7 Guangzhou, China Mountains, Rivers, and Bamboo in a Bottle The Baiyun Mountains loom over the North and East side of the Guangdong University Campus. The allure is attached to a history going back to the 400 BC era and known during the Jin Dynasty (265-420) for its beauty.
Some evidence during the Tang Dynasty (618-897) identifies Baiyun Mountains as a “tourist attraction” (not sure how they really said that over 1400 years ago).
It seemed like something we should experience but the entry to the Mountain Park was some way and our time was limited. At our gathering the night before, we learned of a “secret entrance” to the mountain path that just happened to be near Glenn’s apartment. “Just look for the hole in the wall”. Next morning we were up much too early to wake anyone else so we decided to look for the “hole in the wall”. Mike honed in on it like he had a GPS in his pocket. Off the road, up a short hill, behind some trees and voila!
The Pearl River was another gem….and except for crossing over it…truly enjoying it will have to wait for our next visit. The beauty of the river and it’s landscape are so incredibly outweighed by the unmanageably high content of heavy metals and other life threatening pollutants. The continued flow of the river adds to the widespread high levels poison throughout the region rendering the food unsafe. Imagine a country of rice paddies with Good Day water unsafe under anyone’s standards. The extent and seriousness is subject of many studies. Remember what LA looked like on that drive west from Phoenix? Maybe this unbearable issue can be totally reversed. This link is a recent article on the impact to China and its citizens: Bad Day http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/01/chinese_company_counters_pollution_by_importing_fresh_air/
The campus was coming to life and we met up with Glenn and Winnie (one of his students) for a walking tour of Guangzhou. Outside the gates of the Campus, the aromas of pork, sweet potatoes, and….fresh squeezed bamboo Juice??!! filled the air. Now I regret not trying the bamboo juice. Quick..call your patent attorneys! Street vendors press the juice from bamboo and life is beautiful! I admit I had never heard the benefit claims of bamboo juice and fiber. It must be true, I read it on the Internet!
