Jin Hua

The Cave called the Yi Ling Cave

by myspices

Yi Ling Cave is a beautiful cave - with lots of artistically formed stalacites and stalagmites. Colourful lights are shone on certain queer formations to enhance the beauty of the stones. A guide will take you through the tour inside the cave. The whole tour will take about 45minutes to an hour. At some parts of the cave, it's really dark but the guide has a torchlight with her to show you the way. Many fairy tale stories are coined to suit the formation of the rocks - only those who has a knowledge of these folklores will appreciate the stories.

To enter the cave : pay 25yuan (inclusive of guide)

See more pictures attached on stalacites and stalagmites

**Note : Wear sensible shoes.
**Bring strong and powerful flash to capture the beautiful rock formations

habitat for Humanity

by Cuteclu

"And it begins..."

I had no idea what a great experience I would have travelling to Guangxi Province with my high school students...but what a great adventure.
12 hours on a train with loud teenagers and locals may put many off, but it just added to the atmosphere.

We went to a village about 1 hour away from Nanning in Guangxi Province to build an access road for recoving lepers....and the students I travelled with were amazing!

"Our first stop"

Before we began to build the road, the HFH guides filled us in on the history of the village. People with leprasy were living in caves surrounding the farmland because the were bannished from many of their villages. At it's peak, there were about 400 people living in the caves. After the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government built a village for the people to live in; however, once they left the village, they were not allowed to return. On the outskirts of the village was a hill with a monument, which was designed to let lepers know where the village was, but also to warn others about the colony...

"How hard is it to move a tree?"

Our goal for the project was to build an access road to the village so that a wall could be build around the village. Sadly, people come and steal from the villagers, many of whom are over 70 years old. They feel insecure, so a wall is needed to protect the village. But before the wall must come the road...and before the road can be built, the trees must be moved.

We spent and entire day hacking, digging, and pulling that tree out of the ground, but we finally did it. Hackers of the world unite - according to Mike Lees.

"Talking to the villagers..."

The students got a chance to speak to the villagers about their experiences. It was incredible!

Some of the villagers had lived in the caves, some had lived in the village for most of their lives, some had been on the Long March, and some had even fought in the Cultural Revolution.

And there were only 10 villagers in the village. The stories were amazing.

"The road less travelled"

After 2 days we were able to complete our goal of building a road. Bushes, trees, and rocks used to be where a road now appears. While it looks like such a small accomplisment, every little bit helps the villagers with their daily lives.

Next comes the wall.

"Together"

This trip allowed me to see many things...a new part of China, a new view of lepers, and a new view of my students. They were so dedicated and eager to help others...it blew me away.

If everyone in the world put in 1/4 of their energy into helping others, the world would be a much better place.

What can you do today?