Night cruise

	The Sun and Moon Pagodas in Guilin

Back when walls and moats were a necessary adjunct to every town, the inhabitants of Guilin dug channels to set the river flowing around their city. Today these streams and ponds still circle the city and visitors can take a night-time cruise past the illuminated Sun and Moon Pagodas and the various pavilions and restaurants that stand in or by the river.

As the boat approaches some of these buildings actors in costume appear and perform, but as it was all in Chinese my friend, who shot this video on his mobile phone but who does not wish to be named, was unable to tell me what they were doing.

The boat didn't stop and my friend was hand-holding the camera, so viewers of the his version of the tour are not likely to get much beyond an impression of blurred colours. Sorry.

Inspired by his example, when I visited China I too went on the night-time cruise: fascinating and delightful - from the chap choking the fish out of his cormorants in the pitch-dark to the dancing fountains and the gorgeous girls in the traditional orchestra. Judging by the results, though, I have to say that camera phones have a way to go to catch up with the quality of even a simple camera - which is all I had with me on the trip.