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Published: November 9th 2006
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Limestone Upthrust
The "karst" topography that Guilin is famous for. Guilin certainly lives up to its reputation as one of China’s most beautiful cities. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here so far. Our first day we went to see Solitary Beauty Peak, which is in the center of the town. It consists of a 152m karst which you can scale to see sweeping views of the surrounding areas. There were some old buildings within the complex, none of which contained anything too spectacular.
Today was a definite highlight. We booked an organized tour out to the area of Longsheng, where there are numerous minority villages and terraced rice fields. Being that Guilin has become such a tourist spot, you can’t walk more than 50m without passing a tourist office. We stopped by nearly every one we passed to inquire about prices. I suspect each office runs their own version of the various tours, because the prices differed greatly between them all. Settling on the cheapest one we found, we booked our bus for this morning. It was a long drive, almost 3 hours out to the villages, but the experience was worth it. Our first stop was in the village of Ping’an where we climbed up numerous stone steps
to finally reach the small hilltop village. This is where we stopped for lunch. There were only 2 other English speaking foreigners on the tour, the rest being Chinese tourists. Our tour guide led the four of us to a separate restaurant with an English menu, and we shared a table and sampled some local dishes. These included local chicken roasted in a bamboo stalk and rice cooked the same way. Although our chicken was surely fresh (there were ample live chickens parading around the wooden homes) it was chock full of tiny bones and not very much meat. The rice was also subpar, although for the price we paid (a few dollars) we didn’t complain. The presentation was impressive, the large stalk being brought to our table and then cracked open to reveal the chicken and rice.
After refueling it was time to make the trek to the top viewing spot. Along the way we passed many traditional wooden homes and “long-haired village girls” selling handicrafts. The view from the top was spectacular, and worth the long hot climb. Because the color of my skin screams “rich westerner”, it didn’t take long for three long-haired women to attach
Peace
At least I think this character means Peace. It was next to the Peace Grotto at Solitary Beauty Peak. themselves to us promising to let down their hair for a photo op…for a fee of course. We had shelled out extra RMB to see a minority show later in the day at another village, so we didn’t feel the need to pay these women, but they were so sweet and persistent we finally gave in to their requested 10RMB (little more than a dollar). They led us to the best photo spot and proceeded to unwind their extremely long tresses. Talk about hair! These women have hair that is often down to the floor, meticulously twisted and turned into tight buns atop their heads. They explained (through gestures, because they didn’t speak hardly a word of English) that when they are children, they snip the long hair and keep it to wind into their adult hair. Indeed they each had 2.5 foot long sections, which unwound from the remaining hair on their head. We also learned later on at the performance that there are three different types of hair styles. Unmarried women wear a scarf over their twisted hair, married women but without children have no knot in the front, and married women with children weave a large knot
At the Peak!
After the trek to the top we drank in the stunning vista. in the middle. We snapped away while they combed the hair and showed us how they wind it back up. In the baskets they carry on their backs they had a costume which they dressed me up in. We all had a good laugh and they pinched my cheeks and told me how beautiful I was, and that now I too am a “Yao people”. Both parties were delighted by the others presence, and we spent nearly 20 minutes oohing over their long strands and being dressed up. Finally we handed over our 10RMB and waved goodbye. It is the interactions like these that I live for on this adventure. They seemed so sincere and genuine, to be in our company showing off their hair, and their smiles and laughter was infectious. On our way back down the trail I purchased an apron from one of the stalls, which was hand embroidered by a Yao woman. When we return I plan to try cooking all the various dishes we’ve tasted and fallen in love with, so I will wear my authentic Guilin mountain woven apron with pride. Perhaps it will help my cooking abilities…
The bus then shuttled us
Bamboo Lunch
Believe me, the presentation was far more appealing than the taste. to a different “Long-Haired Village” at the base of the mountain where we participated in the traditional show. Devlin volunteered (for lack of other volunteers he was finally coerced) to help with the wedding ceremony demonstration. This required him to dress up in the traditional gear worn by the groom, and be “married” to a Yao woman. All the Chinese tourists had a good laugh at him, while the Yao women serenaded the new couple. Put on the spot, he was told to sing a love song to his new wife…he sang the only song which came to mind…Happy Birthday…Hmmm…
The show was not worth the extra money we spent, but we took the most out of it, and it was interesting to see more long haired women let their hair down. Our guide gave us a running commentary in English, and explained during the wedding ceremony that if they like you they pinch your bum. Upon leaving, they were all standing outside the door and singing their song, and pinched our bums!! Worth a laugh for sure.
The views of the terraced rice fields are magnificent, and it was nice to get out of the city and
Ping'an Village
A view from the path to the top of the small village. see more of China’s natural landscape. It was so peaceful in the small villages, and the people were so open and heartwarming.
Tomorrow we plan to tour Reed Flute Cave, extraordinary scenery located underground. Hopefully we will have some stunning photos to share with you all.
If we can find a reasonable price from a tour operator we plan to head to Yangshou via the Li River, on a Chinese boat. Many operators offer the tour for exorbitant prices, but a guide we spoke to near our hostel promised a very low rate and he speaks decent English, so we wouldn’t be completely lost with the dialogue. There are some splendid looking sights in Yangshou and we are excited to see another small Chinese town.
As promised I have been snapping pics furiously, so please enjoy!
Cheers!
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anonymous
non-member comment
those "karsts" remind me of drumheller!