SHENZHEN,The city

Shenzhen (Chinese: 深圳) is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, it is  north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones (SEZs).^[

This is a modern City,  the result of  economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" establishment of the SEZ in late 1979, before which it was only a small village. Both Chinese citizens and foreign nationals have invested enormous amounts of money in the Shenzhen SEZ and it is now considered one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.

This city is  southern mainland China's major financial center, and it is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also one of the busiest container ports in China.

You can Just Read This link for more information

 Shenzhen  es una ciudadimportante al Sureste de la provincia Guandong y se encuentra al norte de HongKong . El area fue la primera (y más exitosa) Zona Económica Especial  (SEZ).

Esta ciudad es muy moderna y es el resultadod e la economía derivada de la rápida inversión extranjera , desde que se instituyó la política de "reforma y apertura" de las SEZ a finales de 1979, antes de esta fecha, el lugar era solo otrapequeña población . Tanto chinos como extranjeros han invertido enormes cantidades de dinero en las SEZ y ahora Shenzhen es considerada una de las ciudades del mundo de más rápido crecimiento. 

La ciudad es el principal centro Financiero de la región Sur de china y aquí se encuentra las casa de bolsa , así co mo las oficinas centrales de numerosas compañias de alta tecnología , Shenzhen también cuenta con uno de los puertos de contenedores más activo. 

SHENZHEN: WINDOW OF THE WORLD

The Window of the World (Chinese: 世界之窗; pinyin: Shìjiè zhī Chuāng) is a theme park located in the western part of the city . It has about 130 reproductions of some of the most famous tourist attractions in different countries like : France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Rusia, , United Kingdom, Thailand , Korea, Japan, India,Australia, Egypt, United States,Brazil, Peru, and of course Mexico!   This park is  48 hectares and we could see landmarks like the Eiffel Tower , the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal reproduced with so much detail! It was just wonderful!!!!
We basically spend the whole day there and we even had the chance to see the great shou at the open air thather at night, 
We did not have any problem in arriving or leaving the place since line 1 of Shenzhen metro has a station rigth at the entrance of the park!!!.
SEEE MORE INFO HERE

GUILIN: Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbishan)

We visited thism place with our new friends (2 girls from Cuba and one from Rusia). The  Hill is located on the western bank of Li River and it was walking distance from our hostel .  Why trhat name for the hill?  because it seems  like a huge elephant drinking water from the river with its trunk.

We also went into some caves there, one of them is Shui Yue Cave (Water Moon Cave) , between the trunk and the legs - a semi-round cave penetrated by water. The inverted reflection of the cave in water plus the part above forms a full moon.  Visitors can boat through the cave to the river.

Another cave is the eyes of the elephant  and you can enjoy panoramic views of the city from there.

There is a pagoda on the top of the hill ,  built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The north seat of the second floor is inlaid with an image of Bodhisattva Puxian. The pagoda looks like a  vase on the back of an elephant seen from distance .

As the symbol of Guilin, the hill is the main scenic spot of the Elephant Trunk Hill Park, which also includes Yunfeng Monastery (a building with ancient style).

Maybe you would like to read this link

LONGJI RICE TERRACES

These terraces are about 80 kilometers from Guilin, in Longsheng County. The van picked us up and took us at the entrance of the terraces, from there we could either go to the other side, going through different villages (about  a 2 hour walk ) or explore the surrounding area, Joselyn and our other 2 friends ( a cuban girl and a Russian girl)   decided to explore the nearby area, while the other members in the group felt more adventurous and decided to try to get to the other side of the terraces... in the end we met them at the same entrance, they said they had gotten lost so they had decided to go back ...
The view of the terraces was fantastic despite the winter... I am sure looking at these terraces in spring must also be an extraordinary experience!  I found a Nice video that you may also like .. here it is  

I also found this interesting blog about the women who live in the area...hope you enjoy it!!!

Empezando la aventura

bellisimos paisajes!!!

Estas terrazas se encuentran a aprox 80 Km de Guilin en el condado Longsheng. la camioneta nos recogió y nos llevó a la entrada de las terrazas, de ahí podíamos escoger entre caminar hacia otras poblaciones, atravesándolas (una caminata aproximada de 2 horas) o explorar los alrededores , Joselyn y yo, junto con dos nuevas amistades (una chica cubana y una rusa) decidimos explorar el área cercana mientras que los otros miembros del grupo, más aventureros tratar de llegar al otro lado de las terrazas ... al final, nos encontramos en la misma entrada, nos dijeron que después de un rato, se habían perdido así que decidieron regresar...
El paisaje entre las terrazas era increible a pesar de ser invierno ... estoy segura de que ver estas terrazas en invierno debe también  ser una experiencia extraordinaria!

LA FOTO GRUPAL AL FINAL DE NUESTRO RECORRIDO

REAL BAMBOO RAFTING

We also decided to try real bamboo rafting (moved by hand, not using engines and made of real bamboo) at Youlong river, This river is a tributary of Li river  This river has a series of small dams , we experienced while going up and down the river. Also, we could see a very traditional way of fishing using birds to catch the fish.
You can read more on this LINK

Un riquísimo platillos casero

Pasando los rápidos

El interior de una antigua casa

Preparándonos para el recorrido por el río

Enseñando la técnica para pescar con las aves

Y una vez estando ya en este maravillosos paisaje, decidimos tambien viajar en una balsa de bamboo real sin motor (movida a mano por los granjeros del lugar y forjada de bambú real)
 por el río Youlong, este río es uno de los ríos que alimentan al río.  Y esta sección del río tiene una sri de pequeñas "presas"  por las que pasamos corriente abajo y corriente arriba . ahí también pudimos ver un tipo de pesca tradicional, usando aves para atrapar los peces.

Infinidad de balsas de bambú

Nuestra Guía explicando la tradición de los adornos en las puertas, para año nuevo