On the final day of the trip, after several days of nonstop walking and sightseeing, we were completely worn out. By then the two of us had retreated into a private booth at an internet café just to enjoy the air-conditioning for a while. It felt like the right moment to do a mid-project recap of everything from the past few days.
Strictly speaking, this was called a Guilin trip, but we actually covered several places along the way. It really was a journey of crossing hills and water.
The route looked roughly like this:
And, in proper office-worker fashion, there was not only a route plan but also a brainstorming mind map before the trip. Of course, the actual trip didn’t follow the plan exactly, and quite a few parts turned out differently in practice. That probably means this travel diary may need to be split into several entries eventually, because most of what comes to mind right now is still scattered and fragmentary.
Elephant Trunk Hill Scenic Area
There are bamboo rafts inside the scenic area, and I can only describe them as the most profitable bamboo rafts imaginable. The ride circles the lake for about ten minutes. The price was around 50 yuan per person, or 100 yuan for a private raft for two.
During the ride, my boss somehow got hit on the head. Not by me—the canopy on the raft collapsed and smacked them instead. Fortunately it was light, so the two of us just held it up and finished the loop like that.
The Wine Cellars
Elephant Trunk Hill itself can be climbed, but we were on a tight schedule and decided not to go up. Climbing still takes real energy, and by then we were already conserving what little stamina we had left.
On the shaded side of the hill there are quite a few wine cellars built into the rock. Even just passing by, you can smell a heavy, lingering aroma of liquor in the air.
The Hat Incident
While we were crossing a bridge, a gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew my boss’s hat straight into the water.
From that point on, it seemed like every passerby had to point us out: “Look, their hat fell into the water!”
The Sun and Moon Twin Towers
The best viewing angle for the Sun and Moon Twin Towers is from directly across from them, just outside Zhengyang Pedestrian Street.
Quite a few people were there taking photos. The picture below is a bit blurry, since the camera shots hadn’t been sorted through yet, but it will do for now.
East-West Alley and Prince Jing’s Mansion
If you’re heading to Prince Jing’s Mansion, you’ll pass through East-West Alley first. The area is divided into eastern and western sections, both lined with small shops. It has that familiar, almost standardized tourist-street feel you can find all over the country.
Admission to Prince Jing’s Mansion was 100 yuan per person, and I’d call it one of the best places to visit in Guilin. There are a few reasons for that:
- It has a strong sense of history and culture, and there are guides on site. The guided explanation is free.
- The ticket includes a visit to Solitary Beauty Peak. If it gets too late in the day, you can ask the guide to sign for you and return once for free within three days.
- Some parts tied to folk beliefs and ritual practices, such as the Tai Sui cave and blessing-related areas, cannot be photographed.
Solitary Beauty Peak itself is also considered special: it is said to correspond to the dragon’s tail in relation to the dragon’s head, much like Jingshan in the Forbidden City context. That alone makes it worth visiting.
The image below was taken from the top of Solitary Beauty Peak and shows only one corner of the buildings below. I didn’t photograph the whole complex, because the many visible artificial additions were a little distracting. Bright, oversized surveillance cameras hung under the eaves, and the small rooms were completely empty.
Seven Star Scenic Area
We didn’t go.
A woman we met on the way talked us out of it. According to her, it was more of a hybrid between an amusement park and a public park, which didn’t really fit the kind of itinerary we had planned, so we skipped it.
That’s probably enough for now. By the time I looked at the clock, it was already 4:30, and we still had a flight to catch later.
So that was Guilin—or at least this portion of it.