Guilin Travel Notes

This trip was full of twists and turns and was stranded for a long time. Various trivial matters hinder the decision to travel. Planning started at the end of July, but somehow it got pushed to late August. In addition, the location, time, and personnel cannot be decided! It really fits the saying: plans can never keep up with changes.

In recent years, summer vacation travel seems to have become a habit. First, I want to take my children to the outside world to broaden their horizons, and second, I don’t want time to pass by quietly like that. The vicissitudes of time have taken away our looks, but they cannot take away our throbbing heart. Because of the hot weather, I have been staying at home for almost a month. It seems that the holidays are just for eating, sleeping, leisure and entertainment, and the determination to lose weight before the holidays has long been forgotten. When I suddenly realized that the days were passing faster and faster, and the number on the scale was getting bigger and bigger, half of the vacation had passed. My heart started to move. No matter what, I had to go out and couldn't let anything interfere with my plan. Ever since, I started to pay attention to the public account content of various travel agencies and the friend circles of tour guides. Research the group plans of various travel agencies and tourism groups, and look for partners who can travel together. After a period of contact and discussion, the final decision was made and we headed towards Guilin, the most beautiful place in the world.

On August 18, I took my daughter and two friends, a group of four, and set off with a fully-accompanied tour guide! When going through the security check at Xinzheng Airport, two items in the child's bag (an electric prod with electric shock and a schoolbag pendant) were confiscated. The child became very unhappy. I tried to persuade him for a long time about the dangers of bringing prohibited items on board. Her mood improved slightly when she was reminded of the importance of sex and personal safety. After waiting at the airport for more than two hours, we got on the plane from Zhengzhou to Guilin at 4:30.

Since this was not my first time flying, I wasn’t too excited. But when we went to Dalian two years ago, we took a night flight. The child had never seen the sky scene during the daytime flight, so she was a little expecting. The most impressive and enjoyable thing for us was the beautiful scenery we enjoyed in the air during the two-hour flight. As the plane ascended, the buildings on the ground gradually shrank, blurred, and disappeared. Because we were by the window, we could always enjoy the scenery outside. When we reached a certain height, we suddenly found that we seemed to be in a fairyland on earth. The white clouds are like icebergs, and like pieces of cotton, with different shapes. Glittering in the strong sunlight, it flew gently beside us. I really want to reach out and grab a handful in my hand, feeling its softness and whiteness.

We arrived at Guilin Airport around 6:30 in the evening. When we got off the plane, a sweltering air hit our faces, making us a little breathless. It seems to be similar to the feeling in Changsha last year. Afterwards, the airport pick-up tour guide took us to the Kaiqi Hotel. On the way, he told us about places to visit in Guilin at night. After arriving at the hotel and taking a short rest after checking in, we went to the first scenic spot - Xiaoyao Tower. The night was charming, the lights were bright, and the Xiaoyao Tower under the night was gentle and moving. It was supposed to be free to go upstairs, but because it was a bit late, the staff stopped us downstairs, so we unfortunately went to the second stop - East-West Alley.

Dongxixiang is a prosperous commercial street in Guilin that integrates tourism, folk customs, culture, food, and entertainment. There are a variety of specialty shops inside, filled with costumes with ethnic characteristics, and a variety of snacks. Children are always obsessed with the temptation of delicious food, clamoring to eat this and drink that. Stroll along the alleys with the crowd. Smelling the various aromas, we were already salivating. We tasted Guilin rice noodles, ice noodles, etc., and drank several drinks such as Shao Xiancao and mung bean paste. I couldn't hold it anymore, but the children didn't seem to be very satisfied... …

We were all a little tired after walking around until after ten o’clock, so we reluctantly went back to the hotel to rest.

The next day, we took a bus to the Lijiang Pier in Guilin and boarded a luxury cruise ship to Yangshuo. We were in a good mood. Because the lower two floors of the cruise ship are air-conditioned and there are tables and chairs, it is comfortable and cool to sit on. The third level is the deck, where you can go up and enjoy the scenery. Because it takes more than four hours to get from Guilin to Yangshuo, lunch comes with a packed lunch. We also bought a snack set and ate snacks leisurely while admiring the Guilin landscape.

