Hotel
Three of us went to Wuyishan, Chen Liqi, me, and Deputy
Director of TIO Ms. Li Linmei, who came along to oversee my safety. I
appreciated the effort very much. All worked out well, with the worst thing
happening to me being occasionally sweaty and out of breath as we climbed the
mountains.
We really got first-class treatment. We were met at the
airport and squired around by Mr. Zhang Yaolong, Director of the Foreign Affairs
Office of the Wuyishan Municipal People's Government. He was most kind. Why, you
say, does a little town like Wuyishan have a Foreign Affairs Office? Easy. It's
because the Wuyishan area is currently visited overwhelmingly by Chinese. The
city is trying to internationalize the place and attract the foreigners who will
spend more money. Based on what I experienced there, I would definitely
encourage foreigners to visit and have a good a time as I did. I suppose one
might say that Wuyishan is not for Chinese only!
We were treated to the Wuyi Mountain Villa, at the foot of King Peak (on the far right in the photo). It's a place where, for example, Premier Zhu Rongji has stayed. The Dutch Queen stayed there, too. I knew the building we stayed in was very nice, but found out only after the fact that it was apparently the VIP building. The rooms were neat and comfortable, and the service and the restaurant were all that one could ask for. The grounds were impeccable.
Here is a view of some of the other buildings of the Mountain Villa.
Here is the view in the other direction. Pretty nice, huh?
This is the big black Mercedes of the Foreign Affairs Office that we got driven around in. VIP treatment indeed.