Flying from Shanghai to Guilin. As we land, we settle into our hotel.. We will stay here for 1 night. Then we will fly to Xian. There is little time, so we start exploring Guilin without wasting any time.
Dazzling with its natural wonder rock and hill formations Guilin is a small city on the banks of the Li river (Lijiang) in Guangxi province.. About 5 million inhabitants. Compared to other cities in China, the population of 5 million is very small.. For example, Shanghai’s population is 20 million, and its surroundings are 36 million.
There is an influx of art lovers to the Lijiang River
Guilin has inspired painters and poets for years due to its unique nature.. For this reason, it has a lot of visitors by the art-loving audience.. These people take boat tours to the Li River to see the extraordinary beauties of Guilin, and even to watch Guilin from the Li River.. Of course, we did not lag behind them, we took a trip on the Li River. I’ll tell you about it in a moment.
Places to Visit in Guilin
Seven Star Park
But before you leave the hotel in the morning and Seven Star Park we are coming to the park. This place is full of young and old Chinese doing morning exercises.. They do their sports with heavy rhythmic movements with red fans in their hands.. We pass through the park and come to the riverside.. This place is so crowded, it’s like a holiday place. Young girls in traditional clothes are trying to sell things to tourists.
Elephant Trunk
First of all, Elephant Trunk we see the top. This boulder really looks like a huge elephant with its trunk dipped in water. The trunk of the elephant, adjacent to the land, descends into the river. We take beautiful photos at this place, which is considered sacred by the Chinese people.
Red Flute Cave
Then we get on our bus and it’s wide on both sides. through rice fields we come to Red Flute cave. The entrance to the cave is very crowded. But it’s worth the crowd. The inside of the cave consists of stalactites and stalagmites.. The lighting is very beautiful. Colored with blue, white, red, green, yellow lighting. Stalactites resembling a large Buddha on one side. On one side there are stalactites in the form of carrots and grapes, which are described as a vegetable and orchard, on another side the shape of a snowman next to a pine tree.. In another region, the forest and 2 lion figures overlooking the forest, created a very beautiful image when these stalactites were supported with colored lights.
There is a pond at the end of the cave, which is magnificent.. The reflections of the illuminated stalactites and stalagmites around the pond are very impressive.. At the exit of the cave, peddlers are waiting for us again.
Boat Tour in Lijiang River
Without delay, we move to our buses and board our boats in Lijiang (Li) River.
On the road, we travel for 1 hour, accompanied by rice fields and Gulin trees (Osmanthus) along the road.. The city got its name from these trees.. According to the testimony of our local guide, 20-degree wines are made for women from these trees.. Before boarding our boats by the river, we have lunch at a restaurant in a beautiful hotel and board our boats.
These rocks we saw during this cruise on the Li River were formed over millions of years and give beautiful views.. We are sure that we will not forget this journey for years to come.
During this boat ride that lasts for about five hours, we see small fishing huts on the river and Chinese people fishing on 1-2 person rafts made of bamboo.. There are a lot of boats for touristic purposes on the river.. The view on this river is a natural wonder. Large and small pointed rocky hills These rocky hills have Guilin trees on them.. Everywhere is lush. Tourists are also shown on a raft on the river.
The bamboo canes on both sides of the river add a different beauty to the river.. (By the way, we saw it here for the first time. Since the bamboo straws are very strong, they make the outer scaffolding of the buildings from bamboo – which is the construction scaffolding during construction).. Of course, at the same time, we pass between the stalls where local products are sold.
Then we get on the bus and come to our hotel.. We see the newly married bride, groom and guests in front of the hotel.. Treats to the guests in a basket, paper candy and cigarettes. The invitee buys a cigarette, and the bride lights the cigarette.. We congratulated the couple, wore our presents, and had the bride light our cigarettes. If you want to spend more time and stay in Guilin, Zen Tea House and Murphy Youth Hotel Guilin are ideal hotels with both their prices and comfort.
<
We take our luggage from the hotel and head to the airport to go to Xian.
Guilin’s Must Haves:
- River cruise
- Guilin hills
- Red Flute cave
- Elephant Trunk hill
