Shaoguan School Trip

I returned yesterday from a 3 day trip to Shaoguan, a town near the border of Guangdong Province and Hunan Province. It was a very tiring experience but fun none-the-less. The school I work for paid for just about everything and took around 27 staff away. I was one of only a handful of foreign teachers on the trip and the only female foreigner!! On day one we travelled five hours by bus to our first stop, Yue Bei Valley (known as Guangdong's Grand Canyon). The first photo you can see is of the afternoon's entertainment that we enjoyed, a troupe of highwire artists who were amazing! The second photo shows the funicular which we took down to the hydro-electric scheme that is being developed in this place. We stayed in a beautiful 5 star hotel this night, but were not able to fully enjoy it as we had a 6am start the following morning! We were booked to do a tour on the Pearl River on inflatable boats. I don't have any photos as it was raining and we also encountered some small rapids, so were advised to leave our cameras on the bus. The scenery was lovely, green mountains, small riverside settlements and a disused railway track that was is such bad repair in places that it looked like a Salvador Dali painting. The tracks had succumbed to landsides and were twisted into some incredible positions! In the afternoon we travelled to our hotel which offered an array of different hot springs to soak in. I indulged in a few and also had a sauna which was hotter than any other I've ever experienced! We set off again early on the final day to see Dan Xia mountain. The last two photos are of this place and show me standing in a beautifully crafted pagoda, and also a scenic spot we encountered. I arrived back in Shenzhen at 8pm a little worse for wear but very satisfied. I made some new friends and got to know others better. I now have week off for May Day celebrations, during which time I hope to rest, shop and possibly get away to Hong Kong. Till next time love and peace to you and yours!