Guilin - Yangshuo, China

Day 1:  22nd October 2012 – KL to Guilin

Our 6:25am Air AsiaX flight from KL arrived at Guilin 桂林 Liangjiang International Airport (KWL) 桂林兩江國際機場 at 10:00am, ahead of schedule. We boarded a shuttle bus parked towards the right of the airport arriving hall, heading to Guilin 40元. The bus arrived at Guilin and stopped at The Swan Hotel, a short distance from the railway station of Zhongshan South Road中山南路. We did not alight here and the bus journeyed on until we reached Mingzhu Road, a short distance from the Elephant Trunk Hill. From here, we took a taxi 8元 to Hotel Sapphire 蓝宝石酒店, 西城路步行街, Xicheng Road, Guilin City Center, booked through Agoda.com. Taxis are inexpensive and easily hailed from the streets. The fare system is based on distance. Fares begin at 7元 + 1元 for the first 3 km and go up incrementally 1.6元 every 1 km. Most locations in town can be reached with as little as 12元.

After checking in at the hotel, we walked to a eatery shop nearby for lunch and had a lovely meal of Mapo Tofo 麻婆豆腐 and Kung Po chicken 宫保鸡丁for 52元. On our way to The Elephant Trunk Hill 象鼻山, we passed by a travel agency and went in to make an enquiry on the entrance fee. We were quoted the official price of 150元; however we managed to bargain the price to 100元 for 2 persons. We also booked a Li River Cruise 漓江游 to Yangshuo for the next day. There were 2 packages; The first package is 420元 which includes a lunch box, travelling from Mopanshan pier 磨盘山码头 which cater mainly for Chinese locals. The second package is 570元 which includes a buffet lunch on board plus an accompanying tour guide 40元 and transport bus 100元 throughout the journey, travelling from Zhujiang wharf 竹江码头 mainly designed for foreign tourists to Yangshuo. We bargained again and got the deal at 640元 for two persons. The female clerk at the travel agency was kind enough, she offered to take us to the Xiangshan Park 象山公园, Binjiang Rd 滨江路 entrance to exchange our booking receipt for the entrance ticket. So we walked along the bank of Li River, crossing two traffic junctions and arrived at our destination in 10 minutes. We entered and explored the area, taking pictures of the beautiful scenery of the iconic landmark of Guilin. At the picture vintage point where we could see the elephant drinking water, we paid 10元 to have our picture taken with the cormorant bird and another 10元 for every photo printed; we bargained and got 4 printed photos for 30元. We exited Xiangshan Park 象山公园 at exit 3 onto the street.

Along the bank of the Li River, we saw the Sun and Moon Pagoda日月双塔 at the lake, so we walked across the road and had several pictures taken. Erecting from the water in the centre of Fir Lake 杉湖 (Shanhu), the Sun and Moon Pagodas are also called Gold and Silver Pagodas because of their colours at night. The Sun Pagoda日塔 is the world’s highest bronze pagoda, the world’s highest bronze pagoda with an elevator, and the world’s highest pagoda above water. The Sun and Moon Pagodas is a tourist site that combines culture, art, religion, architecture, technology and natural landscape. With a height of 41 meters, the Sun Pagoda has 9 stories. It is 2 stories taller than the Moon Pagoda. The Sun Pagoda is made of bronze, while the Moon Pagoda 月塔 is made of coloured glaze. They stand next to each other, reflecting the beauty of each other. From the Moon Pagoda to the Sun Pagoda, there is a 10-meter clear-glass tunnel that links the two under the water. When walking through the tunnel, one can see the fish above and on both sides. We walked back to our hotel for a rest.

By evening, the road in-front of the Sapphire Hotel turned into a pedestrian night market. We walked along the Zhongshan Zhong Lu, which is the main road and the longest commercial street with many big department stores and boutique shops, until we reached the Central Square 桂林中心广场. We had our dinner here, near the clock tower, trying the famous Guilin rice noodles 桂林米粉, a local delicacy. We waited at the city square looking at the Lijiang Waterfall Hotel 漓江大瀑布饭店. At 8:30pm gallons of water was seen pouring down from top of the building forming an artificial waterfall. It lasted for 10 minutes. Next, we walked along the lakeside admiring the beautiful lit up twin pagodas  and there were many cruise boats in the lake offering the 2 Rivers & 4 Lakes 两江四湖 Cruise tour. We walked back to our hotel and roamed the night market in-front of our hotel before we called in for the night.