The "Landscapes of Guilin" that I studied in primary school textbooks came to mind... The water of the Li River is so quiet, so quiet that you can't feel it flowing; the water of the Li River is so clear, so clear. You can see the sand and stones at the bottom of the river; the water of the Lijiang River is so green, as green as if it were a piece of flawless jade.

The boat was swimming in the middle of the river, and the rolling green mountains on both sides were gradually receding. As mentioned in the text, Guilin’s mountains are strange, beautiful, and dangerous at the same time, with various shapes, green barriers, and rugged rocks...

The commentator introduced some classic scenic spots passing by the Li River: Nine horses painted mountains, yellow cloth reflections and so on. Although I didn’t see the nine horses, I was able to find quite a few because of their looks and imagination. Tourists also left precious souvenir photos here.

The second stop is Guilin Eternal Scenery Area. Since there was still half an hour before the performance, we first had some special experiences in the scenic area. Haunted house, inclined house, upside down house, invisible house, mirror maze... the children had a lot of fun.

At 3:30, we went into the theater to watch "Guilin's Eternal Love". This is a large-scale live drama performance that tells the history and development, folk customs and culture of Guilin. A feast for the eyes and ears, too beautiful to behold.

Various lighting and special effects made the audience applaud and praise. The crisp and melodious melody brought us to the hometown of the singer Liu Sanjie. The beautiful singing made us intoxicated and deeply moved.

Because Guilin is a karst landform, many large and small caves have been formed. Then we went to Yinziyan, the largest cave in Guilin. As the saying goes, "If you visit Yinziyan, you will never be short of money." With this in mind, I have to take a good trip. Walking in the cave, you have to admire the uncanny workmanship of nature. The stalactites and stalagmites of different shapes are dazzling and colorful under the light. Like strips of colorful icicles standing on the ground or hanging from the top. How beautiful!

At the end of the second day, we checked into a hotel in Yangshuo. Although we were very tired, we didn’t want to miss every place worth visiting, so we dragged our tired bodies to Yangshuo West Street again. I thought it was just a street with a long history, but I didn’t expect that the food street, bar street, jewelry street, etc. are intertwined with each other. The vicissitudes of history have long been obliterated by commercialization, and the direction is completely unclear. There were crowds of people amidst the feasting and feasting, the noises kept coming and going, and the hot air made us feel very uncomfortable. Finally, we had to open the Gaode map to find the direction of the hotel...

On the third day, our first stop was Shenling Guzhai (a village where the Dong people live). The beautiful Dong lady guide led us around and told us about the living habits and wedding and funeral customs of the Dong people. In the stockade. We watched grandma’s hand-knitting process and listened to the beautiful singing of brothers and sisters. The instructor talked a lot about the physical benefits of wearing silver jewelry. You guessed it! There is a Jingzhong shopping store in the village - a silver jewelry store. This is where we go next. Before going out, in order to prevent myself from buying indiscriminately, I brought my own silver bracelet, so inside I just watched and refrained from buying anything. Many people in the same industry bought some silver jewelry that they liked.

After lunch, we went to the next attraction-Gudong Waterfall. A climbable waterfall complex. We first took a bamboo raft to a small square. According to the instructor's instructions, we put on our helmets, changed into straw sandals, and started a tour that we were looking forward to. Because the first waterfall is relatively large, children under 14 years old are not allowed to visit. So we started climbing from the second waterfall, which was actually walking up the irregular steps in the middle of the waterfall, holding on to the iron chain fixed next to it. When climbing, your feet are stepping on the flowing water, and a lot of water splashes on your body. It is refreshing and exciting, and it immediately relieves some of the heat.

After climbing the fourth waterfall, we started climbing. Wearing straw sandals was a little uncomfortable, which slowed down our pace. When we reached the top, there was a suspension bridge. Following the shouting crowd, we slowly walked across the swaying suspension bridge and started to go down the mountain. There are two ways, zip lining or walking. One partner was a little timid and walked down the steps alone. The three of us took the zip line to the halfway point of the mountain. We had two options again, the train or walking. Since time was a bit tight, and seeing the serpentine queue for the train, we had no choice but to walk. At the foot of the mountain, we were the last ones, so we quickly put on our shoes and chased the group.

