On Thursday, Sept 9th we departed Beijing in the North for Guilin in the
Southwest. We were amazed at how new, immaculate and orderly the airport is
for a city of 16,000,000 people. Perhaps most of the people cannot afford to travel
by air. Whatever the reason, no airport in the U.S.A. can compare to the feel of
this.
The airplane was full... full of Chinese people. We were the only five "anlgos" on
the plane. Surprisingly, no person treated us any differently, or looked at as
awkwardly.
We arrived in Guilin in the early afternoon. I told everyone that after two days
of intensive touring, we would finally get a day without a tour guide. All of us
were looking forward to relaxing, and hoped to enjoy Guilin at a leisurely pace.
We all needed the 1/2 day to let the blisters on our feet heal. I was sorely
mistaken! Our guide for Guilin, Diana, had other plans, and it turned out to be
the longest day of touring yet. The afternoon inlcuded a quick tour of Guilin's
most popular tourist attractions, a visit to a traditional tea house, our first
Cantonese dinner, a night-time boat ride to watch the bird fisherman, and a
Minority Chinese dance recital.
Our hotel view of the city.
Elephant Trunk Hill
Traditional Chinese Tea House
Bird Fisherman (Birds trained to catch fish and return to the boat with their catch)
Minority Chinese Dance
On the 2nd day in Guilin, Friday, we had a more leisurely day. Although we started at 8:30Am and
finished at 10:PM, a majority of the day was spent on the Li River cruise. After the river cruise we walk
around Yangshou, and visited a farming village outside Yangshou. Upon our return to Guilin, we
visited the Art Institute for Traditional Chinese Painting where we ended up purchasing some art. We
ended the day with a waterfall show cascading down the side of our hotel, and later watched the Guilin
people "hang-out" in the city center.
Li River Cruise (a 4 hour cruise from Guilin to Yangshou). The
Chinese call this area the 8th wonder of the world. Three recent U.S.
Presidents have visited Guilin and took the same trip down the LI
River. The Karst limestone towers that rise abruptly from the river's
edge are covered with lush green vegetation. The river's edge is dense
with bamboo, and fishing villages regularly spot the banks.
In one picture you can see River Boats lining the river. There are at
least 20-25 boats lined up, about 100 meters apart. There is so much
awe-inspiring natural beauty around you that the throng of boats and
tourists is overshadowed.
Throughout the journey, Villagers in bamboo boats illegally attach to
the boat to try to sell souvenirs. No one takes their offers.
The boats arrive in Yangshou one after another to let the thousands of
tourists deboard. You can see the Yangshou is built in the heart of the
limestone towers. When we arrive we are met by locals selling their
wares; you can almost alway bargain up to 50% off. This area is
called West Street; a.k.a. "Foreigner's Street". Once you leave this
area and walk thru town, you see that It is a beautiful city not yet
besieged by the overwhelming growth elsewhere around China.
After walking through Yangshou, we headed back to Guilin by bus. It was
about a 1.5 hour bus ride. On the way we stopped by a random farming
village where our guide asked permission to walk around. The first people
we encountered invited us into their home, a 3-room brick structure.
Almost Immediately, children (mostly girls) began running up to the
house. Steve and Heather began handing out gifts of toys we brought
from the U.S. They were especially intrigued by my digital camera and
digital camcorder. After visiting with the woman for about 15 minutes,
we walked further into the village where we got many people's attention.
We began to see many more boys, all of whom tended to be less outgoing
than the girls. You can see the boys comparing their matchbox cars.
After touring the Art Institute we had another great
Cantonese meal. I think we all like this food better than
the Mandarin food in the North. At 8:30PM our hotel
puts on a show where what seems like millions of gallons
of water cascades over the side of the hotel for at least 20
minutes. At night, the city center is packed with
thousands of Chinese and Japanese tourists... and us.
We decide to walk around for a while and watch the
people just "hanging-out".