Day 2: 23^rd October 2012 – Guilin to Yangshou

At 8:00am, we waited at the travel agency and were picked up by a tour guide onto a mini bus towards Jiefang Bridge 解放桥 where we were transferred to a bigger bus. On board the bus, was our pleasant tour guide for the rest of the day from Guilin to Yangshou. The 32 km journey from Guilin city center to Zhujiang Wharf took 40 minutes. There was not much waiting at Zhujiang Wharf although there were many other tour groups there as well. We were soon boarding the air-conditioned cruise boat. We stored our luggage and were seated on the lower deck while Chinese tea was served. As soon as the boat was on its way, we were allowed to go to the 2 upper decks. A gentle breeze caressed our faces and postcard-picture riverside scenery pleased our eyes. The beautiful and incredible scenery of hills and spectacular landscape reflected in the mirror of its crystal-clear water unfolded around us. Travelling the Li River 漓江 to Yangshuo 阳朔 is a journey of 54 km. The water level was low so the cruise boat had to go slower and took about 4½ hours to complete the journey. Among the highlights are CaoPing Scenery, Beauty of the Crown Cave 冠岩, Yangdi Scenery, LangShi Scenery, The Painted Hill of Nine Horses 九马画山, Xing Ping Scenery and The Five Fingers Hill五指山. We passed through two prominent towns of Yangdi 杨堤 and Xingping 兴坪.On board the boat, our tour guide show us the optional tour and we selected and paid 396元 for the Liu Sanjie Impression Show and 400元 for the Yulong River Rafting. We arrived at the beautiful and fascinating county town of Yangshuo 阳朔 at 3:30pm and we walked 10 minutes to our pre-booked hotel at River View Hotel 阳朔望江楼酒店, Binjiang Road 滨江路.

We were told to assemble at the KFC outlet in West Street 西街 at 4:30 pm where we were taken on a bus to our next destination, the Yulong River Rafting 遇龙河竹筏. The bamboo rafting is an unforgettable experience; we enjoyed the fresh air, gentle breezes, calm reflecting mirror-like water and appreciated the fabulous landscape seen on both sides of the Yulong River. We were also shown a demonstration of traditional fishermen fishing with his cormorant birds. The cormorants were released from the fishermen raft and with instruction from the fishermen of hitting the surface of the water, the cormorants dived in underwater and caught fish. The birds have rings around the base of their necks, so they can catch the fish but not swallow them. The cormorant returned to the raft after the fish was caught and the fishermen scooped up the bird with his rowing pole from the water. Holding on the neck of the cormorant, the fish were push out from the bird’s throat. Next, the raft stopped at bank of the river where we alighted and had a fun time feeding buffalos with corn leaves. Some tourists were seen riding on buffalos. The raft continued the journey and passed under the 600 year old Yulong Bridge until we reached a dam. The dam was built by the farmers to keep the water high enough to irrigate the farming lands. It was exciting and thrilling when the raft went over the dam. As the raft goes over the ridge, there was photographer snapping away our pictures. We boarded their make shift platform and choose our printed picture at 30元 for 2 pieces. After the rafting, we arrive back to Yangshuo by 6.00pm.

