Guilin is my favorite city in China because of its beauty, its waterways, its cafes, and most of all because I met my wife there. It is her hometown and we will both retire there in a few years.

Not only is Guilin a fascinating city, there are many interesting places to visit within a short drive from there. The Ling (sometimes called Lingqu) canal is the oldest canal in the world. It was built about 2,200 years ago and connects two major river systems, the Yangtze (to the east) and the Pearl River.

Longsheng Rice Terraces (龙胜梯田) is another manmade wonder that was built around 650 years ago. I have some photos of both of these places in my China Daily homepage Albums. Gudong Waterfall Park(古东瀑布) is another attraction that is worth visiting. The hike to the top of all these waterfalls isn’t very difficult and if you want, you can take a ride to the bottom on a personal rail car whose speed you can control with a brake.

If you want you can also climb up some of the waterfalls with the help of chains that are placed for the convenience of amateur climbers.

I have only been in Guilin during the winter and spring but my wife tells me it gets pretty hot in the summertime. That’s OK because I grew up in the Midwest of the US where it gets very hot and humid during the summer months. It rarely freezes in the winter and the spring and autumn are pleasant. Guilin receives a lot of rain, especially in late spring and early summer. Because of this there is lush(多汁的) plant life and many large trees in the area. 

Being from California I’m used to having a car to get around. In fact, it’s practically a necessity in California. But in Guilin almost everything is within walking distance and if you need to go further, public buses are available every five minutes on the busy streets and every 10-15 minutes just about everywhere else. There are plenty of taxis too and most trips are only six yuan.

It’s a perfect place to retire.

下面一段话中有四个错别字，把它们找出来填入表中，然后改正。

穿过狭窄幽深的小巷，进入保圣寺，豁然开朗……前面是“清风亭”，我常为这样雅至的文字叫好，我仿佛因此触摸到那个座落在水乡泽国的江南古镇的灵魂。眼前那颗千年银杏，枝叶窸窣，像是在细说往夕岁月的芬芳……

随着我国人口增长速度的减慢，小学入学儿童数量有所减少．下表中的数据近似地呈现了某地区入学儿童人数的变化趋势：

（1）表中____ 是自变量，____ 是因变量；

（2）你预计该地区从____ 年起入学儿童的人数不超过1000人．