This is the typical hazy light of Guilin, on a cruise boat going down the Li river. I just couldn't resist the karst peaks in the mist.

This is the peaceful and placid side of China. Far from the pressures of the larger cities and the possibility of the dust storms blowing in from the West. At times like this, it can be both pleasant and yet also disheartening, you might begin to think of what has happened in this wonderful country. The almost total destruction of history, the murder and starvation of over 30 million people, the elimination of education for an entire generation of people who should now be running the businesses and governments within this vast land. Unfortunately, the signs of all of this are only too evident even to the foreign tourist. What a set of contradictions is this land.