For May Day weekend, a bunch of us visited Guilin (and Yangshuo), in the northeast of Guangxi.
This is the number one place that Chinese people wish they could visit as it's known to be so beautiful - and I have to agree with that description. The city is on the Li River and the area is studded with small limestone hills covered in trees, known as the Kaft Hills. Over the years, these have eroded and now some people claim that they have the shape of a dog's head, or an elephant...
We'd arrived very early as we'd been on an overnight bus from Nanning. So, by 630am we were in one of the parks and it was great to see how busy it was with people doing their morning excercises. There are dance classes, keep fit and tai chi going on or just the odd people doing their stretches.
In the park we also visited a cave. This was extremely large and they'd created pathways and 'light shows' all the way through. We tagged along a chinese group, of course not understanding the commentary. We did have 2 people in our group who speak chinese so every now and then we'd get snippets of the information.
We only had 3 days so we spent one in Guilin, where unfortunately it mostly rained. The next day we went to Yangshuo, this is a very touristy town, and was a real change from Nanning as it was so western. But ultimately I'm happy to be living in Nanning, and not in such a touristy area. From Yangshuo a few of us took a trip on a bamboo raft on the Yu Long river, which is off the main Li River. This was very peaceful and incredibly beautiful. We got lucky as it was our only non-rainy day.
Yangshuo is known for it's impressive light show (http://www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com/liu-sanjie-show.html) created by the chief director and creative brain of the 2008 Olympic Games. We tried to see the show, and even went to the location, but at the last minute they cancelled it, due to the rain. So, this is a reason to return to Yanshuo!
The markets were fun to walk around and I enjoyed meandering through the town (and getting lost a few times!). Some of the stuff for sale is pretty much generic and seen everywhere (even in the Italian markets sometimes) but I like it anyway.
'sunny' Guilin
looks like a poodle
elephant trunk??
In the park we also visited a cave. This was extremely large and they'd created pathways and 'light shows' all the way through. We tagged along a chinese group, of course not understanding the commentary. We did have 2 people in our group who speak chinese so every now and then we'd get snippets of the information.
We only had 3 days so we spent one in Guilin, where unfortunately it mostly rained. The next day we went to Yangshuo, this is a very touristy town, and was a real change from Nanning as it was so western. But ultimately I'm happy to be living in Nanning, and not in such a touristy area. From Yangshuo a few of us took a trip on a bamboo raft on the Yu Long river, which is off the main Li River. This was very peaceful and incredibly beautiful. We got lucky as it was our only non-rainy day.
maybe not all of it was 'peaceful'
Yangshuo is known for it's impressive light show (http://www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com/liu-sanjie-show.html) created by the chief director and creative brain of the 2008 Olympic Games. We tried to see the show, and even went to the location, but at the last minute they cancelled it, due to the rain. So, this is a reason to return to Yanshuo!The markets were fun to walk around and I enjoyed meandering through the town (and getting lost a few times!). Some of the stuff for sale is pretty much generic and seen everywhere (even in the Italian markets sometimes) but I like it anyway.
nice post !
ReplyDeleteI like the way you go down the river on the raft.
ReplyDeleteIt may not have been raining that day, but you certainly got wet!!
All sounds fantastic, delighted you seemed to be enjoying the experience. What is the weather like in general at the moment?
ReplyDelete