GUILIN - CHINA

MAINLAND CHINA EXTRAVAGANZA – Postikorttikiina

Good Morning!

#guilin#postcard#google images

Hong Kongin huvipuistojen ja intensiivisen kouluviikon jälkeen suuntasimme katseemme kohti mannerkiinaa. Mulla oli jäljellä kiinan double entry viisumista toinen visiitti ja ajattelin, että matka Guiliniin ja sen lähistölle voisi olla hieno homma. Tänne siksi, että mesta tarjoaa huvipuiston (kyllä siellä sellainenkin on) sijaan enemmänkin palan hienointa Kiinaa. 

Our room in the train

Meillä kävi vielä säiden kanssa tuuri eikä saaste pilannut täysin näkymiä. Matkaaminen kohteeseen tapahtui Junalla Shenzhenistä. Yliopistoltamme pääsee siis suoraan metrolla mannerkiinan puolelle noin 25 minuutissa. Jopa erityinen Shenzhen viisumi on helppo saada aamulla jos ei ole tarvetta käydä muualla Kiinassa kuin kyseisessä kaupungissa. Tuossa kaupungissa asustelee vähän yli kymppimiljoonaa kansalaista ja muutamia hyvin mielenkiintoisia elementtejä on esim. rajanylitys lapsille, jotka on käyty synnyttämässä Hong Kongissa. Nämä lapset sitten saavat luvan käydä koulua Hong Kongissa ja heitä kuljetetaan isoina ryhminä omista pisteistään. Löytyyhän lentokentältä toisaalta jonot filippiiniläisille kotiapulaisille myös eli tehokkuus on täällä ykköshommia. 

Happy dim sum

Junamatka mannerkiinan sisällä kesti 13 tuntia ja vähän päälle. Paikanpäällä tehokkaasti vierailimme postikorttikiinan maisemissa ja täytyy sanoa, että aika vaikea kuvailla yhdellä sanalla Guilinin meininkiä. Taitaa olla jonkunlainen sekoitus Swedish house mafian keikkaa, luonnonpuistoa, Super marioa, Kiinalaista turistiryhmää ja vanhoja perinteitä….tarvitsen syvempään analyysiin enemmän kuin 4 päivää paikanpäällä.

 Trip to Guilin

After an intensive week of presentations and Chinese it was time to head to Mainland China. I had applied for a double entry visa and only spent one entry during my Beijing Trip. On Thursday 11^th after my Chinese lesson we took the MTR to Shenzhen…which is easier than taking the MTR to Hong Kong island from the Uni. After some very messed up conversations with our beginners Chinese we ended up getting tickets to the Guilin long distance train 30 minutes before the train departed. This train ride was going to be a 13 hours ride so we stacked up on food from a kiosk and just made it to the station on time. The room provided for us was very nice indeed and there was even boiling water for our food ready to be poured on those ultra healthy instant noodles. All in all the train experience was more fun than I though it would be…we had heard some bad stories from people who ended up with standing tickets for a similar journey.

Downtown Guilin 

Since the train departed in the evening we arrived in Guilin early in the morning all fresh and ready to explore the area. This is when the bargaining started too. I tried to buy a map and we immediately noticed that the trip is going to be a rip off without some good bargaining tactics. Fortunately beginners Chinese helped us quite a lot again since we had just learned the last week how to bargain and complete sentences around that theme. After taking the bus downtown we almost accidentally spotted one of the hostels we had written down and asked them for a price for our rooms. Our accommodation for 2 nights in Guilin cost about 12 euros per person…and this is for a really nice room!

Li River

This morning got even more productive since we were on a bus to Li river area already 11am. Once we got to the riverside it was time to cruise the river for a couple of hours and see the idyllic landscape in the area. We stated that it’s almost like searching through Google images while exploring Guilin.  This cruise got a surprising ending though as the end location was not Guilin. What happened was we got dropped off on some interstate and some random couple stopped a van for us to go back to Guilin. Great success because we even got a random gift (a box of spicy cookies?) from some Chinese student in the van.

Cruising the Li River

Back in the downtown area we noticed the amount of electric scooters as well as lack of rules to drive them. The other thing was that Guilin was somewhat different with its architecture than I had expected if only the main street and downtown area is taken into account…perhaps the tourism industry has shaped it to be the Disneyland of Chinese culture. Every single little peak and park had an entrance fee (negotiable) though our student I.D was very helpful in bargaining. The other thing we got to see during the first evening was the elephant trunk hill as well as all the extravaganzas/light shows going on in the parks. The ICBC building in Guilin is perhaps one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen during my exchange. The fact that this enormous black block with LED extravaganza next to the most traditional looking Chinese buildings exists is hilarious. 

?

Marioworld?

The next morning our hostels reception recommended us to have breakfast in congee city. This place was a point and pick type of dim sum palace. With very low prices and great flavors we were thankful for our hostels people for advising us to go to such a place! The dining habits of the locals were of course somewhat interesting since half of the things end up on the floor but that makes the morning much more entertaining!

What happens in Guilin after the sun goes down...

The other must do thing in this place is the rice fields that we though are just right next door…after a 2 hour ride to the location we changed our mind. The way to see the place is the greatest scenery and even the sun began to shine because we had ordered perfect of weather for that day! This place is also a lot of walking, hiking, steps and all that action. You are able to buy a ride up the hill…this is 2 people carrying you for some RMB (we did not use this transportation though).

Finally on the top

Rural China

The rice fields

The day at the rice fields was quite long but the work out really pays off! It was utopia once we got to the top of the hills…especially the less crowded areas. There is a possibility to spend many days hiking in this place and I wish we had had more time to explore the fields. A night at a hostel there is probably pretty cool with a sunset and sunrise over the valley. Great stuff! The evening continued with another very confusing conversation at the Guilin train station.  We finally managed to get tickets back to Shenzhen after some beginners Chinese. By the way there isn’t a way to book tickets online for the trains.

Ummm...how did you buy tickets in Chinese again?

The last day in Guilin began with a visit to the Reed Flute caves. We just hadn’t experienced enough LED lights and extravaganza since this cave is some hilarious stuff again. It is great scenery but a monorail and a multimedia show inside the cave? Even though it is a little bit too much we were stunned and what is even better is the photo stand inside the cave. These groups of people who probably had a pre paid photo in every stand just walked in front of the camera having for example cashew nuts wouldn’t stop eating more when the photo was taken...it was fun to observe. Another great thing we spotted was a show called ‘’turtle prime minister’’ which we did not want to pay to see but the name is pretty epic.

Yes. Amazing.

The hollywood photo stand inside the cave

''You have 3 minutes until the lights go off''

The monorail to the caves...

The weather kept getting better and better so we decided to be sporty and hiked up one more hill to see Guilin one more time before the train ride home. The moment on the top of this last hill could be one of the top moments of this exchange. This trip will be remembered for quite a while and if you’re planning to go to China you have to see Guilin and it’s surroundings!

2013 Crew wishes you a rice filled year!

The last hike