Here is a dream I've had for many years:

We are going to  fly to Hong Kong on Tuesday April 7th, where we have hotel reservations for three nights. From there we will take the bus into mainland China and spend the night in Guangzhou which is the biggest city in Canton. Canton has an amazing food market and, as this is turning into a food trip, what better place to start.

After spending the night there, we will fly to Guilin. From there it is a short bus ride, south, to Yangshuo where we will stay for about a week. At Yangshuo, we will take a balloon ride over the Li River, a boat ride on the Li River, and a cooking class near the Li River.

After about a week, we plan on going west to visit some rural , and hopefully seldom visited, villages. From that area, we will take the train north to Wulingyuan Park wherhttp://autoshanghai.auto-fairs.com/en/leftnavigation/informatione we will stay for a couple of days.

Wulingyuan is one of the most popular Chinese tourist spots but not very heavily traveled by Westerners. We are hoping for interesting hiking. But very different than here. For example, one trail starts after a 1,070 foot elevator ride. I think that hiking in China makes the Mist Trail seem like a wilderness experience.

Our last destination will be Shanghai and the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show (more Buicks and Audis are sold in China each year than in the USA)

Today I went to the Chinese Consulate to pickup our Visas. I had dropped off our Passports last week and we now have them back – Visas installed. The Consulate is on Geary Street near Japantown and the Visa office is jumping. But everything went very quickly and I was in and out in about 20 minutes and $260 lighter.

The visit to the Consulate was a little strange because there are protesters out in front being watched by a pair of menacing foo dogs – a reminder that China is not your run of the mill liberal democracy.