Guilin Trip

People often say the mountains and waters in Guilin are the best under heaven, so my wife and I took a trip to this city we have been longing for all the time. I booked hotels and flight tickets online in October.

On 12th November, we took a flight of South Airlines at 21:30. In fact, it should leave at 21:00. We reached at the Guilin Liangjiang International Airport at 23:50. We were received by the staff of Guilin Aviation Hotel which offered the service of airport pick-up. The hotel is near to the Railway Station and Bus Station, however, the room is not as good as I imagine, it is dank and the furniture is timeworn.

On 13th November, we packed our luggage and stored it at the front desk. We went to the Shi Family Rice Noodles in Cross Street (Shi Zi Jie) to have breakfast by taxi (CNY 9). The rice noodles are famous food in Guilin. It is very delicious. My wife and I like it. Then we went to Elephant Trunk Hill because the hill is the representative of Guilin scenery. It really looks like a giant elephant drinking water with its long trunk from the river. There are many bamboo rafts in the park; we took a raft and pay CNY 30 in total. The park opens from 08:30 to 16:40 and ticket fee is CNY 25 per person. We took many photos with the hill and the beautiful scenery around it. At noon, we had lunch at a restaurant (I forgot the name) and ate Cucumber with Mashed Garlic, Stewed Chicken and Braised Beer Fish. We paid CNY 105 in total for the lunch (The rice is free). Then we returned to Aviation Hotel and took our luggage to Tailian Hotel (CNY 309 for the King-Sized Bed Room) near the Shan Lake. In the afternoon, we visited Seven-Star Park, the largest comprehensive park in Guilin. It is endowed with green mountains with different shapes, unique peaks, limpid waters, wonderful grottos, exquisite buildings and plentiful animals and plants. It is beautiful beyond description. I felt I can’t tear myself away from it. After dinner, my wife suggested that we could visit the Double Pagodas in the Shan Lake; however, I felt tired and didn’t want to go anywhere.

On 14th November, I felt better after a good sleep. We took a tour bus to Reed Flute Cave, about 5 kilometers northwest of Guilin downtown. I felt that I entered a palace of nature’s art. This karst cave is full of weird stalagmite, stelae, stone screesn, stone flowers and stone forests, which compose unbelievable colorful pictures. We returned to downtown of Guilin in the afternoon. After a short rest, we had a walk in Guilin. It is easy to see the pretty mountains and waters in this city. There are two rivers and fours lakes in Guilin: Li River, Peach Blossom River, Shan Lake, Rong Lake, Gui Lake and Mulong Lake. Many little ponds are dotted in this beautiful city. It is totally different from the city I reside in the northern China. No wonder that Guilin is the best tourist city in China.

On 15th November, we went to the Guilin Bus Terminal and took a bus to Yangshuo (CNY 15 per person from Guilin to Yangshuo) to have a wonderful rafting on the highlight section (from Yangdi to Xingping) of spectacular Li River. The waters of Li River are very crystal so that one can see its gleaming pebble-paved bottom with lively fish and shrimp darting about. I felt that I came into a gallery of nature. We spent two days in Yangshuo to admire its natural scenery. 

On the night of 17th November, we were on our return journey. What an unforgotten trip!