We awoke this morning to heavy rain; a not uncommon occurrence in this part of China and almost a guarantee when I am traveling. As I got up earlier than anyone else, I spent some time wandering around the hotel. The lobby is beautiful and there are a number of antique stores on the lower level. There were some incredible jade pieces that were far more than I could certainly afford.

I met Ron and Justine at 8 AM and we ventured out into the rain. I had accidentally left my umbrella (the expensive, 60 MPH one) in Hangzhou, so I had to rely on my parka to keep me dry. A foolish hope, as it turned out. We walked through Shamian Island, where the foreign consulates were located in the 1910's. Very European, with broad streets with lots of trees, shrubs, flowers and statues. We went over the canal and up to the Qing Ping Market. The shops there sell herbs and medicine, but at that hour of the morning, very few were open.

We finally wound up on Xiaju Lu, a shopping street, and bought some Chinese pastries in a small shop and then wandered into the McDonalds across the street for some really bad coffee. At this point, I was pretty soaked, so we found a shop selling umbrellas. After that, it was back to the hotel to meet up with Robin and Joanna.

Buses and umbrellas in Guangzhou