"with a little help from my friends"
The end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 have been extremly dry in Beijing - not a single raindrop since October 24th. The rain that finally broke Beijing's 110-day dry spell on February 15 fell harder and longer than it would have, thanks to the local government adopting cloud-seeding and other artificial precipitation measures. Given the favorable conditions (the meterological bureau was predicting light rain) the local government decided to launch a land and air offensive on Feb 12 to try increase the amount of rain that would fall over Beijing.
One plane from the Chinese air force was called into offer air support to 7 ground teams who blasted 49 rockets into the low lying clouds and another 31 teams who were busy burning 875 sticks of Silver iodide atop various mountains around suburban and rural Beijing.
The rain-making was supervised by the Beijing Weather Modification Office and was part of a broader operation to provide much needed rain to large parts of northern China. The rain-making exercise appeared to be a success, with the Beijing News reporting that an average of 9mm of rain fell in the urban districts of Beijing and an average of 7mm across the whole metropolitan area. Originally the forecast was for a fall of about 3mm across the city.
Snow cover Beijing
On the heels of its successful rainmaking venture last week, the Beijing Weather Modification Command Center has shot an additional “500 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide" from “28 weather rocket-launch bases” into the clouds over the past few days to help create this week’s snowfall, the most the city has seen in a number of years. The artificially induced precipitation is intended to quell the region’s ongoing drought, but also led to the closure of 12 highways around the capital. You can not get all......
During Spring Festival we took some vacation down south to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guilin city.
The stunning landscape in which the city is situated has a kind of magic that is all its own. The strangely shaped hills, or karsts, with the verdant vegetation ranging from bamboo to conifers together with wonderful caves make Guilin such an attraction for tourists and Guilin is considered to be the pearl of China's thriving tourist industry on account of the natural beauty and historic treasures. Covering an area of about 27,800 square kilometers the city is rather compact when compared with other leading cities in the country.
However, situated within this area one may find green mountains, crystal clear waters, unique caves and beautiful stones. Major attractions include Elephant Hill, Li River, Reed Flute Cave and Seven-Star Park.
Guilin is also an important cultural city with a history encompassing more than 2000 years. The city has been the political, economic and cultural center of Guangxi since the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)
Solitary Beauti Park is considered to be the oldest place of interest and has been so since the far off days of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The prosperity enjoyed by the city during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is epitomized by the Tomb of Prince Jingjiang.
The many ethnic minorities represented here that include the Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Mulao, Maonan and Dong enrich the cultural life of the city. Each minority has its own unique customs and festivals and this means that they are much more abundant here than in many other places elsewhere in China.
After a "night cruise" on the four lakes sorrunding Guilin and sending the night at hotel we next day took a cruise boat along the Li River, heading for Yangshuor.
There was a lot of cruise boats on the river and sometimes almost a "traffic jam" due to the very low water in the river. Some majestict sceeneries along the river and at one stop we could see where the motive on the back of the RMB 20 note was collected. We were a little unlucky with the weather since there was a light rain all day.
After a five hour ride we arrived to Yangshou and like Guilin, it has incredible karst scenery and a parade of Chinese package tourists who can be spotted wearing baseball caps and following a tour leader who carries a flag.
However, it isn't your typical Chinese town. Yangshuo has a reputation as a foreigners' village in Southern China. This town feels like one of the stops on the travelers' trail, with lots of the same people you'd expect in Katmandu, Sihanoukville or Dali. It does not have a big China-city feel to it. It is more like a vacation town, with restaurants and shops.
Many travellers use Yangshuo as a base and spend their time exploring the karst scenery and rivers, or checking out caves and local temples. Renting a bike and taking off into the countryside, with or without a guide, is one popular strategy. There is also a whole community of rock climbers enjoying hills and caves.
Others just take it easy in the many cafes and bars. While this certainly isn't the whole story, the town is in some ways a break from the rest of China. For this reason, it is very popular with foreigners who work in China.
