Last stop: Guilin

After a a few days in the refreshing mountain air, my friend Kate and I—with our three-week knowledge of Chinese, phrase book, and bags—flew south to Guilin.  Arriving in this small city at the height of Golden Week, we were both instantly overwhelmed: the roads were clogged with both people and cars, there were lights and music everywhere, and it was culturally much more Chinese than Shanghai.  By the end of our three days in Guilin, we both grew to love this tourist city and all of its natural beauty.
Built on the Li River, this small city has developed around one of its largest industries: tourism.  The city has hundreds, if not thousands, of restaurants with foods from all over China and the world.  After a month of primarily Chinese food, we vowed to only eat traditional Western food for the weekend, which we did with great ease.  The city’s true heart is the tree-lined promenades overlooking the river.  With great views of both the city and surrounding landscape, these wide, shady stretches along the river act as a gathering point for locals and tourists alike.  It was an impeccably maintained city, which is rare for China, that’s small enough to walk around, but still has enough to do for visitors.

As lovely as the city is, Guilin is known for its breathtaking landscapes.  In fact, its hills are featured on the 20 Yuan bill.  On our first day, Kate and I toured a cave and climbed up a number of Guilin’s famous hills with views of the city.  The cave tour were very stereotypical China: all the cave’s formations were lit by neon colored lights and in the cave’s “big room” there was a light show with music, lasers, and even large bubble machines.  The highlight of our trip was the Li River cruise, which snaked us through the area’s landscapes for over four hours. Guilin is so far south that it’s still very hazy and hot out and the whole area definitely had a Vietnam/Thailand feel to it (only a few hours by train away).  The Li River cruise was the perfect finish to a week of experiencing China’s natural beauty.

We both had an incredible, very easy time traveling in Guilin.  The city is very friendly to Chinese, Westerners, and children.  On our flight back to Shanghai, it was actually mostlyWestern expat families with younger children who visited Guilin for the holiday.  For anyone who visits China, Guilin, with a very different feel from China’s large cities and more traditional tourist spots, is definitely a must see.