Springtime in China
To the editor:
I was intending to take some pictures of the forest area where part of the film “Avatar” was filmed to show you this week.
Contributed photo
SPRING TUNNEL — Chestnut trees in bloom on the campus of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in China. Guangdong is a province on the southern coast of the People’s Republic of China.
Thanks to internal wrangling of the committee that governs my body that simple pleasure was denied. Translated, got sick and could not go on the trip.
The campus of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies used to be the campus of the Forestry University of Guangdong. Our school came to this location almost 60 years ago and we are benefiting from the huge number of trees that were planted. One variety of tree is a flowering chestnut that shades one of the pathways to my teaching building.
The flowers are reaching their peak and every day you find hordes of people coming to take pictures of the flower canopy. As the flowers are fertilized the petals drop off forming a snow like layer down below. Snow without the cold!
The height of these trees is about 60 feet. They form a wonderful spring tunnel that will really be cool when the hot summer sun comes out. Next week, the steps of Guangdong.
Orpheus Allison
Guangdong, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
