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October 1 is China's national day and October 1, 1999 was the 50th anniversary of the communist government. The celebration started on September 30 and lasted 4 days with parades in Beijing and fireworks in most cities.  In one town near Qingyuan, some college students from Canton had set up a television in the town square and were explaining the festivities to the local children.  They all seemed to find us more interesting, though.  Even though this part of China has been open to foreigners for many years, tourists rarely visit rural China.  The kids were very curious and the visiting college students were happy to translate.

The town of Mingjing is not even on most maps, but the surrounding scenery is very pretty.  These limestone karst formations were pushed up by earthquakes thousands of years ago. We saw much more of the karst in the days to come.

The stir fry chicken in Mingjing was very fresh.  In many small towns, refrigerators are scarce.  Many restaurants raise their own chicken and buy vegetables every day.	Dennis (on the right) is from Chicago.  He found another Michael Jordan fan near Mingjing.

There are several ethnic minority groups living in the mountains of western Guangdong province (and also Guanxi province to the west).  These Yao children live in the village of Sanpai. While the Han (the majority ethnic group in China) have largely adapted Western-style clothing, many of the Yao continue to wear their traditional dress.

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