KP Travel Club focuses on China

Staff Report

Ron and Louise Talley have traveled to China three times in six years. They will share images and stories of those trips during the Travel Club meeting Nov. 2. Courtesy Photo

Ron and Louise Talley share images and stories of three trips in six years to China at the November 2 meeting of the Key Peninsula Travel Club.

They spent a total of 4 ½ months in China, a country almost the same size as the United States, visiting places no other tourists had seen. Their travels took them north and south, east and west, into Inner Mongolia and Tibet, and included staying overnight in homes of six minority families.

A trip down the picturesque Li River with its karst rock walls and another down the Yangtze for three days before the completion of the dam were special events.

A major highlight was teaching English as a Second Language in Xian for two weeks at a British summer camp. The school has six branch schools around the city.

The Talleys attended festivals, had special entertainment provided for them in one village and returned the favor by presenting a musical concert.

“The village population increased seven-fold,” says Louise, as people from neighboring villages drove, bicycled and walked to experience the show.

Talleys “adopted” PiGang, a village three hours drive from Beijing and 50 years back in time. There are no cars, and goats use the main path.

They started a library that now has over 1000 books, and their focus is on education for the children. They continue to support the library and advanced schooling beyond the village level.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Brones Room of the KP Library.

No fees, no officers for the Travel Club.