After a few days in Hezhou, I decided to take a bus to Guilin to visit this famous city for a few days before heading back to Shenzhen. Before arriving into Guilin, I was told that everything is negotiable, even hotel room rates. It was my very first time traveling to a place without having a room booked for the night. In hindsight, I still can’t believe I did that, especially since it was during Chinese New Year’s. Traditionally, Chinese New Year’s is when everyone returns to their hometowns to visit their families, but more and more people are taking this time to travel instead.
I arrived at the Guilin bus station and proceeded to find a hotel immediately. I didn’t want anything too close to the bus station but still wanted to be close enough to easily catch the bus out of the city in the next few days. I found a hotel that looked okay from the outside and when I went in to ask about the rooms, I kind of forgot about negotiating because the room prices were already very low compared to Shenzhen. Thankfully, I did remember to ask if there was heat in the rooms though. After successfully booking myself in for two nights, I went to the tour desk and asked about some tours. In the end, I ended up booking two of them and I was finally able to remember the tip I had received earlier about negotiating, so I did get a little bit of a savings on the tours.
I had the rest of the day to walk around and explore Guilin on my own. I ended up at the Seven Stars Park (七星景區), a scenic park in the middle of the city that was bustling with people and activity.
I had the rest of the day to walk around and explore Guilin on my own. I ended up at the Seven Stars Park (七星景區), a scenic park in the middle of the city that was bustling with people and activity.
After the park, I came across this square that had a sign pointing towards “Little Hong Kong”. Obviously, I had to check this out.
Turns out there was absolutely nothing “Hong Kong” about it. The merchandise wasn’t remotely Cantonese, so I really have no idea why they decided to name it “Little Hong Kong”.
After this little disappointment, I boarded a night cruise that took me along the Li River for some beautiful Guilin night scenery.
The next morning, I had to get up bright and early to join a tour to Yangshuo. I had previously heard from some colleagues that Yangshuo is much more beautiful than Guilin as it is less developed and the landscapes have been left untouched.
After the 30 minute bus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo, the first thing we did was board a boat. The river cruise took us through some breathtaking scenery before docking at a local beach. We also passed “Moon Hill”, a unique mountain with a hole right through the middle.
After the 30 minute bus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo, the first thing we did was board a boat. The river cruise took us through some breathtaking scenery before docking at a local beach. We also passed “Moon Hill”, a unique mountain with a hole right through the middle.
It’s too bad that the sky was so overcast. I’m not sure if this is due to the fact that I visited during the coldest month of the year, or whether the pollution in the area keeps the sky a consistent grey colour. However, I must say, the grey skies make Yangshuo seem very mysterious.
After a brief lunch stop, we made our way to the Dragon Cave. It was very similar to the Purple Cloud Cave I had just visited a few days earlier, but Dragon Cave was definitely a bit cooler. To start with, the entire area was very beautiful, with bridges and pavilions that look like they were built centuries ago. We were also required to ride a little raft to enter the cave. Once inside, it looked exactly the same as the Purple Cloud Cave.
Our last stop of the day was to the Darongshu Scenic Area (大榕樹景區). This translates to “Big Banyan Tree Scenic Area” and was basically another beautiful place to take pictures.
There were many people dressed in traditional ethnic clothing posing for pictures as well.
There were many people dressed in traditional ethnic clothing posing for pictures as well.
This concluded our day in Yangshou and we returned back to Guilin after this last stop. Yangshuo was definitely much less crowded and touristy than Guilin. I can absolutely understand why my colleagues preferred it over Guilin.
I started off the next morning by visiting Jingjiang Princes’ City (靖江王城) and Liu San Jie Park (劉三姐景觀園). Jingjiang Princes’ City is unique in that it is not just a tourist attraction, but also a local university. To be honest, it was not the most memorable place and if I went back to Guilin, I probably wouldn’t bother visiting here again. Liu San Jie Park is a pretty park surrounded by water, where some ethnic minorities living in the area are able to display their culture.
The guide was describing the significance of a women’s long hair.
The park also put on performances
Next, we went to Chuanshan Park (穿山), another scenic mountain park full of waterfalls, caves, pagodas, and all things typical of Chinese parks. At Chuanshan, I went to yet another cave – my 3rd one in a week.
The last part of the tour was a cruise down the river. I had done a night cruise a couple nights earlier but it was neat to be able to see the city this time.
Had I not made a last minute decision to travel to Guilin, I probably would have been able to plan it out much better and avoided having to take any tours. However, I was very new to China at the time and felt that taking a tour was the easiest and safest. If I had to do it again, I would definitely do it on my own instead.
For more photos of Guilin, please see my Photo Gallery of Guilin.
For more photos of Yangshuo, please see my Photo Gallery of Yangshuo.
0 comments on “Seeing Guilin and Yangshuo In the Winter” Add yours →