Guilin & Rice Terrace: 2N/3D

December 2017    Itinerary Link

No, we did NOT see that! December in Guilin was chilly but not cold enough for snow.  So what we got were barren fields and closed restaurants when we went to Longsheng Rice Terrace, and it took a great deal of imagination to picture the possible beauty of the place. We started out from Yangshuo, so the over 3-hour drive was even longer than what it would have been had we started from Guilin.

It was easy to imagine how crazy this place could be in tourist season. One must drive through narrow streets up the mountain trying not to hit other cars and people. In my opinion, the rice terrace area of Longsheng attracts way more tourists than they can possibly accommodate and has lost its magic. The private car and guide cost us about $200. Was it worth it? I am not eager to say.

By the time we got dropped off at our Airbnb room (turned out to be a small inn) in the center of Guilin, it was getting dark and started raining. Just a few steps from our lodging, we came across a wonderful Chinese and Western(hamburgers and such) restaurant with modern decor attracting the younger crowd. I know it sounds iffy, but the food was great.

When I told people we were planning to go to Guilin, they seemed to imagine Chinese hero movies with martial arts and swords – with the karst peaks in the background. The next morning we walked along Lijiang riverbank and came across the closest thing to that we ever saw in this town: modern ballroom dancing.

reality

imagination

Our inn was right next to the Central Square and Shanhu Lake & practically on Zhongshan Middle Road, the Broadway of Guilin,  even though the entrance was on a side street. We slowly discovered how convenient this was to see, eat and shop. Right behind(north) the Central Square was Zhengyang pedestrian street full of restaurants, cafes, and stores of all kinds – full of locals. Between the southern end of that street and the lake sat a night market that had tons more shops geared toward tourists.

Our simple lunch of noodles and pretty buns at a department store food court was about $5. A cafe on the pedestrian street. No sword fight on these streets. Two pagodas on Shanhu Lake. Yes, it was as delicious as it looked!(dinner for two was about $20 with beer)  And, Santa came to town!

Guilin North Station was about 20 minutes north and a $4 cab ride. We took 10:30 AM bullet train to Shenzhen from here & said goodbye to the karst peaks. We were glad we went to Yangshuo first and saw enough of the scenery so we did not have to expect a lot from Guilin. With 1.3 million population, Guilin is not the old idyllic, beautiful river town any longer. It was a nice enough modern town, though.