百色 (bǎi sè, pronounced roughly like '"bye sir" without the final 'r) literally means "100 Colours" but is a small city in western Guangxi, China near the border with Yunnan province. Mst of the population are of the Zhuang ethnic minority.
Baisw is rather well-known in Chinese Communist Party history for the Baise Uprising led on Dec 11, 1929 by Deng Xiaoping, Mao's eventual successor. The city has a number of memorials and a largish museum dedicated to the event and sees a lot of so-called 'Red Tourism', mainly old veterans of the Long March and the Revolution. A dying breed. Otherwise, it sees very few visitors, especially from abroad.
For most people here it is better known for fruit, especially its mangoes. China's mango central. There are mango trees everywhere. The first time I visited, some 20 years ago, it was at the height of the season and the mangoes were virtually free.
This year they have gone further. There has been a bumber crop and the mangoes are dropping like rain. This tree below was so overloaded with fruit it was dangerous. A mechanical device was brought in to dislodge the fruit, which was then left on the ground for anyone to take away. Few did; they all have their own glut to deal with.
Of course, this is not good news for the farmers so the local government has stepped in with subsidies and other help to see them through.
In other news, across Guangxi, other fruits are receiving similar treatment.
Jackfruit
and if you drop your box of mangoes on the way home, don't bother to pick them up. They were amost free anyway.
ETA: Minutes after posting the above, a friend from Baise called to ask if I want some lemons! They have too many of them, too!
