we again peered across into Vietnam but were not allowed to take pictures.

Later we caught a bus and traveled through some gorgeous countryside. We were into the hills and traveling steep windy roads. We gawked out the windows at the valleys below as we held our breath. It was spectacular. We were on the road to Detian where we visited a river that is half in China(left) and half in Vietnam(right).

The river led us to this waterfall which is also half in Vietnam and half in China. I was never sure how it happened but four of our teachers ended up across the river in Vietnam riding along on motorcycles and then crossing back into China on a boat like you see in this picture. It was all very clandestine. I know none of us had visas for Vietnam. I also know I was the only one with a passport.

Sunday we were back in Nanning. Some of us visited a park, some went shopping. Two separated from the group to go directly on home. Later that afternoon I was back at the hotel when it started to rain. It was a tremendous downpour that lasted about an hour. Water backed up on the street. But by dinner time it was dry again.


Our five days of travel included three meals a day; five nights in hotels; transportation by train, bus, van and taxi; entrance fees at several parks and various other small fees. When we totaled up the expenses we had spent 640Y a person…less than $100 for the five days. I’ll toast to that!