China 2013
Train station in Guilin.
People without tickets can't get inside train stations in China
Guilin. Another modern
city growing fast
To be fair, we didn't see
much of this in China
Calligraphy in the park.
Respect!
Retired people like to
spend time together. Playing cards is popular
Guilin. Forbidden City
gate made of umbrellas
There are many places in
China where you can see panda, and Guilin is one of them
Famous Elephant Trunk
Hill. Cormorants are there for tourists who want to take pictures
Great view from Fubo Hill
in Guilin
Fubo Hill
On the way to the Reed
Flute Cave
Reed Flute Cave. One of
many in the area
Reed Flute Cave. It's
entrance was once distinguished by clumps of reeds used to fashion
musical instruments
Visiting a tea plantation.
Green tea is being dried
A pot of first-class green
tea is ready
Evening in Guilin. People
come to the river for a swim
Evening view from Fubo
Hill
The moon is rising behind
the mountains
Main attraction of
Guilin area is the Li River. Absolutely amazing scenery!
Li river cruise from
Guilin to Yangshuo
Li River
Li River and karst
landscape draw thousands of tourists
Li River
Somewhere between Yangdi
and Xingping
Somewhere between Yangdi
and Xingping
Xingping, great place to
stay for a couple of days away from the crowds
Old part of Xingping
Playing cards is very
popular in China
At first, I couldn't
believe this was stone!
This view appears on 20
yuan note and makes Xingping famous
Morning view from one of
the hills near Xingping. Unfortunately it was misty, but still worth
the climb
Walking near Xingping
Main shopping street in
Yangshuo, out second (after Xiahe) favorite town in China
Fruit sellers in Yangshuo
Evening in Yangshuo.
Street leading to our hotel
This is the view from the
roof of our hotel
Yangshuo is very touristy,
but we didn't mind, maybe because that's what we expected
Water Cave - if you visit
only one cave in Guangxi province, make it this one
Not everybody likes those
colorful lights, but it's well illuminated and very impressive
Stalactites and
stalagmites here are probably the best I've seen, not just in China
Swimming in the vast pool
of mud was the highlight for us
Next we took our time in
the hot springs. It doesn't get much better than this!
The best thing about the
Water Cave - Chinese tours don't come here, so it's practically empty
Cycling near Yangshuo
There are many small roads
and villages to explore
Graves in one of the
villages
Yulong River, where
Chinese tourists come for bamboo boat rides
Boats are stacked together
and taken back upstream, ready for the next trip