我们第一次见面的情况很偶然: The Cool Cats from Beijing

Our meeting with the musicians from Beijing was quite serendipitous indeed. We met in a field in the middle of nowhere looking for the same 600 year old bridge. We went on ahead on our tandem bike, got lost a few more times and eventually made it to the bridge. A little while later those other guys appeared. These looked like people I wanted to know- just one of those feelings- so we further broke the ice with small talk and the like and were invited by them to meet later for some drinks.
later then in the evening we met with them and hung out a bit and were further invited to go rock-climbing the following day. So the next day we went climbing on one of the limestone peaks, which was awesome. We took a van out to a rural elementary school and from there hiked in to the spot. With us were their other friends who are experienced climbers and guides. The climbing was awesome. I want to continue with it if we can find some sort of club in Xiamen.
The next couple days and nights we spent with these guys. Let me introduce them: Yangtao is a director of documentaries and music videos and has even directed a few lesser known movies. Dong Gege is a classical music conductor and composer and also owns a restuarant/bar/hotel in Yangshuo. He only shows up there 2 weeks out of the year to check up on things and the rest of the time just chills in Beijing working on his musical career. Juno is a composer for television and movie soundtracks. His wife JiaJia is a pianist and composer.
They were all a very warm and welcoming toward us from the get-go. I felt comfortable hanging out with them nearly instantly and after just a day it felt like I had known them for longer. We'd stroll into the bar bearing fruit and Yangtao and JiaJia would be playing an intense game of goh. A Chinese translation of Shel Silverstein's poetry lay on the table beside them. Juno and Dong Ge would be playing pool and listening to The Beatles or some old school jazz. They were a creative, thinking, playful group of friends which I found very inspiring. It's not too often that I meet people I click with well in such a short time.
On the day of our departure from Yangshuo, a rainy one, we sat in the bar with Yangtao. The others had either departed or were still sleeping from the late night before. We chit-chatted until it was time to go. As Shawna and I left I looked at Yangtao like the boy in "Where the Wild Things Are" (the movie) does toward his favorite Wild Thing as he sails away in a boat to the real world. Shawna helped me come to this analogy and we both thought it fitting, additionally bc Yangtao is like a gentle giant quite resembling "Carol" from that movie. I will miss those guys...
... and it wasn't until we got back to Xiamen that we looked them up on the internet and found that at least a couple of them are actually somewhat renowned and well-positioned in the music entertainment industry.

on the way to the peak:



me on the wall:



shawna on the wall:



L to R - Xiao Chen, Yang Tao, Juno:



Dong Gege and Yang Tao:



The Gang 1:



The Gang 2 (Dong Ge, Yang Tao, Juno and Me, Shawna and Jia Jia: