July 24, 2010 - Guilin, Guangxi, China

Pinyin: hua she tian zu

Idiom: Drawing a snake and adding feet

Meaning: Refers to ruining a venture by doing unnecessary and surplus things

In Guilin - west of the river is for tourists, east is for locals.  There are narrow streets lined by houses, called hutongs, on both sides of the river, but western hotels and chinchy shops are on the west side.  The east side houses apartments, shopping malls, business buildings, high-end restaurants, and Chinese-only hotels.  Every city, town, and village has some type of daily market, because all food is killed, prepared, and cooked fresh daily, regardless of a families economic status.  There are few refrigerators.  By wandering these bazaars, one can discover local commodities.  Most notably at the Guilin market were shady men selling tobacco leaves.  The market is not just for buying food - but where interactions, debates, and bargaining can be observed in ways that have been practiced for generations.  A place to gauge a communities pulse. 

Tobacco is a major cash-crop in China and the common person fanatically supports the industry.  I often find myself choosing restaurants based on lack of smoke.    

The heat and humidity make the mid-day unbearable.  Taking a quick hike to Solitary Beauty Peak, at the center of town, almost resulted in heat exhaustion.  Solitary Beauty Peak was named for the Southern Dynasty poet Yan Yangzhi who wrote, "Towering in the sky is only the Solitary Beauty Peak."  Guilin is surrounded by limestone rocks that jut magnificently from ground level.  At the parks peak is a pavilion for arial viewing of Guilin and the surrounding limestone hills.

Forgetting my travel alarm at home, I had to stop by one of those chinchy shops to pick up a Mickey Mouse clock.  It doesn't matter if the clock was bought in the U.S. or here, they're all made in China - guess I'm just buying local.  700 years ago, the Orient produced the world's finest merchandise, today the same region creates the world's lowest quality products.