October Holiday

At the beginning of October, China celebrates a holiday called National Day. It is the anniversary of the 1949 founding of the People's Republic of China. Along with the rest of the country, my friends and I got some time off to celebrate. I joined with a few fellow teachers in traveling to Zhangjiajie in the Hunan Province. We spent a couple of days touring the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. This historic area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its approximately 3,100 "pillars" formed from quartzite sandstone - the formation is referred to as karst.

At one of the entrances to the park.

(Above and Below) At the base of some of the mountains.

Many of the overlook areas faced formations that had been given names based on their resemblance to other objects. The above were said to look like fingers.

The park was quite crowded even though there are limits to the number of people allowed entrance each day to keep the numbers down. It was quite an experience to push and shove (as everyone was doing) to get to the ledge and view the gorgeous natural beauty.

Not everything at the park was natural. I guess the cheap gimmicks at national parks are a reality in China just as they are in North America. It made for some entertainment anyway.

Lucy and I were, unfortunately, not feeling well during this trip. We had both recently been diagnosed as having a parasite in our systems. While the medicine did make us better and remedied the immediate symptoms of the illness, it also caused extreme nausea. We pushed through as best we could but did have to spend some time resting in our hotel. It was less enjoyable due to this, but the extreme beauty of the area and the chance to see more of China made it worth the effort!