Heading north from Hangzhou by high speed rail, we got to Jim’s hometown. A nice meal at the home where he lives with his parents,

The next morning, a good friend of Jim’s drove to the car-ferry that communicates to Laozhouxiang – a large island in the middle of the Yangtze. The plan? A picnic in a park area at the southern tip of the island!

As you get to the edge of the park you can look across the Yangtze to a heavy industrial site on the other bank of the river

Meanwhile an endless stream of large barges used the river as their superhighway

After eating, I broke out a deck of Spanish playing cards. Jim and his friend had fun learning to play ‘Escoba’.

Then, time to cross the river again. We had a bit of extra time, so we explored their municipal park a bit