China 2/12/2018 - 2/21/2018 |
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Saturday, February 17, 2018 - Stone Forest, Drive to JianshuiAlthough the majority of this road trip's itinerary was new to everyone (including Wang Jun), most of the group had been to the Stone Forest before. So most of them opted to sleep off the previous night's drinking rather than wake up early to battle the crowds at this famous tourist attraction.So the only ones to go to the Stone Forest this morning were Wang Jun and his mother Chen Rulan, brother-in-law Yuan Huizong and his mother Chen Shanfang, Craig, and myself (cars #5 and #6). Everyone had been worried because we hadn't shown up at the hotel restaurant for breakfast. But we were still full from the night before, and wanted to maximize sleeping and shower time. We were doing well with our jet lag, but didn't want to push our luck. With Craig's multiple sclerosis, it takes him a while to get going in the morning. It can make it especially challenging when traveling, but we try to schedule accordingly. It was a short drive to the entrance of the UNESCO World Heritage Geopark, but there were many cars en route, signaling that the park would be quite crowded. After parking the cars, we got onto an electric golf cart which brought us to the ticket office. Wang Jun and Yuan Huizong went to buy our entrance tickets and told us to wait with their mothers next to the gift shop. They disappeared into a sea of people. From where we were standing, a constant stream of people, from tour groups on buses to individual families, passed by us on their way into the park. We had never seen so many people together in one place before. We estimated that there must have been well more than 100,000 people here today. And we were the only non-Chinese we would encounter in the entire lot of them! The guys returned 40 minutes later, tickets in hand. We queued up to enter the park, and then boarded another electric golf cart which delivered us to the entrance. We passed through a lovely garden area, with blooming magnolia and cherry trees. We then walked over a bridge with a nice view of natural limestone karst towers protruding from a lake. There was a log raft on the lake, and locals in their ethnic minority attire were waving and performing dances from the raft. The stone forest covers 400 square km and is over 270 million years old. It gets its unique look due to uneven erosion of limestone, resulting in jagged stone spires. The stone forest is first mentioned in Chinese literature in the 3rd century B.C. by Qu Yuan in his poem "Asking Heaven," in which he questions, "Is there really a stone forest in the south?" We only had limited time here, so Wang Jun orchestrated a targeted approach so that we would get to see the most important structures which were easily accessible during our compressed time frame. The first is a karst formation inscribed with the Chinese characters for "stone forest." Wang Jun told us that it is imperative to be photographed in front of this formation. This was easier said than done! The place was absolutely packed with people. This usually is not much of a problem, as we are taller than many of the other tourists and can usually take photographs over their heads. However, the optimal viewpoint from which to get this photo was dominated by commercial photographers who rent out costumes and take photos of tourists dressed up. They were very confrontational and rude. Yet we persevered, and Wang Jun gave them a tongue lashing when they tried to prevent him from getting a photo of the mothers in front of the formation! Don't mess with a man's mother! We came across a minority dance troupe who performed an energetic dance to the twang of a stringed instrument.  I had not expected to buy anything here today. The official gift shops and food stalls were absolutely packed with people, and we didn't have time to fight our way through. But this was a little souvenir stall nestled between the various karst formations. There was nobody shopping here. Wang Jun and Yuan Huizong had already passed by. But I knew that if I didn't stop to look now, I might not have another chance to obtain some yellow jade on this trip. All of the items were marked with prices, so I was able to shop without Wang Jun's assistance. At first I saw two yellow jade dragons. They didn't especially grab me, but then I saw a laughing Buddha. Despite the fact that the price was probably jacked up for the holiday, I didn't have time to haggle. Plus, the marked price didn't really seem unreasonable to me. I purchased the Buddha (which was about the weight of a small bowling ball), stuffed it into my purse, and ran to catch up with the rest of the group. (It turned out to be the only souvenir I purchased on this trip, so I am happy that I did so.) The sun was quite bright and it made it difficult to photograph some of the formations, depending on the angle. Everyone had been wearing winter parkas, but we were in our shirtsleeves. The mothers were quite worried that we would be cold, but it soon became quite warm (88 degrees!) and we were happy that we didn't have to carry our coats with us in these crowds. We came across a musical/dance performance on a stage which was deocrated for the new year. We watched several numbers and then proceeded on our way.  Having seen the most famous formations, we walked to the exit. We took an electric golf cart, but Wang Jun and Yuan Huizong became confused as to where we had parked. We got off the cart in the wrong area, and wound up wandering in the mid-day sun for close to 45 minutes. Wang Jun and Yuan Huizong walked quickly. We are slower (with Craig's cane) and followed at a distance. The mothers were about that much further behind us. We were all hot and exhausted by the time we reached the cars. Despite the fact that we were quite close to the hotel, there was a lot of traffic and it took us a while to get there. We arrived shortly after noon and met up with the rest of the group. The original plan had been to leave at 2 p.m. We checked out and waited in the lobby for Liu Xinyan and Liu Hui. It turned out that they had also braved the crowds at the Stone Forest and were now stuck in traffic on their way back. Everyone was hungry for lunch, and they were eating various snacks. Young Zheng Yuxuan gave us an ice cream novelty to tide us over, which was quite sweet of him. It was actually a large, good quality ice cream sundae, and it really hit the spot after our morning in the hot sun. When Liu Xinyan and Liu Hui returned at around 1:00, we left the hotel. When