As just a general observation I have seen NO air traffic of any sort; None of the usual con-trails that criss-cross American skies. No small planes, no transports, no nuthin’ in the air. On leaving HK - It will be nice not to constantly be breathing diesel fumes all day. I have decided that “star” ratings in China are based on what is available. If you are the finest cruise ship on the river then you are 5-star no matter how you may stack up against other forms of cruising. The same goes for hotels. The Guilin hotel was 5-star, but it was no where near as nice as the HK or Shanghai 5-star. Some public toilets are also given star ratings by the government. The women in the tour are particularly interested in this and they give their own ratings. Of important concern to them is whether they have Western style facilities. The default position for all Chinese sinks is with the stopper closed. Every one we have encountered has been that way. The place is overrun with Chinese people! Every tourist spot that we visited was overcrowded. I attribute this to the growing strength of the economy giving the people the means to travel. Good for them, but bad for us. We did not encounter this when we were here 9 years ago. Chinese lesson: Bing Pi Gho = Ice Cold Beer 9 is the most lucky number, hence so many occurrences of it and 99, 999 etc. I lost 5 lbs. on the trip.