Guilin Acrobat Show and Night Walk

Guilin acrobats.

Wendy, our guide in Guilin, asked if we wanted to see an acrobatic ballet show based on the natural wonders of Guilin. It sounded interesting enough and we really wanted to get the girls into some of the culture of the area, so we said yes. Seeing the show here after seeing the Beijing acrobats was a little like seeing the New York Philharmonic Orchestra live at Lincoln Center, and then coming home and seeing the Virginia Beach Symphony Orchestra two days later. If you accept it for what it is, the show is alright. If you start to draw comparisons, well, you get the idea. The show was definitely a small(er) town production, but there were a couple of acts that were unique and very interesting. I’ve included a couple of pictures of the Guilin show to give you an idea of what we saw in Beijing and Guilin.

Tall pagodas on the Li River.

After the show we walked the mile or so back to our hotel so we could see the night life along the river again, this time with camera in hand. It also gave us the chance to dodge traffic like locals. Kind of like playing Frogger but with real cars, motorcycles and buses flying all around. ‘Bout scared the poop out of us. On one particularly bad corner a woman on the opposite side of the street apparently saw our poor situation (and possibly our fear) and she maneuvered her vegetable cart across in front of the traffic so we could get by. Amanda and I ran across immediately and darted in between a couple of parked buses to safety. Jerri and Ally were still across the street, by which time the woman had moved back to her original position. Once again she moved her cart across the road and came back slowly while Jerri and Ally moved to safety between the buses. It was quite obvious she’d done this for no other reason than to help us. We walked around to the front of the first bus and looked to thank her, but she was gone…and I mean really gone…nowhere to be seen. Guardian angels take many forms, and I think we saw one tonight.

More Guilin acrobat pictures...



No flash allowed. I love my camera.




There are ten men on that bike.



Motorbikes in a cage. Beijing acrobats did 8, but this was still impressive.

Slower shutter speed for nice effect.