my story: March 2016

DAY Ten+Eleven- 17+18 May 2015. GUILIN - SIGHT SEEING.

MAP OF SIGHTS SEEN ON DAY TEN+ELEVEN GUILIN : 17+18 MAY 2105 .

This is the screen shot of the map of places seen on day 10 and 11. of the trip . To see interactive map,go here.

Copy this link and paste it in URL bar:https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=zhhZ6ZYYuJgw.k2aqijuv-rco

This will open interactive map.Any clarifications about how to use this map,just send me a mail.

To see the complete album of photos on day Ten and Eleven,click here.

XIAN - TO - GUILIN.

On 17 may it was usual routine . Wake up call,breakfast,and morning photo op. Last night was late by the time we had reached hotel so was unable to take photos of the frontage of the hotel did so on today ie 17th.whenever we reach very late at hotel for night stay, it is to dark,to take photos of hotel interior and exteriors and surrounding areas.So on such tours I always use to time available before breakfast and after breakfast before the arrival of the coach to take photos of hotel interior and exteriors and surrounding areas. I have got some very good photos in this way. Like here Xian hotel photo taken on 17.

Entrance Sunda Gentleman International Hotel Xian

Another view Sunda Gentleman International Hotel Xian frontage.

Reception Sunda Gentleman International Hotel Xi'an

On arrival of coach we boarded the same and proceeded to Xian International Airport.Borded China Southern Airlines flight Flight,CZ 6378 from Xian-Guilin.It was an Airbus 737-700/800,and our seat numbes were 36K and 38 A. As the crow flies the distance was 1034 KMs.

Checking in at Xian International Airport.

On the way to boarding gate.Xion Airport .

On the way to boarding gate.Xion Airport .

Waiting to board the aircraft.Madhuri,Dilip and Priti.

Landed in Guilin aroun 1300h.

Landing run . Gulin International Airport.

Gulin International Airport.Waiting to collect the baggage.

Before going to the city,it may be in order to know a bit about the city of Guilin which we plan to visit.

GUILIN

(courtsey:Wiki,China Tour 360,Trip China Guide.)

Guilin is located between longitude 109°36′ - 111°29′E and latitude 24°15′ - 26°23′N.with average altitude of 150 meters(about 492 Feet.).Guilin has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate,with short,mild winters and long,hot,humid summers.Population of Guilin is 4,748,000 (statistics in 2010).City covers an area of Area: 10,730 square miles.

Its name means, "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city.City is dotted with lots of lakes.Li River flows through the city.
Guilin is famous for its most picturesque beauty in China. There is the popular saying “Guilin shanshui jia tian xia”, which means "Guilin’s mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven".The city is encircled by mountains with unusual and bizarre rock formations and caves.
Guilin has some of the most spectacular karst(Karst:landscape formed from the water soluble rocks/ground such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum) scenery in the world.Guilin and surrounding area has become a magnet for tourists both Chinese and foreign, and has a perpetual holiday atmosphere about it and one can marvel at Chinese agricultural ingenuity in the spectacle of the tiered paddy fields.

Now we may as well proceed beyound the Airport.

Through out the way from airport to the city, efforts to beautify the city and make it tourist friendly were clearly visible.

Outside view . Guilin Air port.

In the foyer, outside Guilin Airport.Beautified parking areas.Not to miss the waterpool and the fountains (not working when photo taken)

In the foyer, outside Guilin Airport. Modern art . Efforts to beautify the city . First impressions.

On the way to hotel our guide made a stop at one of the important tourist spot.For writing the blog in reasearch found the name.It is called,"Fir Lake Scenic Area". It is actually part of vasr area butified and made up of tourist attractions and this vast area and various tourist attractions are collectively called "Two Rivers and Four Lakes".
The Two Rivers:
The Li/Lijiang River.
Taohua Jiang.
The Four Lakes:
Fir Lake./Shanhu Lake
Ronghu Lake.
Guihu Lkae.
Xiging Lake.
The complete area around the lakes and river banks has been extensively developed at great expenses in terms of money as well as over years of development.All these water bodies are interconnected. With parks,wood areas developed and made all around .As added tourist attractions the area also has day and night boat rides of various durations and distances.

