20070824_0299 This was the first time I had been to Guilin, the pride of China. What a tourist Mecca! Plenty of Caucasian foreigners, unlike Huangshan, and a lot of the Chinese we saw were tourists from Hong Kong (well, the Chinese at the tourist sites, anyway). One day we got a great deal where our group of five spent just 70 yuan (kuai) for a tourist guide and a van driver to see a number of tourist sites for six hours...

20070824_0305 But there is no such thing as a free lunch, since our first stop-off was to a 'minority village' named after a the 'Fairy Singer' Liu Shan Jie 刘三姐, which we would never have gone to by ourselves.

20070824_0314 Still, the show was entertaining. This tumbling act looks pretty hard on the boy's back

20070824_0318 ...and hard on his stomach as well.

20070824_0321 There was a short Chinese Opera performance as well.

20070824_0323 One of the hills in the middle of Guilin ' Solitary Beauty Peak (Du Xiu Feng)'. This is a memorial to Sun YatSen.

20070824_0324 I think this is a memorial to Sun Yat Sen as well. Soliatry Beauty Peak is recommended in the tourist guide. However, the entrance fee was much higher than quoted in the Lonely Planet.

20070824_0326 Soliatry Beauty Peak. An engraving of Confucius.

20070824_0327 Inside the hill are shrines to various gods, one for each year.

20070824_0333 The view on top of Solitary Beauty Peak (it was raining)

20070824_0337 ...and we were taken to a cave 穿山岩 (ChuanShanYan), wonderfully (or perhaps luridly) lit up for visitors. There must be lots of caves around Guilin, because this one was not listed in Lonely Planet, but two other ones were.

20070824_0338 More scenes from the cave.

20070824_0340 I think the tourist guide gets a kick-back from each of these tourist sites...more about that later.

20070824_0346 Great reflections in the cave ponds.

20070824_0353 The day trip also included a short boat cruise down the river. This is the Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiang Bi Shan).

20070824_0353 Elephant Trunk Hill. We could have also seen it from the bank of the river, if we walked about ten minutes from our hotel.

20070824_0357 Another hill on the boat cruise, this one has a cave in it. I think the hill is called Fubo Shan, and the cave is called Huan Zhu Dong (returned pearl cave). The tourist guide also tried to take us to some shop, which we refused to get out of the van for.

20070825_0359 The next day we went on a full day boat cruise. The people who sold us the tour also sold us cheap bus tickets to the dock. The bus had an obligatory stop at some tourist shop. Toilets were at the back...

20070825_0372 Ahhh, boat cruise at last!

20070825_0377 On the way to Yangshuo. Plenty of Mandarin speaking families were tourists this time. Nikon SLRs seem to be a favourite...

20070825_0379 Lunch is prepared fresh on board (this is another boat). This tourist boat was 'tailed' by a fishing boat, which obliged by providing freshly caught fish every now and again. A standard, and very satisfactory, lunch was included in the ticket price. But for a mere 888 yuan (kuai) you can buy a banquet for several people....

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20070825_0389 After a while, all the hills begin to look the same.

20070825_0391 But some hills are truly great!

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20070825_0417 On the way to the best known caves in Guilin (Ludi Yan, the Reed Pipe Cave). The taxi trip only cost ten yuan (kuai). The reason was obvious, because we saw the taxi driver pick up and deliver his commision invoice for his 'delivery' of us four tourists.

20070825_0423 This cave is recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. It was also recommended by one of the hotel reception staff who did not stand to benefit from any choice I made.

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20070825_0435 Reed Pipe Cave, the Crystal Palace

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20070825_0449 At the exit of the Reed Pipe Cave path, you are farewelled by a lion dancer!

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