My Memorable Journey to Guilin - it is not Just the Destination

If you are looking for china destination as an ideal vacation spot, Guilin must be the place you should never miss. Many tourists would like to use Chinese watercolor painting to describe the scenery of Guilin after they visit Guilin. Yes, it is true. Enjoying the picturesque Li River and the boat trip riding down the river from Guilin to Yangshuo is like to unfold a scroll of Chinese watercolor painting before your eyes. Besides River Li boat trip, there are many also leaving you with deep impression for a life time. This article presents my Four days highlight journey in and around Guilin. It's not just the Destination.

Day 1 is: We arrived at Guilin airport as schedule and were met and escorted to our hotel by our tour guide, Nancy. She is a pretty lady and has a good sense of humor. We have a good time together in the following days in Guilin.

Normally people like to spend at Guilin for 2 nights and 3 days. One day is for the River Li Cruise and the other two days is for city tour to explore the nature wonders like the Limestone Cave 'Reed Flute Cave' and the Elephant Trunk Hill which looks like the shape of an elephant drinking water by the riverside. We have more time than regular tourist so we can have a chance to explore more in and around Guilin. Below is my highlight excursion in Guilin, they are more than tours!

Longji Rice Terraces: It is so exciting to walk into the mysterious mountainous villages of Longji (Dragon Back) to see the thousand-year-old nationality cultures. We departed hotel in the morning for the scenic and drove for 2.5 hour to the Longji scenic parking area, where we walked to top of the mountain to see a famous spot: seven stars surrounding the moon.

After more than 1 hour climbing, we finally arrived at the summit. When we stood on the top of the mountain and looked down at the nearby terraced rice fields, we had the feeling that we were standing on the dragon's back as the terraced rice paddies look like the shining scales of the dragon. This awesome construction dates from the Yuan Dynasty and demonstrates you the brilliant feat of man conquering nature. Afterwards we took the way walking down to our bus. On the way back, we met several ladies dressed in Red Yao customs. They offered us their elegant way to comb their long hair which has been collected in the World Guinness Record. And Nancy, our guide told us the secret: The hair style of Yao ethnic minority display whether a lady is married or unmarried.

We also learn from Nancy when is the best time to visit Longji. The best time to visit Longji is from 15th April to 30th April in Chinese Calendar, the rice fields is started to filled with water and the rice field looks like mirrors. Another time is from 15th August to 30th August in Chinese Lunar Calendar, the rice is ready for harvest and you will see the fields filled with golden color. The winter time, when you are lucky to see snow here, the scenery looks also unique but the time for snow is not always guaranteed. The average temperature in July is 28.3 degrees and the average temperature in January is 7.9 degrees.

Third Sister Liu Impression: Nancy recommended us to watch the performance for our nigh-time leisure when the day we took the boat trip to Yangshuo. We are not much of the "cultured" or "historian" by any means, but the performance is really spectacular. This performance expresses the beautiful scenery of the Li River, the colorful culture of the ethnic groups in Guangxi and the brave imagination of the excellent artists in China. It is the first of its kind in the world. We were amazed to see such big outdoors performance which can accommodate 2400 guests and the participants in the show. All performers are local, mostly from Zhuang and Yao background and more than 600 people play on the performance. Even after we have seen the show and are still confused with what they are talking about, we are very happy to have a chance to have a look. It's good enough beyond any description.

The last day before we drove from yangshuo to Guilin airport in the late afternoon, the cycling trip around Yangshou is also one of my favorite things to do here. In the morning, Nancy bought bicycles for us and required us to practice for a while. And then we cycled outside the town to explore the breathtaking countryside views. Along the way, we visited the big banyon tree which covers an area of 1000 square meters with a long history of 1,000 years around and the Moon Hill with a hole in its peak in the shape of a half moon where you can look through the sky as well as the old villages. Strolling around rice fields, we also invited to visit one of the local families just roadside. The lady of the owner treat us the grape fruit, peanuts which her family planted. She is a so sweet lady and we left some money for gratitude before we leave.

My 3 Nights and 4 Days in Guilin tours:

Day 1: Arrive at Guilin

Day 2: Day trip to Longi Rice Terraces

Day 3: River Li Cruise to Yangshuo, and the Third sister Liu impression in the evening

Day 4: Morning cycling trip in Yangshuo and leave Yangshuo to Guilin airport in the late afternoon.

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