The Ling Canal is situated 66 kilomteres to the north of Guilin and flows through the town of Xingan. It begins at a V-shaped weir which is designed to push just enough water (approximately 30%) down through the canals. Actually there are two, one on either side of the river. This is necessary to allow excess water to drain off and back into the main river rather than flood the section of canal that connects the two rivers.

This section, the Southern Canal is 34 kilometres long. This is far longer than the distance between the two rivers but necessary to maintain sufficient height along the route. It some places the water flowing in different directions is even just 20 metres apart.

Originally there were a series of gates (or chutes) which could be closed to stop the flow of water through the canal and allow easier prgress for the boats coming upstream. These no longer exist.

A visit to the site begins with a visit to the temples honouring the generals that designed and completed this project. Most visitors then head off to the V-shaped dam/weir or Ploughshare as it is called locally. The size of this is impressive given its age.

An option that is highly recommended is then to take a boat down stream to Xingan town. Poled along, with a guide playing pieces on a zither, makes for peaceful and effortless progress. You can, of course, just walk.

Xingan, viewd from the canal, is an interesting little place with plenty of local colour. The pace of life here is about as fast as the canal, which makes a great contrast with bustling Guilin.

There is a couple of tourist attraction: a rather poor construction of a fort, complete with a bronxe Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor), looking sternly down (there's no need to go inside) and a museum dedicated to the Fyling Tigers. Unfortunately that was closed when we were there so no comment on its suitability.

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The care for our well being was always evident. It certanily was evident when Pat took ill while we were on the bike ride; nothing really serious (weakness due to the heat), but she simply would not be able to complete the ride. Our guide, Julie, got us effortlessly to a point of rest while she made alternative arrangments. Pat took a quiet, cool, relaxing bamboo raft to a little village on the river that was to be the terminal of the bike ride. While she was rafting regally down the river Julie and I finished the scenic bike ride. We met up at a cafe overlooking the river and enjoyed one terrific lunch of local dishes. We all then rafted back to Yangshuo. What could have been a wasted day turned out to be a fantastic experience.

Julie was a wonerfully personable guide. We had many moments of laughter and exchanges of life experience stories from our respective countries. She taught us a little Chinese while she sharpened her English.

We had a delightful hike along the river for the better part of one day. The water of the river being high, Julie had to alter the route several times, having us rafted back and forth across the river to avoid impassable trails. Gosh, that was such fun (although it was probably a lot of worry and work for Julie) and the scenery was gorgeous. Another terrific lunch that day as well, overlooking the river.

Yangers arranged for our tour of the rice terraces as well as the Yangshuo area and Julie accompanied us there, too. We are so glad we went there. The scenery was beautiful and Julie, once again, made sure we didn't bite off more than we could chew. She was very attentive. We had really only one day to see the terraces and the weather looked uncooperative but it cleared sufficiently by afternoon and Julie led us on an absolutely terrific walk. Somehow she knew to wait until afternoon. Others were meeting guides and heading out in the morning, in the fog, no doubt wasting hours walking and climbing and seeing nothing.

On our final day in the Guilin-Yangshuo-Rice Terraces area Ian of Yangers joined us and Julie for an excusion to the Ling Canal, an off the beaten track location that provided us with a wonderful experience of local life. I don't think we saw one westerner the whole day. The canal and abuting waterway was teeming with local life which is what we love to experience where ever we travel. We had the best ever noodle dishes for lunch in a "hole-the-wall" place along the canal.

We stayed at the fantastic Li River Retreat while in Yangshuo. What a great place. Large beautiful room. We ate at the Retreat every night because the food was so good. The scenery from our room was thrilling --and the air conditioning was a welcomed relief from the heat and humidity.

There is so much to mention. We certainly want to recognize Ian's help in securing domestic flight arrangments from Hong Kong into Guilin and out of Guilin to the Wuyuan area up near Shanghai. He got us in touch with folks up there who arranged our visit to villages around that area.

We've been on many trips around the world but this one was about the most satisfying and worry-free.

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