Guilin, literally meaning ‘osmanthus forest’ has a rich history dating back over 2000 years. During the Han dynasty, (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) the city emerged as an important transport hub on the newly constructed Ling Canal, which connected the Pearl and Yangtze rivers. Much of its rich heritage was erased after the 1949 revolution and today’s visitors are here to enjoy the magnificent landscape of unique tooth-like limestone pinnacles, rather than the post-communist vision of wide boulevards, and industrial architecture.
Some of the most spectacular and unique scenery China has to offer can be found in the countryside surrounding the small market town of Yangshuo. Here one enters a pastoral utopia where glistening tributaries of the Li River snake between unusual rock formations while the water buffalo slink between the bamboo groves and paddy fields. The more active can enjoy scenic bike rides and walk further upstream to where flocks of wild ducks splash with children and lone cormorant fishermen practice a dying art.
The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is a melting pot of Chinese minority culture that stretches out to the breathtaking Dragon’s Backbone Terraces. The seven hundred year old agrarian project spirals into the mountains where Yao women with their ankle length hair still till the land. Deeper into the hills reside the homelands of the Miao famous for their unique hand embroidered textiles and the Dong with their elegantly carved Wind and Rain bridges. The region remains one of the best places to experience the beauty and diversity of rural China and makes for an important contrast to any tour.
