Yellow River Outing

The Chinese students do many outings with their classes. I was invited on the spring outing for the Foreign Language postgraduates (grad students in the USA) and was happy to accept, especially since it was my first visit to the Yellow River. The Huang is called the Mother River since Chinese civilization first grew up around it.
We took the local bus 8 kilometers north of Kaifeng. Because the area is suffering from a prolonged drought the river is way down with large sandbars visible over its great width—it must be two kilometers across. The blossoms are out as you can see. We lined up for a considerable number of group photos, a feature of any Chinese outing, and everyone wanted a picture with me. So this is what celebrity status feels like!
No Chinese social gathering is complete without food. We had a little barbeque where the students roasted meat, fish, and vegetables over a fire, and then a peasant meal in a Mongolian-style yurt.  I taught the students Western poker, mostly five card draw, and they taught me Chinese poker—landlord vs. peasants, of course.

Great kids, great day, great fun.