What we saw during this halt was only a small part of "Two Rivers and Four Lakes" and was called "Shanhu Lake Scenic Area", on Chinese Fir Lake Area.

"Fir Lake/Shanhu Lake Scenic Area".

As I had said earlier before we reached our hotel our local guide took us to see

"Fir Lake Scenic Area."

Main attraction here is Sun and Moon Towres.Ofcourse no efforts or money has been spared in making these places very beautiful and tourist friendly with well maintained and colourful gardens.
Sun and Moon towers . Also called Sun and moon Pagodas,

Golden Tower( Sun) and Silver Tower(Moon) are quite an eye-striking sights around.

The Golden Tower is a nine-storeyed architecture of 41 meters high. Built with copper, it ranks as the highest tower of its kind. The Silver Tower, 35 meters high, is decorated with colored glaze all through.The two towers are linked by under the water tunnel and aquarium.
Bearing colorful designs on the doors,windows etc. They look stately, yet graceful.

Unfortunately we never saw them at close range.All the photos were taken from a distance,from a place near the big white marbal sphere.Question of seeing unnder water tunnel connecting these towers and the aquarium around the tunnel,Just does not arise.Ofcourse it is also true that what I know now I did not know it then,else may be I would have insisted on spending a bit more time around thet place .

First halt after leaving Guilin airport . Near Fir Lake/Shanhu Lake Scenic Area.

Well maintained Gardens,street food,gift shops all made availaber for tourists

Sun Tower and the Moon Tower .

Sun and Moon Towers .

Fie Lake/Shanhu Lake, Scenic Area.Part of Two Rivers and Four Lakes Scenic Spot.

Kesari Group at Fir Lake/Shanhu Lake, Scenic Area.

Last Photo there .

This is the best photo of Sun and Moon Towers . It was taken from the coach when we were going to a spa at 1857 h.

Having spent 14 minutes at such a beautiful place ( Time of 1st photo 1345- time last photo 1359) we proceeded to the hotel .

Here we stayed at Hotel Universal.Hotel location is in the central Guilian with easy access to the main areas in town,Rooms located in the front of the hotel really have very good views of the Li River and riverfront.We were lucky to get a room with this fabulous vlew.

Entrance to the Lobby of Hotel Universal Guilin.

View from our room,Hotel Universal Guilin.

The bridge is on Lijiang River. Part of the two rivers and four lakes waterways complex.

View from our room,Hotel Universal Guilin.

Our room . Hotel Universal.

Front view Hotel Universal.

We stayed here .Hotel Universal Guilin.

Took a while for room allocation,collection of room keys.Setteling in the room and freshning-up.As per itenerary we were supposed to go to a spa for foot message.We were told that it was supposed to be one hour massage .

We were take to Shan Shui Spa.It is located in central Guilin.This was our first and as of now the only Experience of foot massage.The ambiance of the place was quite grand. After a little wait we went to a hall where around 20 odd reclining beds with raised headrests were placed.Our group occupied available beds.In a little while massage girls came.One,apparantly their supervisor, allotted one of them to each person of our group.The girls were young and reasonably good looking.Tubs,oils and lot of other herbs etc were kept at hand by these girl.Massage started by initially thoroughly washiny the feet,upto knee level.Then oil was applied and the massage commenced.One realises that it must be a learned skill . The hand pressure is varied constantly.Some time with just a teasing touch with almost no pressure and other times with some considerable force and pressure almost to the point of being painfu or just short of being painful.At times the rubbibg motions are replaced by kneading action.he bottom of the foot was also givin thorough pressur and kneading treatment.Each finger and the toes were pressed , pulled and kneaded.It was very pleasing experience and totally relaxing.Our feet were placed in the tub and it was filled with warm water.Oils applied earlier were thoroughly cleaned and wiped with soft towels and dried.A little bit of kneading of neck muscles and the the massage was over.We really fely totally relaxed and rejuvenated.
Initially I felt quite awkward.The feelling that one human being was,like a slave washing and massaging my feet was a bit unsettling.It was a strange experience but one,one got used to pretty quick :-)

Shan Shui Spa, Guilin .

