Blogs from Liuzhou, Guangxi, China, Asia

The motorbike drop me off in the middle of nowhere in the mountain, pointed me to a small trail by the roadside leading uphill. "walk up that direction" the driver told me. "is it where the festival taking place?" I wondered to myself. It was already 10am and there was no one in sight, nothing suggested anything is going on, well...I paid 40 yuan for the ride from Tongle, I better trust the driver and followed his direction. Luckily the trail wasn't too difficult to figure out the right route, 30 minutes later I came to the col and couple of makeshift canteen already there, dozen of people scattering in different spots, waiting for thing to happen I guess. At least...I came to the festival ground! they told me I was early, "by noon!" they all ... read more

I hated it so much the last time I came to the northern Guangxi area. That was almost 10 years ago and road construction work seem never ending, really pain in the arse...mean pain!!! you always find yourself seat and wait inside the windows closed bus as...you wouldn't dare open the window because of the dust. I came back up here just because I didn't feel like going home that soon, and seem like all the road had been upgraded(I wouldn't surprise if it wasn't). Ride on a comfortable train from Nanning and landed myself in Rongshui, The county claimed to be one of the ethnic heaven of Dong and Miao, and famous for a series of Newyear event during Lunar January. I was hoping to find another Yao subgroup In Tonglian township, the 4 hours ... read more

Kaum war ich in den Bus gestiegen war ich auf einmal wieder im "richtigen" China. Ich war der einzige Europäer, kein ensch sprach Englisch und ich hörte wieder ein Wort, das ich mindestens zehn Tage lang nicht gehört habe: Laowai. In Liuzhou wollte ich übernachten. Wir kamen im Dunken an und ich konnte auch nicht mehr auf meinen Lonely Planet China zurückgreifen, um eine Bleibe zu suchen, da ich diesen in Yangshuo gegen den LP-Klassiker "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring eingetauscht hatte. Zum Glück wusste ich noch,dass in der näheren Umgebung mehrere Billigunterkünfte sein sollten. Natürlich hatte ich nicht bedacht, dass deren Beschilderung lediglich auf chinesisch vorliegen würde und das 3-Sterne-Hotel direkt im Busbahnhofsgebäude war für meine Verhältnisse zu teuer. Nach einigem Herumspazieren entdeckte ich aber schräg gegenüber das "Going Home Hotel". Für die Angestellten war ... read more

Liuzhou's Dragon Pool Park Although barely known, Guangxi's City of Liuzhou is one of my favorite places to get away from Guilin for a couple of days. When I first visited the city, I hated it. It was four years ago and the city was dirty, dingy, and the air was brown. It was really bad! In the last few years, the city has been working to clean itself up, and what it has been doing has worked! The city moved the airport and major industrial areas away from the city proper, the parks have all been redone, a huge comprehensive museum has just been opened, and the downtown area has received a major facelift. I think in the future, Liuzhou will become a major destination for visitors to Guangxi. I now love the city. ... read more