Guilin in the Kwangsi Province has long been revered as the living painting of limestone hills with the serene Li River. There are many tourist attractions, modern and natural, to interest any visitors to Guilin. There are several national parks to go around Guilin. In the daytime, Elephant hill and Love Island are very popular among local and foreign visitors.
According to the guide, Guilin people are obsessed with exercise and healthcare. Most of the hills around Gulin can be climbed, and some hills, like the Moon Cave and The Warrior Hill Park, offer breathtaking views.
Another park worth checking out is the park where the revolutionist Chang Kai Shek lived. Now it has turned into a ramshackle museum with a small collection of memorabilia.
Guilin is surrounded by rivers, and it’s little wonder that they are linked by unique bridges, one even resembling the Golden Gate Bridge. All of these bridges are lit with a kaleidoscope of colours, and they are a sight to behold at night.
Nightly shows at Gulin Fantasy Theatre showcased acrobatic performances similar to Cirque de Soliel in Las Vegas, complete with imaginative and creative lightings and props.
Quick Tips:
Mandarin is widely spoken, but not Cantonese. For the food aficionado, an endless array of foods awaits you, but they may not be up to your taste. We found the dishes a tad too salty and oily, but this is how Guilin people love their food. For those who love exotic and gamey food, Guilin offers a wide variety of wildlife meat, such as snakes, bat wings, turtle, terrapins, civet cats, squirrel, etc.
But the national food of Guilin has got to be Guilin's rice noodle. It actually resembles spaghetti, and legend has it that Marco Polo actually arrived in Guilin and stole the idea to make create Italian spaghetti. Guilinese eat their noodles everyday.
Li River offers an abundant supply of river fish, and one of the popular dishes made with these river fish is beer fish. Do be careful, because they are loaded with tiny but sharp bones. Some of these are fished in a very cruel and horrible way. Black pelicans are used to dive into the river and catch these fish. Once the fish is caught in the mouth, the pelicans are not able to swallow them because the fisherman tied a string around their throat.
Best Way To Get Around:
There are a lot of
tuk-tuks around town that cost less than 5 renminbi to take. There are several river cruises to go on as well. There is now a Guilin airport, and it can be reached from most major cities around China.
To me, the best way to travel is still by road, as the landscapes are beautiful and the sight of village houses built with yellow earth or red brick with limestone-hill surroundings are unforgettable. Lush paddy fields and tranquil rivers with fisherman on reek boats can be seen throughout as though they are framed in time.