Guilin in southern China 21-23 May 2015

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Thursday 21 & Friday 22 May



We spent 3 days in and around Guilin (2 nights) and Yangshuo (1 night) - the most beautiful region in China. An old Chinese saying describes Guilin’s landscape as “the best scenery under heaven”. Its misty limestone peaks “rise as suddenly from the earth as trees in a forest, and surrounding the city like mountains floating in an imaginary sea”.



We stayed at the Guilin Bravo Hotel, another beautiful facility.



Some of the things we did and saw were seeing Central Square - 51,400 square meter large gathering place in the centre of town. Here you can watch a giant atlas on the ground and an artificial waterfall every evening at 8:30PM.



It was then off to Reed Flute Cave about 5km west of Guilin. Reed Flute Cave was a fascinating gallery of natural sculptures (limestone cave formations), now enhanced by multicoloured lighting, which has been one of Guilin's many interesting attractions for over 1,200 years. It rates as one of the top four tourist sites in the city. The cave got its name from a type of reed growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes.

The cave is filled with a large number of stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes. Illuminated by the coloured lights, the cave looks like a dazzling underground palace. That's why the cave is also known as 'Nature's Art Palace'. The most liked formations are Rose Dawn over Lion Peaksand Crystal Palace.

Inside the cave there are more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Our guide said these aged inscriptions tell us that it has been an attraction in Guilin since ancient times. Millions of tourists have visited Reed Flute Cave since its official opening as a tourist attraction in 1962.

There was also a brief laser/light/music show inside the cave, which told the history of the cave. Several of the caves were massive. Despite the flooded river and not seeing several things on our itinerary, we enjoyed the region immensely. It certainly was a beautiful section of China.

LI RIVER BETWEEN GUILIN AND YANGSHUO

At night, we went on the most fantastic boat trip down the Li River which flows through Guilin & Yangshuo. We saw the Moon & Sun pagoda lit up during our night boat trip. The lighting effects all along the river were stunning. There was a lot of entertainment in the buildings and pagodas along the shore of the river. It was excellent.

That night several of our travel group decided to find a bar to have a cold beer. It was a very balmy night. It was good to have another opportunity to chat with our new Malaysian/Australian travel mates.

Saturday 23 May

Today is departure day back to Brisbane. As our plane wasn't leaving until later in the afternoon, we had time to visit a few more sites.

We visited the Yao Mountain which is the highest of Guilin's city peaks. There's an excellent view from the top, which we got to by cable car. We saw 4 people hiking up the mountain, one in high platform heals!!!!

Yao Mountain is located in the eastern suburbs of Guilin, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the city centre. It is famous for both natural beauty and ancient tombs. Its main peak reaches 909 meters, but the lower south peak is the one that has been developed for tourism.

About 450 meters above sea level is Yao Temple, built during the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), which gave the mountain the name. In front of Yao Temple is "heaven-sent field".

At an altitude of about 700 meters is Bailu Temple, residence of a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty (618–907). We watched a traditional local dance inside one of the buildings.

We later went to Elephant Trunk Hill. This Hill with a large natural arch cut into it. Elephant Trunk Hill, also known as Elephant Hill, is located at the confluence of the Li River and Peach Blossom River in the south central area of Guilin City. It looks like a huge elephant stretching its trunk and drinking water, hence the name. Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of Guilin and its karst landscape.

Just before we hopped into the van which would take us to the airport, we walked along the banks of the Li River, taking in the hard landscaping models of dancers, Mickey & Minnie Mouse and many others. These were all lit up at night.

What a fantastic 25 days in China. We reminded ourselves that we would have to go back and see the eastern coast of China next time, perhaps on the way to somewhere else!!!!! The highlights were:

· All the contrasts, from 3rd world villages to ultra modern new cities

· China's ability to 'make things happen', even though this means displacing millions of people.

· The Great Wall of China

· The Longji Terraced fields

· Terracotta Worriers

· The brilliant boat cruise on the Yi River in Guilin - spectacular light show

· Guilin Region landscape

· Attending the Sister Meal Festival and visiting many of the minority groups villages

· Seeing the 3-Dam project on the Yangtze River

· The beautiful fresh food

· Great accommodation and excellent guides - all 5 of them!

· Great people to travel with.

The plane trip home was uneventful, flying from Guilin, via Guangzhou then Hong Kong. Adam was at the Brisbane Airport to meet us. It was great to be home after a fun, very satisfying time. Before arriving home, we popped into see Gemma and Kerrie at ballet. That was a nice surprise for them. Next trip is Hawaii on 13 June for 8 days.

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