UNEXPECTED BEAUTY

China, home to 1.354 billion people! And home to me back in 2006 for a dusty hot summer and a bitterly cold winter. After my stint in Beijing and a few shopping and food trips to Shanghai, China hadn't been on my list to revisit…until my friend suggested heading to Guilin over the Easter break.

Guilin is located in south China in the Guangxi province. Famous for it's limestone mountains, scenic rivers and rolling mountains, it's no wonder it has been inspiration for painters, poets and travellers for centuries.

DAY 1 & 2

We spent the first night in Guilin at the Sheraton (5*, on the river front) which was nice enough (older, standard business hotel), as we landed quite late. Early the next morning our driver took us to the pier to catch our ferry which would take us from Guilin down the picturesque Li River to the old town of Yangshuo. If you've been to Halong Bay in Vietnam, the Li River offers similar topography.

A famous Chinese poet wrote about this journey;

                    "the river is a green silk ribbon, and the hills are jade hair-pins…"

This stunning scenery is depicted on the 20 RMB note:

It took the whole day to get to Yangshuo town. Upon arrival we checked into the Green Lotus Hotel (5*) which was one of the newer properties, a short walk from the main street. There are a number of homestays in Yangshuo which, if I went back, I'd probably like to try as the Green Lotus was nothing special and I imagine the bed & breakfast establishments would have much more character.

DAY 3 

I often find the best way to properly explore an area is on two wheels. It's fun, it's active and it allows you to weave around the backstreets, stopping wherever and whenever you come across something of interest. Hire a bicycle down on the main street, buy a map and make your way along the streams, beside the fields and through the small neighbouring villages, enjoying the scenery and wildlife as you go.

If you fancy taking a raft back down the river to the main Yangshuo area, you can leave your bikes for a small fee and someone will return them for you.

Don't miss the Impression of Liu Sanjie light show, quite a spectacle! The story depicts the life of the people living around the river, set in a spectacular outdoor theatre with the incredible Li River and it's twelve mountains serving as the backdrop. Over 600 local performers are involved in the show and with a mixture of modern and classical Chinese music, it gives a real insight into the dress and music of the local ethnic minorities. 

My tip; pre-book (the queue even for pre-booked tickets was immense) and request seating at the middle-back of the General Admission section. If you're short-sighted like me, don't forget to take your glasses if you want to sit in the undercover VIP seats at the back!

Some highlights from this magical show:

DAY 4

For the foodies there's a number of cooking schools where you can learn how to cook local dishes, like beer fish (basically local fish fried-off in beer), dumplings and other tasty eats. Cloud 9 cooking school was fantastic, offering English-speaking classes and started  off with an informative and interesting walk through the local markets to buy our ingredients. Contact Phoenix +86 135 0783 8851 phoenix_liang2000@hotmail.com to book in a class.

The visit to the local market is not for the faint-hearted, as you'll find scorched dogs and rabbits strung up, and fluffy cats in cages awaiting similar fate. Stick to the veggie section if you don't think you can stomach this.

Besides strange torched animals, there's some fantastic street-eats like fried tofu and salty chestnut and rice parcels.

If you find yourself needing a 3am snack after a night out in the surprisingly 'pumping' nightclubs and bars along the main drag in Yangshuo, join the queue for the small buns filled with nondescript meat. Offering "no like, no pay" deal, it's well worth the wait and a few kwai. 

DAY 5

I suggest if you take the cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo, hire a driver to take you back to Guilin. This way you can stop via the Shangri-La, 'paradise on earth' which although was very touristy, it didn't take away from the natural beauty.

For lunch, a great pittstop is at the Longji rice fields, where ethnic minorities live and farm the land. When we were visiting a few years ago, there was a lot of accommodation in the process of being built, so I imagine now there's plenty of places to stay if you do decide to overnight here. Unfortunately when we visited the peaks were covered in mist, and only partially lifted by the time we'd finished lunch so the below photos are what we would have seen had the mist lifted.

The colours will vary depending on the season you visit.

DAY 6

I'd recommend staying your final night in Guilin, so you have the following day to visit the Reed Flute Caves and Yao mountain before heading back to the airport. 

240 meter-long cave of stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations colourfully displayed:

Take the cable car up Yao mountain and enjoy the spectacular views of the area:

So next time you think of mainland China, don't forget the sheer size of this country and the varied experiences it has to offer. Guilin is certainly one not to miss!