Ambiance where spa was located was quite grand.

Foot massage Room.All ready for Foot massage.

Priti enjoying foot massage.

Neck getting the massage treatment after this it is all over.

After the massage we back to the Hotel. A quick visit to the room and on to the dining hall for Dinner.

Dinner 17 May 15.Universal Hotel ,Guilin, Opted for chinese dinner.

Typical serving of chinese food.One helping only.Central portion rotates.

Dining Hall. Dinner 17 May 2015, Hotel Universal, Guilin.

After dinner it was back to hotel.

17 May 2015. Night view from our room.

Night view from our room.Last photo for 17 May 2015.

Had sound and pleasant sleep.May be the effect of foot massage.

18 May 2015. As usual got ready and had a photo shoot before breakfast.Started from the room view.This time,instead of closer view went to the horizion.With a bit of zoom / without it also got some stunning scenes of Guilin topography.

Morning Mist over Li River/Lijiang River .

Morning Mist over Li River/Lijiang River

Morning Mist over Li River/Lijiang River

Panoramic view from our room .

In the lobby.

Breakfast . Before starting days excursions.

Li River Cruise

Today we were to go for Li River Cruise . Li River is also called Lijiang River. The cruise is considered one on the " must do " items for the tourists,Loacls as well as international.It is because of the very beautiful and fantastic scenic beauty.What makes it so beautiful is not only the greenery,the forest and wodded areas,the waterfalls made by the trubuteries joining the Li River but the extraordinary topography and typical and unique shape of the Guilin hills almost all along our cruise route. This is because Guilin has some of the most spectacular karst scenery in the world.Landscape formed from the water soluble rocks/ground such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum is called Krast.These beautiful Hills Have strong resembelance to the Shiva Lingam.

Here is the photo of pamphlet issued by China Tourism.

The picture sketch depicts various noteworthy and worth a dekho sites with their moniker.I wish the boat crew had used PA system to inform the tourist about various upcoming attractions.

Our cruise was to start from a place called Zhujiang Wharf of Zhujiang Visitor Center Li River Scenic Area .And end at Yangshou Wharf. At very approximation a distance of about 70 to 80 KMs.The distance from cast off to tieup was about 3 hours and 30 minuts.Enroute there is Xingping village on the leftbank.According to the pamphlet issued by China Tuorism,The run between Zhujiang Wharf and Xingping village is called Highlight Run.

Initially the scenery around was really captivating and we were really struck by the abundunt beauty of the hills,the vallies and the river.However after some time the samenaess of the beauty starts loosing its hold on our visionsry senses . When it is about to reach level of boredum there come couple of waterfalls to regain your interest.After the village of Xingping there is plenty of traffic tourists on the bamboo rafts with a motor all over the river and ones interest is rekindeled as we see lots and lots of these small boats going all over and around our big cruise boat.

Zhujiang Visitor Center . Starting point for Li River Cruise.

Lineup of Cruise River Boats at Zhujiang Wharf.Outermost boat will leave first.

Proceeding from Zhujiang Visitor Center to Zhujiang Wharf.

Rohan and Ashutosh Choudhari in photo

Our group boarding the boat.

Bridge of our cruise boat.

Cruise boat cabin interior.

On our way . Cruise begins.

Cruiseboat interior. Rohan and Deepa Chaudhari in photo.

Village colourful wharf building down the river.

On the Li River cruise.

Beautiful Guilin hills . Locals call them Mountains.

Waterfall , a change in scenery.

Beautiful Guilin hills . Locals call them Mountains.

Another town wharf . Seems minor tourist center.

Beautiful Guilin hills . Locals call them Mountains.

WOW,What shape. Road winding around its base can be seen.

Another waterfall .

This one bigger than the first.

A smaller tourist center . Mostly bamboo rafts .

I this part we saw mant bamboo boats.Actually they are plastic cylinders shaped to look like bamboos.

This part we saw many bamboo boats.Actually they are plastic cylinders shaped to look like bamboos.

Captivating scene . Bamboo rafts and the hills.

Scenery breaking waterfall :-)

It this portion maximum number individual peaks,hills are visible.Quit sight.

