It is said that Guilin is the most beautiful city in China and its ‘ethereal beauty’ has attracted poets and artists for over 1,000 years. I’m not sure they would feel the same in 2009, but I get the gist. Guilin is first recorded in documents in 214BC when the first emperor of China ordered the construction of the Ling canal. It is one of the oldest in the world and still exists, although we cannot find it! We have 2 days here to explore and visit the rice terraces.
6th August 2009
GUILIN: NOT SO BEAUTIFUL ACTUALLY…
Guilin is named after the fragrant osmanthus tree and saw its first inhabitants in Qin Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Guilin prospered and flourished in Tang, Song, Ming and Qing under patronage from succeeding Emperors.
Guilin’s reputation as one of the worlds most a beautiful places has become established over hundreds of years and ranks second on China list of the 10 best tourist destinations. We assumed with this accolade that we would have a lot to see!
To best explore the city we used a ‘walk’ that we found in one of my guide books. It takes you past the places of significant interest within the city. We set off a little later than planned so we did the Dani & Lizzie condensed version.
As we walked down the Li river we were accosted by one of the many Chinese ‘walking tour guides’. He introduced himself as Colin (!) and then tried to book us up to trips and take us to specific restaurants, where he would clearly get commission. We managed to ditch him after a while but it is difficult because you feel so rude telling them to do one, or ignoring them. We discovered I have real trouble being rude to people face to face and shaking them off, so I am not allowed to talk to anyone anymore – Lizzie is in charge of that.
We then discovered some horrific flavouroed ice lollies. What is wrong with this country?
As we walked along the river we saw Elephant Trunk Hill quoted as being an ‘endearing symbol of the city’. It is basically a big rock that sprouts out from the river looking slightly like an elephant taking a drink. Because of this, the Chinese have planted trees along the river blocking the view to make it seem more impressive that it actually is. And then charge £2.50GBP just to go and look at it. We were of course some of the many who were duped in to this. It was rubbish. Can you IMAGINE Enland charging £2.50 for people to see this?
It is getting increasingly frustrating that China charges for every minor attraction going. I really appreciate how liberated England is and how much of the country and its attractions we can see for free. If China had a Lake District, they would build a massive wall around it, erect a Disney-theme-park-entrance and charge £50GBP per person for entry. If China thinks something is even slightly of interest, they will call it by a fancy name, then whack a toll booth on it. Our money is running out!
We walked around the outskirts of town. Past the theatre, which sadly looks like a multi-storey car park. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon at Seven Star park, which the rough guide says is ‘the MUST DO of any stay in the city’ even with the £6 entrance fee. Yes £6! Compared to what else is on offer in Guilin, it is probably worth it. It is no Central Park.
There are 2 good things about walking along the river. The first is watching all the locals fishing and swimming together. It is hub of the city and the inhabitants really utilise the river for activities with their families and friends.
The second is finding the little out of the way restaurants that are not listed in any of the guide books. We landed upon a tiny place that served French and Italian food, where I managed to get a prawn cocktail! As always, with the Lies of China it was advertised as being PILED HIGH with prawns. Literally, in capitals, on the sandwich board outside. There were exactly 5. I also had an imported NZ steak – brilliant.
Overall Guilin has been a disappointment and if we had known, we would have skipped it altogether. The guide books intimate a small beautiful town, which Guilin is definitely not. The karsts within the city are nice, unusual even and I guess by Chinese standards it may be beautiful for a city – but it is no London or York. The architecture is beyond average and the beauty lies only in fact that they kept the karsts and built around them, rather than destroying them, like they have done with most everything else in the country.
Overall, the best thing about the city is the river. Old people sitting nearby during the day in huge groups, playing mah-jong and cards together. Socialising and eating lunch. In the evening, couples and families sit listening to the buskers under the Osmanthus trees, which are lit up with coloured lights. Nice enough, but definitely not worthy to be ranked 2nd place in China.
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