‘WHAT A MAGNIFICENT BREATH-TAKING VIEW OF GUILIN, CHINA.‘

Written by Ken Hua

(1,173 words) Tuesday, 20th March 2007

Revised 28^th December 2015

Last December I had the opportunity to visit China for the second time and I got so excited because when I went there last time, I only stopped over at Shenzhen City for one day to see my first cousin and his family and I just had a glance of the city and left on the same day with much regret because of time limit. That was nearly nine years ago. I told myself that I had to see a lot more this time; otherwise I would leave the country with great regret again.

On 18th December, I boarded on the Southern China Airline at Shenzhen City for Guilin, the Capital City of Quangxi Province. The airport facility was quite modern and the plane was comfortable and on time. The service was excellent. Since China has applied the ‘open door’ for the past twenty-five years, China has progressed steadily in every aspect and is still going strongly. It took two hours to reach the destination. The tour guide and the driver at Guilin airport with a big smile picked the travelers up at about 10.30pm. The weather was quite chilly at that time in Quilin since it was winter at that time in China. It was so late at night so the tour guide and the driver took us to the hotel to rest and we would have the sightseeing the next day. Since it was off peak travel season, so there was only a group of five travelers including me.

On the third day of the tour and it was also the most exciting of the tour. We were aboard on the boat carrying about 30 travelers and mostly travelers from other parts of China who had heard the renowned attraction of this magnificent view of Guilin. There were some local travelers too. We were to travel about 47 kilometers on Lijiang River from Guilin to Yangso district. Along the river, there were splendid green mountains on both sides of the river and they formed into different shapes, as the boat was moving along, I could see the gorgeous and spectacular scene.

Sometimes I went up to the deck to have a better view of the mountains. I looked at the beautiful sky, took a good breath of the fresh cool air then looked at the splendid beautiful mountains right in front of me. I tried to open my two arms to embrace the mountain not too far away. I was amazed at the beauty of the nature; I thanked God who had created this natural beauty for His people to enjoy. I wished that I could stay on the boat much longer to enjoy this magnificent view.

Occasionally we saw little boats passing by on the calm tranquil water and people on the boats were waving to us. The surroundings were so peaceful, tranquil and relaxed, travelers were laughing and chatting happily while the boat was cruising along leisurely in this perfect winter day. This magnificent view was beyond words for me to describe and I must admit that I have never seen such a beautiful view in my life before and I was very impressed of what I had seen. No wonder there is a saying ‘The landscape of Guilinis the best of all on the planet and today I had this golden opportunity to view this breath-taking spectacular view on earth. During the trip, I befriended with an American traveler with his Chinese partner and every now and then we had a good chat each other.

On the same night, we went to see a live open door live show. The show was directed by one of the most famous directors in China. The weather was very chilly cold and I had to hire a parka to keep myself warm. The show lasted for more than one hour and it was full of excitement. The set up of the stage was just fantastic and impressive and the music on the background was very advanced. All the actors, singers with their beautiful dresses acted very professionally then there were the elegant dancers danced beautifully in front of thousands of audience. There were the smart looking ethnic children singing their native songs.

I think they must have set up the stage in a special method. Most of the show was performed in the water. The acting was just superb. The audience enjoyed the show enormously despite the cold weather. I have never been to such a live show performing so spectacularly before. Once again I am afraid that it is beyond words for me to describe what I have witnessed.

The next day, we were taken to two different caves. I was amazed at the wonder of nature, which has created such a beautiful scene. Inside the caves there were hundreds and hundreds of different beautiful shapes and colors of stones in the caves. The stones were formed over millions and hundred thousand years ago and I was amazed about the beauty of nature. A lot of times, I looked at these beautiful stones attentively and sometimes the tour guide had to call me to hurry up because other travelers were waiting for me. I was so impressed of what I had seen, I said to myself: ‘Guilin is so beautiful and I wish I could stay behind to enjoy this beautiful view.’ The echo came back and all the travelers were looking at me.

On that night, we went to a special street for night shopping. That street was the most popular street visited by most travelers from other provinces in China and travelers from overseas. Visiting this special street for night shopping was a very good experience. There were ten and hundreds of handicraft, fashion, antique etc. There were also restaurants offering different cuisines and the specialty of the street was that there were quite a few bars with live band music playing English pop music and there were overseas travelers having a drink in the bar while listening to the music. Travelers were trying to get the best bargain for the items they purchased. I usually liked to collect some handicraft items and this time was no exception.

I was very impressed what I had seen in Guilin. There are still a lot more attractions to explore in China but for now I have just discovered Guilin,one of the very bestlandscape on this planetand it’s beautiful spectacular scenery will always be in my dreams. After Guilin, I would set feet in some other tourist attractions in China before heading home – Sydney, Australia!

Oh, what a wonderful, magnificent spectacular breath-taking view of Guilin and I told myself if opportunity allowed, I would come here for a second visit or maybe third visit but in the meantime, it is Good-bye, Guilin for now!