Life and Travel in China

I haven't been adding new photos lately, but... there's a good explanation for it. I'm working on improving the website. Graphically it will be much better, but above all it will be 100% pure XHTML, CSS including PHP and MySQL. The code will be error-free! I admit with pride that there are few websites on the Internet that undergo XHTML validation. As soon as I upload new files - maybe this week, I will go back to adding new and overdue photos.

Coming back to the Internet topic... China blocks YouTube, but interestingly - it also blocks online applications with Windows Media Player. Some time ago I could listen to Polish Radio I and Radio Three. Recently it has gotten worse, every few seconds of pause, buffering again. Of course, I blamed it on the servers, poor connection and distance. But what does it turn out to be?! China is simply blocking this signal. Of course, this is not about Polish Radio, but, for example, the BBC and other free media that often broadcast in Windows Media Player (Winamp works better, but is not so popular in China). I have a program to change the IP, proxy, sometimes I'm supposedly in Germany, other times in the Czech Republic. Of course, the Internet is slower due to the proxy, but Polish Radio does not jam at all, YouTube and many other websites that are treated as hostile to the Middle Kingdom also open.

I am pleased to announce that after a week of complete reconstruction - the FOTOCHINY.com website has been improved. I am proud to say that this is pure XHTML code, practically error-free (it is difficult to find such sites on the Internet). While creating this website, I recently mastered the technique of using CSS style sheets, which definitely 'cleaned up' the XHTML code. Of course, PHP is also necessary for the gallery to function properly, I speak this language quite fluently. All these changes and improvements will make the website faster, more readable and will achieve even better positions in search engines! It is worth mentioning that I tested the website in all popular browsers: IE 6, IE 7, Mozilla Firefox and Opera. However, if there are any errors, I will be grateful for information! And one more important change - I have introduced a daily limit of opened photos, if anyone wants to view all photos, diary and texts, I suggest registering.

In China it is somehow so funny and strange that after a few days off you come to work on Saturday or Sunday! For example, now Thursday and Friday were days off - Dragon Boat Festival. This year, the government decided on days off, usually this holiday was not treated this way. Thursday and Friday - rest, but today, on Sunday, most people went to work. I wonder how employees in Poland would react: "Okay, you have Friday off, but come to work on Sunday!" It's similar after Chinese New Year, 14-20 days off and back to the office on Sunday... strange.

I can check another province and another famous place in China off my list. It's about Guilin, a paradise landscape, unusual hills, wonderful rivers, wonderful rice fields, terraced fields filled with water! Beautiful views, unfortunately the weather was not good. On the first day, a famous cruise on the Lijiang River. Second day - full-day trip to the Yao minority village + terraced fields. We were worried about heavy rain and gray clouds obscuring the view. However, we waited for 20 minutes, together with a friend from France (the whole trip was already going down). I said we couldn't lose hope and prayed for the clouds to clear up a bit! We did it - an extraordinary sight, immediate smiles on our faces. On the last day, the sun appeared and we were able to ride bikes around the beautiful countryside, among rice fields and hills near Yangshuo. I only advise against Impression Guilin (Impression Liu San Jie) - the famous director (Zhang Yimou) made a mistake! Poor light, no script, many people sitting far from the stage made of water. Boring show, no decorations, no idea, no choreography, uninteresting costumes. His performance in Yunnan was more interesting. Maybe other foreigners are fascinated by it, I saw many performances in China and it is just average, but the price is super high - PLN 80 per ticket. There was even a trip from Poland, but I didn't see them getting excited about anything and they commented on it with delight. The return from Guilin was tragic - 4 hours delay of the Shenzhen Ailine plane, rude treatment by the airline staff, quarrels, fights (mainly by me), a big fight - it spoiled our mood. We got back at 4am, we should be there around midnight. Nevertheless, it's an interesting place, I recommend it, we took over 900 photos!