Here is my last video from my trip a few weeks ago.  On one of the three days that we were there, we hopped in van and were driven to another city, Yi Xing, which is about an hour away from Chang Xing.  Yi Xing is located in the Jiangsu province.

When we got there, I expected us to go to the ticket counter to buy tickets, but instead we just walked right in.  I am not sure if they already had tickets or it was because they weree retired.  People who are retired or a certain age can enter for free.  When we got to the gates, there was some exchange between my friends and the woman standing guard.  I could tell the woman was talking about me, but I don’t know exactly what she was saying and I didn’t ask.   Since I am not retired and I have not even passed the 30 mark(it is just around the corner, though – eek!), I am pretty sure the woman was saying that I needed a ticket.  The woman and my friends yelled back and forth for a minute and then we walked in.  I guess she was satisfied that I didn’t need a ticket.  Maybe she was told I was helping them out by teaching them English and that I should be allowed to come in for free.  I guess I will never know.

We were met by a guide and she walked us around, explaining what things were – in Chinese of course.  The importance of everything was lost on me.  She walked us around pretty quickly, so I had to move fast with my picture taking.  Yue Hua kept wondering off to take pictures of pretty things, and while everyone walked on without her, I stayed behind so she wouldn’t lose us.  There were a lot of people there that day, so because I stayed back, we both nearly lost our group.

The guide then walked us over to a cave entrance, and I had to be sure to hold on to Yue Hua’s arm.  The steps were mighty slippery.  I could just imagine her or one of the other people in my group tumbling to the bottom of the stairs.  I love going to caves in the summer time because they are so much cooler.  Yeah, they smell a little funny, but the cool, damp air is refreshing!  Walking through, someone told me that the cave was natural and had been around for a long, long time.  I was also told that the cave had been used in over 20 Chinese movies.  It wasn’t Carlsbad Caverns or anything, but it was nice.

The guide took us down another level where there were seats on either side of an open area.  It looked to me like they put on performances here.  I thought we were about to leave until I heard some music start to play.  I am not sure if our timing was just right or if there were finally enough people in the cave to put on the show.  My friends grabbed my arm and pushed me in front of some other Chinese people.  They wanted to make sure that I was able to see alright.  I wanted to tell them that I was taller than almost everyone there and that seeing wouldn’t be a problem, but I just kept my mouth shut – front row seats can be awesome.  Or they can lead to very strange experiences – I’ll link you to a video at the bottom to show you what I mean.  It has nothing to do with this day, though.

A few moments later, the action began. Two men came out, both dressed rather amusingly, and starting lip singing to a Chinese song I’ve never heard before.  You should at least watch the video until one of the guys pulls out a gun.  It’s pretty funny.  And remember, neither one of the guys are actually singing.  When I was watching them, I was impressed that they really looked like they were and a lot of their motions were dead on with the music.  I’m just guessing, but I don’t think it was their first time.  🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EnmGH2CL-8[/youtube]

I posted about Phil’s experience at the Taiwanese Folk Village in Xiamen way back in July of 2008, but I figured I would post it here again.  I doubt I have the same reader base as I did back then.  So, just in case I have some newbies on board, it’s for you!  You can read the post about it here.

Phil was right about getting called up on stage, but had we sat in the back, I would have never gotten this video.  The quality sucks because Xiamen’s humid air crept into my camera and destroyed it.  You have no idea how happy I am that they didn’t drag me up there with him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTMauhqVaZ0[/youtube]