we got into the car, Xiao Yi asked us, as Ziting’s honorary godparents, to give Ziting an English name. When she starts English classes, the teachers require an English name. Rather than a randomly assigned name, Xiao Yi wants us to choose a meaningful one. Wang Jun was incredibly pleased that she brought this up to us. He said "Chinese girl wants American name!" We were quite honored and thought about it for the whole ride. We stopped at a restaurant located in between the hotel and the Stone Forest. Lunch featured a variety of dishes including yiliang duck (the southern Chinese equivalent of Peking/Beijing duck). It was tasty but a bit challenging to eat because it had been chopped up bones and all. We got back onto the road, and after around three hours, we arrived in the ancient city of Jianshui. Ziting was chatting up a storm with me in the car for the whole ride. I feel badly that I couldn’t understand her, but I would respond to her in English and we had a good rapport going. Sometimes she went off on very long excited diatribes, so I can only imagine what she was trying to tell me! When we arrived in Jianshui, we got stuck in gridlock on the street which leads to the old section of town. Jianshui is an ancient city with history that dates back 1200 years. The hotel was just past the west gate, in the ancient city. Parking was quite tight. Xiao Yi had to perform about a 1,000 point turn to get into a spot, with Wang Jun and the parking attendant outside giving her guidance on the miniscule movements necessary. She did a great job, and Wang Jun was super proud of her! The hotel lobby featured furniture made out of huge tree trunks, including an enormous desk made from a single piece of wood. Wang Jun checked us all in and we got settled into our rooms. Wang Jun apologized that the hotel was older and not as posh as last night's, but it was selected because of its prime location in the old section of the city, within walking distance to restaurants and tourist sites. He had no need to worry; the room was totally comfortable. The only "older" element was really the bathroom. The shower was not separated from the rest of the fixtures, so the entire bathroom floor gets wet when you shower. More modern Chinese hotels have gotten away from this design and instead include shower stalls and/or bathtubs. But this was fine; the floor was very clean and they even provided flip-flops to wear in the bathroom when the floor is wet. As we got settled in the room, Craig and I discussed Ziting's name and agreed upon one. We were quite proud of ourselves, having never had to name a child before. Most people get nine months to come up with a name. Of course, we had the advantage of having spent time with a child with a fully-formed personality, so it became easy to choose a name that suited her, and we both came to a decision quickly. We would just need to find an appropriate time to announce it. We didn't have dinner reservations, so we wandered through town looking for a restaurant which could accommodate all of us. Eventually it became too cumbersone for nearly 30 people to tag along on this errand (while still carrying the crock pot of spicy chicken in tow!), so we waited on a streetcorner while Wang Jun found a suitable restaurant. A young girl walked by and Craig said "Nihao" to her. Ziting got jealous; she gave him her side eye stare and pulled away when he tried to interact with her. So cute! She likes us, she really likes us! Wang Jun returned and led us to the restaurant he had found. We became separated from Xiao Yi and Ziting on the walk. When they arrived at the restaurant, Xiao Yi came over to us and said, laughing, "Ziting said, 'Oh my God, where is my Gan Die and Gan Ma?'" I guess she is getting attached to us. This was also the first time that Xiao Yi had really spoken to us in English; we hadn't known that she could speak so well! This revealed that she could obviously listen and understand the conversations we had been having with Wang Jun, which made us very happy. We took up two small private rooms in the restaurant. Wang Jun spent a lot of time in the kitchen, ordering dishes and planning everything. Some of the women disappeared for a while, doing various errands. Once everyone gathered, we had a nice dinner, once again toasting the new year (though more moderately tonight!). After we ate, we were told that it was little Dou Zai's second birthday, and they had bought a cake for him. They sat at a table on the sidewalk outside to cut and serve the cake. Dou Zai was wearing a little crown, and they sang Happy Birthday to him in English. He is really adorable. Post-cake, Wang Jun suggested that we go back to the hotel with the group of kids and the grandmothers. His sister and her friends were talking about bar-hopping, and Wang Jun knew that if they asked us, we would probably accept the invitation, when in actuality we should be getting some rest. Craig felt like he was coming down with a cold, so we both agreed that we should call it a night. Also, the hotel was further on foot than last night's hotel had been, so it was best to be heading back sober. We walked back to the hotel with the grandmothers, families with young kids, and Liu Xinyan. Wang Jun had instructed Liu Xinyan to speak with us in English and lead us back to the hotel. She was embarrassed and didn't really remember the way back, but dutifully spoke to us. Craig knew how to get back to the hotel, so we made her job easy and tried to put her at ease with friendly, simple conversation. She was impressed that Craig remembered how to get back to the hotel, and she and I commiserated about our own poor senses of direction. Once back at the hotel, we went to bed early. Craig took some Nyquil pills to ensure a good night's sleep with his burgeoning cold. Tomorrow we will explore Jianshui in the morning before heading off to our next destination! The next morning, we found out that Wang Jun stayed out for a couple more hours with the rest of the hard core partiers. When he got back to his hotel room, Ziting was asleep and murmuring about Gan Die and Gan Ma! Stone Forest Jianshui Ancient Town |
 Crowds of visitors at the Stone Forest  Stone Forest  Steph and Craig at the Stone Forest  Stone Forest  Stone Forest  Ashima karst formation  Stone Forest  Dinner: Liang Jiaxuan, Bao Hong, Liu Jun, Hou Jun, Wang Xingbing, Chen Rulan, Chen Shanfang, Ziting, Xiao Yi, Liu Xinyan, Liu Lin, Pan Xiang  Ziting  Liu Yan and 2-year-old birthday boy Dou Zai See all photos from February 17, 2018 |
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