Early in the morning, a half-dozen of us rented bikes for a spin around the city before breakfast. Nancy and I got separated from the rest, and spent the hour wandering through residential, shopping, and park neighborhoods, looking for a particular park. When we finally found it, we had only a few minutes to get the bikes back, so we never went in to see the pandas. We returned to the hotel, drenched in sweat from biking in the 90 degree heat, at 6AM!

Yesterday, we spent some time viewing the magnificent scenery this area has to offer. It's no wonder that Guilin has become a mecca for artists. This morning, we visit and art school, where we have an opportunity to purchase some of the teacher's work, and some works donated by famous artists, all to support the school and its students.

Our next stop was to tour the Reed Flute Cave, which is located within one of the hills very near the city. It was so named, because the entrance was obscured by a cluster of reeds, of the type used for flute making. We were warned on the way there that we would be vendors selling reed flutes as soon as we get off the bus. Please wait until after we tour the cave to buy flutes - they can be really obnoxious inside the cave! The cave itself was spectacular, and the colored lighting accentuated the beauty of the formations. Our guide pointed out some of the 'named' formations, and explained how they were formed. A stalactite hangs 'tight' to the ceiling, and a stalagmite reaches up from the floor, and just 'might' eventually reach up to the stalactite. Linda taps me on the shoulder, to make sure I get a picture of one particularly well-hung stalactite. When we reached the central room, we came upon a still shallow pool, reflecting a row of back-lit stalagmites that resembled a city skyline at night.

As we walked back to the bus, we encountered the expected vendors, including one person who had a camel, and for a small fee, would allow it to be ridden. Joanie stepped up to the opportunity, but she looks a bit tentative about it...

As we drive to the airport, our guide, David, bids us adieu.

When we arrived at our hotel in Shanghai, we were greeted by an elementary school band, who played several numbers for us. The kids were so cute, and their playing showed the hard work they had put into it.

After dinner, we were treated to a performance of the world-famous Shanghai jugglers and acrobats. they were truly amazing. The show began with some kitchen tricks, juggling spoons. Each segment started out with something relatively simple, like we may have seen in a circus somewhere. One cook juggling three spoons, then a second cook steps in and takes over, then a third. Soon, the three cooks are trading places, each throwing just one spoon, then the next one makes the next catch and throw, all while they are running frantically in circles! Then another cook steps on stage, and they begin juggling while balancing on each others' shoulders. This then gets complicated by diagonal cross-throws, all in perfect balance! The next act was a simple one - three people throwing plates at one catcher across the stage, at a rate of about three a second. Simple for them, maybe!

As if juggling with your arms and hands weren't difficult enough, one young woman came on stage and began to juggle parasols with her feet. No sooner did we get used to this, and she takes out some square pieces of cloth, and proceeds to get them spinning so that she can juggle them with her hands and feet.

Next, we saw a series of balancing acts. One person balances on another's head, then on some object which is on the other's head, then the whole balanced stack takes a walk up and over a stepladder. We saw this done first with a chair, then with a ladder.

As if we'd held our breath for long enough, they brought on the tumblers. A group of six men jumped and tumbled through loosely-stacked rings, with ever-tighter spacing, until it seemed that there were more men than space between the rings.

No circus would be complete without the clowns!

Some of the acts were deceptively simple. One man, One barrel. It was just that he could fold his body into just about any shape, and manage to slither through that barrel in any direction.

The next act combined elements of what we'd seen before. One young woman with a stack of china bowls. She would balance them on some part of her body, then proceed to balance on top of another person. What was truly amazing was that she was dynamic, and would move from one position to another, turning her body upside down and around, all the while keeping the bowls balanced. Of course, it included a climb of the stairs. When she had exhausted the possibilities of her head, she switched to her toes, and went on for a few more minutes. The finale included balancing a table, then two chairs, then herself on a man's head, all while keeping the bowls balanced on her own head. Then he took a stroll up the ladder...

Another change of pace, two bowls connected with a rope. Get them spinning, then juggle it as if it were a baton. get some friends to share it with you, then pass them around.

It was the simplest act that had my jaw dropping. One man, one jar. You ask, how difficult is it to juggle just one object? Well, this object wasn't exactly symmetrical, and he would toss it up and catch it in some unusual orientation on just one finger, or roll it from hand to hand, across his shoulders, with it rolling about some axis other than it's axis of symmetry. When I thought I couldn't be amazed any more, he put away the jar, and pulled out a large stoneware vase, that probably weighed at least fifty pounds (~22kg). He repeated the juggling with this larger vase, catching it on his head in perfect balance, in an unusual orientation. Ouch!

The last act was a troupe of human flies, climbing and jumping about two poles on the stage. When the entire troupe came on the stage for a curtain call, we gave them a long standing ovation!