Adijo Hunan! Hello Guangxi!

Hereafter follows account of my last day and supper in Hunan and description of my early impressions from Guangxi. They might seem incoherent as I do not have time to think at all (like I do... - anyway it hurts therefore it is advisable not to perform such activity) but they are first hand and as such are more reliable :)

Last day in Hunan confirmed old truth I found out earlier in the trip - in China nothing is perfect, something is always missing or is wrong and improvisation is required. Although I spent little longer than planned pacing up and down halls of Yuelu Academy and adjoining park, my day plan was eventually blown up to pieces by delay at Hunan Provincial Museum.

Surprisingly what is for free is very popular and thus are the museums in Changsha :) Due to heavy traffic tickets at Hunan Provincial Museum are issued for certain period of entry in order to keep the flow of visitors at bearable level. This delay cost me valuable time which looking back would be probably better used in exploration of Yueyang (I spent there only two hours - one hour for dinner and one hour waiting at trainstation :) ). That does not mean that Museum exhibition was not worth the price (every mao of it :) ). It means that I have seen more interesting and entertaining (more detail on it in the note below).

During the journey to Yueyang, my perception of Hunanese people was further cemented when I met Sandy and Cathy (student and teacher of English respectively). They are nice and much more friendly than those I have met in Shanghai (even bus drivers are up for a laugh with passengers). Their explanation was that people in Shanghai are much more busier earning money and thus do not have time to smile. I am inclined to agree with this but than I need explanation or the reasons which; a) lead Hunan people to stand up in public buses and automatically (like in Prague) release their seat to the elders (not quite common in Shanghai), b) lead bus drivers to wait for the late comers and even stop outside of bus stop limits to let people in - possible explanation is that it is usually nice lady :) - thing not at all seen in Shanghai, and last but not least c) standing in line like civilized people and not fighting and bulking together (this is common way in mainland China). All the above mentioned makes Hunan my favorite province so far (out of all five I have visited).

Transfer to Guilin took me 11 hours in train where I was supposed to stand (due to seats and sleepers being outsold) but ended up first three hours switching one seat with teenage boys of Guangxi origin. The frequency of switches was in accordance with their cigarette breaks stoically overseen by their parents. Although not confirmed I am willing to bet cold Pilsner that they were below 15 years old, which makes me worried about future of rural China (on the other hand, this might be the solution for population problems of today's China). The train journey was notable also for amount of trash conductor pushed each hour in order to make the aisle passable and Chinese people utter disregard about their clothing. How otherwise you can explain people sleeping on the floor of the train in suits?

Arrival and first day at Guilin was pretty much without problems. I will stay next two days in local hostel (member of Hosteling International) were I write this post. Walking through Guilin I can say that it is truly tourist destination with hotels springing up all over the place and that it truly deserves it's place in UNESCO World Heritage list. For the first time in long time I was truly blown away by something - this time by the views you have from the top of some Bright Moon peak (one of many karst peaks spread all over the city). Imagine city of London but instead of man-made skyscrapers, natural peaks sticking out of the plain of homes. Absolute beauty and something unimaginable for me up until now (I still do not get the process how these karst peak showed up). Hopefully, sky will clear itself in next few days and I will be able to document it on the appropriate level.

Projections for blue sky is little better as the heat wave (consider 23 degrees at 1.30pm on 20 December) I enjoyed in past few days is gone and days will get colder. Next post will be from Yangshuo where I am planning to go after two days spent in Guilin exploring karst and caves within reach.

Note on Chinese culture / soul
After visits to Yuelu Academy and Hunan Provincial Museum I understand the drive of China to improve economically a little better. These were my first encounters with Chinese history (true history). As I was explained, upon change of dynasty or regime, new rulers took great pains in eliminating anything visible which could remind people of those before them. Yuelu Academy was established in 976 and was de facto predecessor of Hunan University. Hunan museum exhibition presented objects of more than 2100 years old which were discovered in tombs in Changsha district. Both encounters proved that China was indeed long long ago sophisticated and civilised country. Unfortunately, the haydays are over and reality kicked in (great leaps into greater unknown sent the country back into stone age). From what I see China is the only country which is truly trying to recover it's former glory (unlike other great past civilisation) and also the only one with a chance of success (US is still trying to prevent its decline but...). Combination of this drive and potential might be the ultimate reason for the fact that we might soon see two hump camel in the flock of one hump nations.