Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

Does not Egypt have hills, even though they are of sand?
Therefore Huangshan has the right to have its own riverside pyramid!

For those who are actually wondering where I am, I am can now be found in Anhui Province. Anhui has a a population of over 59 million, is an inland province in Southeast China. It stretches over the Yangtze River and Huai River, and is adjacent to six provinces being Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Henan and Shandong. Hefei City, the capital of the province, has many attractions as a result of its 2,000 years of history. I was here two years ago but only went to Bozhou city and Hefei city.

Now I'm back to see more of it as being one of the poorer provinces I hope to teach here.

Due to something I ate yesterday or late last night I had to stay close to where toilets could be found and here in China that is not on a bus journey to and from a huge mountain or village. So today I decided to see the other side of the city and while I was at it to also do the riverside walk at the east end of town.

Tunxi’s riverside really is worth taking the time to walk.

At the very east end of town they have just started to develop the river side and Id say in half a year or so it will be full of lush green grass, beautiful trees and a great place to walk hand in hand with your squeeze. It took me most of the afternoon to walk from the Entertainment Centre where the Wushu Masters are being held (Wushu means 'Martial Arts) to the southern end of town, back again and then cross the cities beautiful suspension bridge to the new side of town and then to then walk to the northern end of town where Ancient Street is found. The new side of the city is almost totally under construction. There are kilometers upon kilometers of new high rise apartments being built and most of them will rival anything built along Australia’s Gold Coast.   

Now wouldn’t the Wushu Masters be one hell of an event to get tickets for!

From what I can gather they are sold out and on top of that I think they re-commence this coming Thursday and I might not be here BUT, my Canadian buddy was talking to one of the security staff yesterday and if he or we are still here Thursday then we should be able to get free tickets, or for better words free entry without a ticket!

Anyhow enough of me and my jibber jabber, the rest of this entry is information on Tunxi City.
Here’s something I found written by a Chinese backpacker…..enjoy.

Tunxi is an ancient city with a long history. Early in the Qin and Han dynasties (more than 2200 years ago) a prefecture was set up. During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Mao Gan, a general of the state of Wu, once quartered his army in Tunxi. As for that the name Tunxi came into existence.

Tunxi, a beautiful mountain city, is situated by the side of Xin'an River. It is surrounded by green mountain with delighted of forests and graceful region of rivers and lakes, giving you poetic flavour. Of all ages many writers, poets, painters and photographers, reluctant to leave, have done many a piece of excellent works in praise of the mountain city.

Tunxi is a city newly-opened to tourist. It has area of 120 square kilometers and a population of 100000. There are many place of historical interest and men of letters here.

Pave with slab stone, the one-mile winding, and fascinating ancient street in the urban district is an ancient and bustling street well preserved in China. Shops on both sides of the street are built perfect order and antique style. As its buildings are after the fashion of the Song Dynasty, Tunxi is also called "Song City".

There are the Linjiang Park, Huangshan Park, Jiangxin Zhou Golden-Fish Park and other scenic spots in the city proper.27 kilometers to the east of the city, the town of Shexian (the old seat of Huizhou Prefecture) was set up in the Qin Dynasty (about 2300 years ago). Since the Song Dynasty it has gradually become the "Home of Culture". Xin'an paint school, Xin'an medicine, Anhui engraving, brick and wood carving of Anhui school, Anhui Opera, Anhui cuisine and Anhui businessmen, to some degree, all had their place in China's history, hence the saying "It's not a town without Anhui stores".

Place of historic interest include the Memorial Archway of Xuguo of the Ming Dynasty, Taibai Pavilion, Taiping Bridge, the East and south Watchtowers of the Song Dynasty, Pagoda of Changqing Temple, and Xinzhou Stonetower. After a bus drive of 33 kilometers, you can get to the beautiful Qiyun Mountain--the sacred Place of Taoism in China. Xu Xiake, a well-known traveller in the Ming Dynasty, had this remark:"the most mysterious scene in the Qiyun Mountain is the flying-down waterfall." Qianlong, emperor of the Qing Dynasty, described it as "None are equal to the mountain which is the greatest in South Anhui." 

The located products include the famous tea such as "Tunlu", "Qihong", "Houkui", "Huangshan Maofeng", and Huizhou's inkstick, Shexian's inkslab (two of the "four treasures of the study" in China), and lacquer-ware, bamboo weaving, and etc.

With pleasant weather, Tunxi is suitable for tourism all the year round. It is an ideal scenic spot and the only way to the marvellous Huangshan Mountain as well.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane

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The soundtrack to this entry was by Crowded House
The album was ‘Recurring Dream’
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