7. The Fourth of July in China

On the way to the countryside outside Yangshuo

By Robin Hilliar, Sixth Grade Teacher
Duchesne Elementary School, Ferguson-Florissant School District

The tree is back in its box. The cherished ornaments and decorations are carefully nestled in storage containers. The lights are not shining any longer and the clearance sales have come and gone. Another holiday season has passed yet no holiday at home is quite like spending a holiday in China.

I was fortunate enough to spend three weeks traveling in China
during the summer of 2002 with a group of educators from St. Louis and the surrounding area. Our trip included the Fourth of July Independence Day holiday. Being the patriotic American that I am, I began the day with breakfast and a "Happy Fourth of July" to my colleagues. We soon boarded our bus for a short trip to the docks in Guilin. Here we began our five-hour cruise to Yangshuo on the Li River. Lunch was ordered early on the cruise so the crew would know what to purchase from the local fishermen along the river.

St. Louis teachers enjoying the view and the sun on the 
top deck of the Li River cruise boat.

The boat that we cruised on was open air on the top deck. The sun was out and it felt wonderful after nearly a week of rain. So much rain that parts of southern China were experiencing devastating floods. If our cruise had been scheduled two days earlier we would not have been able to go because the Li River was so high. I was told that the river wasn't as clear as it normally is but that didn't take away from the beauty that I took in that day. With every turn of my head there was something new to see: village children coming to the river to swim and bathe, water buffalo cooling off, flocks of ducks, waterfalls, fishermen with cormorants waiting for dusk to arrive, rafts and dugouts going both up and down the river, beautiful karst rock formations with their own special names. The five-hour cruise was over much too early for me.

Scenic view outside Yangshuo

After docking in Yangshuo, we walked a short distance to the Paradise Hotel. We checked in to our rooms and had a few hours of free time. I put on my swimming suit and wandered out to the pool at the hotel with a handful of others from our group. Soon after we all settled in to relax, the sky opened up with a downpour that lasted for about an hour. There was a group pedicab ride scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and the rain ended just in time. We had 14 drivers ready to take us on a one and a half hour ride through the countryside of Yangshuo. Who would have thought that things could be even more beautiful than what we had already seen on the river earlier that day? We rode through villages, rice paddies, family farms and open fields. We passed fishermen, burial tombs, water buffalo, children, and the ever-present salesmen with their wares spread out before them or in a basket in their hands. It was a peaceful and serene trip through the back roads of an ancient land. Towards the end of the trip, some of us went on a raft ride. Large bamboo poles tied together with two bamboo chairs on top and a 15 year old driver home from school and working for the summer. The pride of our guide was a 1000 year old Banyan tree. Several people lined up near the tree waiting to be ferried across the river from Yangshuo to their homes.

Dinner was at one of the street cafes where our Fourth of July celebration rejuvenated itself with pizza and French fries as one of our many dinner entrees. After dinner we had some free time where many of us shopped at the stalls on the street.

None o'clock was the magic hour for us this particular Fourth of
July just as it is at home. There were fireworks over the lake at the hotel thanks to one of our colleagues and Shao Yan, our national guide, who ventured out on a mission right before dinner to buy fireworks for the display. It was spectacular and the locals found themselves joining in the revere and excitement with us.

It wasn't the Fourth at home with my family and friends but it was
one of the best Fourth of July celebrations that I've ever had. It was the Fourth of July, 2002 in China.

The excursion boat on the Li River


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