Next stop, we rushed to Guilin and went to Zizhou Xiangshan Park. Elephant Trunk Hill, which symbolizes the characteristics of Guilin, is located on a small island in the Li River. We walked along the riverside of the park and took a look at Elephant Mountain from a distance. We found that seeing different landscapes from different angles and finding the best angle really looked like a strong elephant lying on the water.

The park is lined with green trees, and mosquitoes have left many souvenirs on us. After walking around for about an hour, it was getting dark.

At the end of the trip, we checked into a quasi-five-star hotel in the evening and took care of dinner by ourselves. We went out to find a snack street for dinner. After asking passers-by, we found out that there was a large shopping mall right next to the hotel. We walked in for a while and had a delicious dinner. We didn't leave until closing time.

On the fourth day, after two days of monotonous breakfasts, I finally saw a sumptuous breakfast buffet, and I felt extremely good. After eating and drinking, we set off! The tour guide started to explain to us in the car, and the various benefits of bringing silver suddenly changed to the benefits of bringing jade the day before. "Men wear Guanyin, women wear Buddha, and happy women wear jade bracelets." The tourists have already guessed their next destination, a place that sells jade - Baopu Museum. In the museum, the guide first led us to visit and explain in several visiting halls, and finally came to a large sales hall. I didn't plan to buy those things at first, but when I saw the crystal clear and beautiful jadeite on the counter, my friends became a little excited. Finally, each of us picked a bracelet and put it on our arm. Maybe we just want to be happy women!

After leaving, we went to the second scenic spot-Lujia Village. It is a village with beautiful landscapes and greenery, but there is actually nothing to do, so I took a few photos to commemorate it.

After that, we went to have lunch - Peacock Feast. I have heard this name for a long time, but I don’t know what it has to do with the peacock. After serving it, I realized that it is actually shaped like a beautiful peacock! It's a beautiful dish, but for us, taste seems to be more important than appearance.

After lunch, the tour guide took us to a specialty supermarket for free shopping. Then, the tour guide took us to a performance place-Dream Li River.

This is a performance mainly based on acrobatics. Various acrobatic performances with various characteristics express the beauty of the Lijiang River in the form of art! Although it is not as shocking as "Guilin Eternal Love", it is still impeccably beautiful.

The fourth day of the trip is over, and we can have free activities in the evening. Because we are all a little tired, and the weather in Guilin is too hot, we have an early rest in the hotel.

On the fifth day, the flight returned at 7:30 in the evening. You can still travel freely before 3.30pm. The four of us took a taxi at around eight o'clock in the morning and arrived at the famous Sun and Moon Twin Towers Scenic Area. We walked half a circle along Shan Lake and viewed the Sun and Moon Twin Towers from different angles. The distance between the two towers was close, far, or overlapping, presenting different scenery. Two towers of different sizes stand by the lake. Their reflections are clearly visible in the glittering water waves. They are so beautiful! It is said that the twin towers will be more beautiful under the lights at night.

Then we went to the nearby Zhengyang Pedestrian Street. It is also a relatively prosperous commercial street. After shopping for about two hours, it was already noon.

After lunch, we hurried to the hotel because we had to check out before one o'clock. When we arrived at the hotel, we asked for an hourly room and rested for more than two hours. The bus to pick us up arrived, but a shower suddenly came, so we had to stay for another ten minutes. After getting on the bus, we arrived at Guilin Airport in more than an hour. The trip is about to come to an end! A little bit sad! It was already dark when we boarded the plane. Looking at the lights outside the window, the plane took off...

The whole trip was over, and "Guilin's landscapes are the best in the world" were truly imprinted on our hearts. What impressed me deeply were the interesting customs and jokes the local tour guide told us in the car... just list one or two as memories!

1. The tour guide introduced his family, but he didn’t know which ethnic group he was from.

His grandfather is Han, his grandmother is Yao, and his mother is Miao. Which one does he belong to?

2. When marrying a daughter-in-law, ethnic minorities in the mountains must marry someone with a big mouth (good at singing folk songs), big feet (good at climbing), and a big butt (good for giving birth to children)...

< p>3. Zhuang girls are relatively ugly. As the saying goes, "If a Zhuang girl turns her head back, she will scare a cow to death; if a Zhuang girl turns her head twice, she will not have to worry about family planning; if a Zhuang girl turns her head three times, the water of the Li River will flow backwards"...