With 40 minutes in between the next event, we quickly took a bite at KFC, then we waited for another tour guide who took us on a van with some foreigners to the Liu Sanjie Impression Light Show 印象刘三姐. It was a little chaotic at the entrance with many tourists there for the 7:40pm show. We were lucky as we were given a pricier seat for the show at row 31 on an upper terrace. The show is performed at the Li River Landscape Theatre 漓江山水剧场 located at the junction of the Li River 漓江 and Tianjiahe River 田家河, facing the Shutong Hill 书童山 across the water. This is the world’s largest natural theater which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage and its backdrop that looks like real painting of Chinese hills when lighted up. It features a cast of more than 600 actors and actresses, from different ethnic groups of Dong 侗族, Yao 瑶族 and Zhuang 壮族 in tribe costume, and a highly impressive 70 minutes light show. Liu Sanjie Impression Light Show is directed by the world renowned Zhang Yimou 张艺谋, the same director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. After the show, we walked to a parked van waiting for us and rode back to the earlier pick up point. We walked the streets of West Street, which in the evening, becomes a bustling night market with stalls selling souvenirs, many bars for foreigners and with lots of people wandering on the streets. We returned to our hotel for the night.

Day 3: 24th October 2012 – Yangshuo to Guilin

We had breakfast and walked the other long tourist street of Diecui street 畳翠路 in  Yangshuo. At a travel agency, we bought the Silver Cave 銀子岩 tour at 150元. We were told to wait at the Yangshou People's Park entrance for a bus to take us there. Together with many other tourists, we boarded the bus and there was a tour guide on board. Silver Cave is located at the foot of Ligui Road in Lipu County about 20 km south of Yangshuo. We reached our destination and the tour guide distributed our entrance tickets to us. In the cave, there was another person who guided us in the 2 km walk, briefing us the various scenes and introduced us to one of the most impressive limestone caves in Yangshuo. After about an hour touring the cave, we exited and boarded our bus back to Yangshou. However the bus makes an unscheduled stop at a shopping outlet. Luckily, we recognized the location as it is just opposite the Liu Sanjie entrance. We told the guide that we were in a hurry to get to Guilin, so we left the group and walked towards the city center. Along the way, we saw a three wheeler motorbike taxi but when told of the fare of 30元, we declined and walked on. Then along the road, we saw a motorbike taxi, so we stopped the driver and rode 2 persons behind the driver at 6元 for the journey to our hotel. We told the driver to be extra careful on the road and he was a gentleman, steering cautiously through the traffic into town. In Yangshuo, there are not more than 20 taxis because they are limited by the government, so taxis are very expensive.

At our hotel, we ordered the famous local specialty Yangshuo Beer Fish 啤酒鱼 55元 and the dish really did live up to expectation – it was really good. Picking up our luggage, we hailed a three wheeler motorbike taxi for 10元 and rode to the bus station. The town's main bus station is at the corner where the major street Pantao Road 蟠桃路 and Diecui Road 畳翠路 meet. The intersection has a large open area that becomes very busy at night, with dozens of restaurants and hundreds of diners. We boarded an express bus 36元 to Guilin. Arriving at Guilin, the bus stopped behind the railway station, and we walked 10 minutes to our hotel down the Zhongshan South Road to our pre-booked hotel at Elan Hotel 怡莱酒店. By this time, we were quite tired, so for the evening, we did not venture into the city center but had a casual walk near the hotel.

Day 4: 25th October 2012 – Guilin to KL

At 8:10am our booked taxi 80元 was already waiting at the hotel to send us to the airport. Arriving at the airport, we had our breakfast and by 9:40am we were allowed to enter the departure hall and had our boarding pass issued at an Air Asia counter. After passing the immigration check point, we were soon on-board our flight back to Kuala Lumpur. We arrived KL at 3:00pm, ahead of schedule.

Fare for 2 persons

Elephant Trunk Hill entrance fee                    100元

Li River Cruise                                              640元

Liu Sanjie Impression Light Show                  396元

Yulong River Rafting, Cormorant Bird

Fishing, Buffalo feeding                                  400元

Silver Cave                                                    150元

Total in Yuan                                             1686元

Air Fare, tax, fee, insurance, seat                  RM800

Sapphire Hotel, Guilin                                  RM116

River View Hotel, Yangshuo                        RM  87

Elan Hotel, Guilin                                         RM100

West Guilin Yangshuo street - 2 in Guangxi Province

West St.(陽朔西街), Yangshou, Guangxi. CN in Guangxi Province

Next holiday destination posting: Japan (Osaka, Kyoto & Nara) – March 2013