Li River cruise.

Li River cruise . Attractive looking building on the bank.

Approaching Village of Yangshou.Our destination and end of tour.

Yangshou Wharf

Yangshou Wharf.

On the firm ground photo in fron of Yangshou Historical and Cultural Site

Gift shops on the way from wharf to the parking lot.

Mini bus ride from the wharf to parking area.

Parking lot of tourist coaches . End of Li River Cruise.

Reed Flute Cave.

After settling down in the coaches at Yangshou coach Park. We proceeded to our next destination , which was Reed Flute Cave.

It is called so due to a type of Reed plants which grows in abdundance around the cave area.Locals make flutes out of this reed,hence the name.

It is located five kilometers (3 miles) northwest of the downtown of Guilin, on the southern shoulder of the Guangming Hill (Bright Hill).Distance to the cave was about 95 Kms from Yangshou.After about one hour and forty five minutes we reached parking lot of Reed Flute Cave.

Actual cave appered quite a bit away from the parking lot . As we could see quite a long paved aracade lined with lot of small shacks selling and displaying gift and decoration items and mementos.There were some shacks selling eatables as well.After the shops aracade we reached.A park built with zigzag path, elegant pavilions, ponds, bridges, plants and other garden structures.It is a beautiful park and is maintained in top notch condition.The greenery is so so green and verdant that it is unbelievable.After the garden the path stars ascending.It was quite a long and tough climb before we finally reach a

pavilion dugout from the hill side.However one does not mind as the way is very picturesque and beautiful.Here in pavilion,are located ticket counters and other public utilities and information.I noticed a board saying "Wall of Honour". Every thing else on the board was in chinese and one just could not figure out what the wall of honour was about.Neither the guide nor any one else could tell me any thing about it.

The Reed Flute Cave is a landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin. It is a natural limestone cave with multicolored lighting and has been one of Guilin’s most interesting attractions for over 1200 years. It is over 180 million years old. The cave got its name from the type of reed growing outside, which can be made into melodious flutes. Tthere are more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty. These aged inscriptions tell us that it has been an attraction in Guilin since ancient times.It was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing the Japanese troops. Nowadays, multicolored lightning artificially illuminates the cave.

After couple of hours of coach ride we reached Reed Flute Cave.In the aracade leading from parking lot toards the cave plenty of shanties selling mementos and gift items.

Beautifully maintained Park/Garden with zig zag path.Greenery is unbelievable.

The whole area around Reed Flute Cave has been designated as National Park.

After garden,path starts climbing ,

, and climbs,

, and climbs ,

.......and keeps climbing till we reach tickting counters.The whole route is quite beautiful.

Finally we reach the ticketing counters.

No one could tell me any thing about it.

After this we entered the cave itself.

The cave is 240 meters long .Tourists enter the cave and then take a U-shaped route for sight-seeing and to see different spots, whereupon they exit it from another cave quite near the entrance one. One trip lasts about one hour.

When you enter the Reed Flute Cave, your eyes will be feasted with a large display of stone formations, such as stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone flowers, stone curtains, stone mushroom and so forth. If you look at each one with your imagination, you will surprisingly find every stone has its equivalence in the real life. Some are like the human figures, some resemble the animals, some are similar to the famous flowers, and some look like the fruit and vegetables. What is more, pagodas, forest, fish, waterfall, canyon, peanut, carrot are all available here. Even the artists and craftsmen dare not to say they outmatch the nature in making the fine works of art. It is no wonder Reed Flute Cave is reputed as 'The Palace of the Natural Arts'. AS is human nature , the Chinese have also given names to various formations depending on its resembelance to real life objects,such as Crystal Palace, Dragon Pagoda, Virgin Forest, Flower and Fruit Mountain and other interesting names. For some of these names, you need to use your imagination, but the story behind each is quite fun.The most liked formations are Rose Dawn Over Lion Peaks and Crystal Palace .( Para,courtsey Chinese Tour Guide web sites).

Stalactites and Stalagmites. Reed Flute Cave .

Stalactites and Stalagmites. Reed Flute Cave .

Stalactites and Stalagmites. Reed Flute Cave .