After yesterdays epic tourist trail I'm now fully aware that Baise not only has beautiful scenery, but also profound revolutionary history. As the place of Deng Xiaoping's Baise Rebellion and Youjiang Revolutionary Base it has a strong link to China's past history. In recognition of that it is one of the 12 red tourism (revolutionary tourism) spots in China and won the 2007 Chinese Tourism award. AHHHHHHHH but there was more to see. Buildings have been transform...

Two of my students decided that today was the day for me to learn about their history and culture so we set off at 0800 (early for me but they are used to getting up at 0600). Caught the local bus into the city centre and then another bus to the Youjiang District. I'd never have managed on my own as naturally all bus signs are in chinese characters!! First stop was a lovely little pagoda set on the side of a hill overlooking the city - not a tourist attraction- a...

I've taught my last lesson for the day and am looking forward to having 5 days off. Tomorrow is National Day in China and we get a holiday to celebrate.....i have said that the Chinese love to celebrate any and all occasions!! Unfortunately we were not told till this week that we had 5 days off....apparently it can be anywhere from 3-10 days off depending on the school district....very strange way of deciding holidays and of course its done in "China" time!! All...

No one does Festivals better than the Chinese and they sure do have a lot of them!! Yesterday we celebrated the Mid Autumn Festival or as it is often referred to - Moon cake Day. In China, the moon symbolizes beauty and elegance – and a trusted friend. Ancient folklore brings us the story of the moon maiden which many students have shared with me and I'll give you a shortened version for those interested. Chang-O, a beautiful lady was the wife of the Divin...

Hi Everyone When we first arrived in China we were told we would need to adjust to "China Time" which basically means things will happen in their own good time.....quite different from western cultures where we seem to run everything by the clock. so I have been very good about learning to wait for things to get done....my school computer wont work but I'm assurred it will be fixed very soon (this was 2 weeks ago) so I wait patiently and thank my lucky stars I bo...