Wandering Fel

Hiking is recommended if you visit Yao Mountain in spring but since we visited the mountain in October, we obviously took the easiest path to the park, the cable car ride. The climb was pretty nice because the mountain is surrounded with lush green. The cable car ride took us around 20 minutes one way. It costs 40 RMB one way and 75 RMB two-ways. 

After we alighted at the station on the peak, we can see the surrounding scenery. Does the mountain remind you of the scene from Chinese movie or Kung Fu Panda?

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Closer look at the mountainous terrain of Guilin. It really looks like a scenery from Chinese movie where the main characters and the villain fight while jumping from one mountain to another mountain. 

There are so many things to see at the top apart from the scenery. For instance there is this sun dial which tells us about the time I suppose? 

Bailu Temple is also located at the top of Yao Mountain. Buddhist visitors can do a praying here at the top of the mountain. 

We spent approximate one hour at the top. Visitors can relax, rest and shop at the souvenir store located here. Once you have enough fun, you can make your way down via the same cable car. The view is getting better as we come down the mountain as it is not as foggy down here. 

The cable car ride opens everyday from 8:30am to 6:00pm. If you want to take the public transportation, you can take bus no. 24 and get off at Tombs of Prince Jingjiang stop, which is only 5 minutes walk from the entrance. Alternatively, taking a cab from the city center costs about 30 RMB. 

Crown Cave is the most famous scenic spot in the area. The cave got its name because it is located beneath the crown-shaped hill. It is also known as Guangyan (re: Light) Cave because there is a gleam of light from the ceiling of the pitch dark cave. As the cave is dark, the government has installed lights inside the cave so that tourists can admire the rock formation inside the cave without having to bring their own torchlight. LOL.

Inside the cave, visitors can admire the naturally created cave and rocks. There is a calligraphy drawn on this particular rock.

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The lights installed inside in Crown Cave has many colors and as such it allows visitors to see the rock formations like some kind of scenery. I have to say that the Chinese is very creative here. Hahaha. 

The combination of the stalactites, stalagmites and stone pillars plus the colorful lights will capture your imagination and make you want to stay here to admire the beauty of the Crown Cave for a long time. 

The admission fee for visiting Crown Cave is RMB80 for adults. Children between 3.9 and 4.9 feet (1.2 to 1.5 metres) enjoy 50% discount from the adult price. Crown Cave opens from 8.30AM to 16.30PM everyday. You should definitely visit Crown Cave when you visit Guilin. 

How to go to Crown Cave:

You can either take cab or take a direct bus from Guilin Main Bus Station located at No. 427, Zhongshan Road (South). The bus journey costs around RMB13. 

You will not see the usual stage, lighting, camera, and sound system. This is because Impression Liu San Jie is the world largest natural theater. The play utilises the waters of the Li River as its Stage, with twelve mist shrouded hills and the heavens as its backdrop. Mist, rain, moonlight, the hills and their inverted reflections in the river act as the stage props. The seats are designed on terraces so everyone will be able to see the performance without being blocked. 

The production of the play took 5 years and 5 months and it involves more 6,000 performers. There are a lot of residents of Yangshuo who work as the performers during the night while doing their daily job during the day. Some of the performers are still young, in school age. 

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The Impression of Liu San Jie tells a story derived from the daily life of the people living around the Li River. From these stories, you will gain a realistic impression on the background of Sanjie, a fairy singer, her birthplace and the beauty of the folk songs' hometown. 

This part of the play is really amazing. It is basically telling us a story about the daily life of fishermen making a living in the sea. In the middle the whole play changed toward farmers who earn living by planting rice. Awesome play! 

The last chapter of the impression is very grand. It involves over 200 ladies forming a long column across the bridge over the Li River. The dresses make the river shines mysteriously. Cool!

There are two timings for the show: 19:45 and 21:20.

Admission Fee:

Regular seat: CNY198

VIP seat: B2 CNY238, B1 CNY320

President Seat: A2 CNY480, A1 CNY680

Children above 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) -> See adult tickets

Children between 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) and 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) -> CNY85

Children below 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) -> Free of charge (sit with parents)

After we passed through the ticketing gate, we saw the history of elephant, at least from the Chinese perspective. This wall shows the evolution of elephant until it becomes the elephant that we now know. 

There are also a number of snapshot taken at the Elephant Hill Trunk at different timing. You can refer to the wall to see which areas are perfect for photography. 

After walking for a few minutes, we reached the Elephant Trunk Hill, which is also the symbol of the city of Guilin. It got its name because it looks like an elephant drinking water. The round opening under the elephant's trunk is known as Water-Moon Cave. Heard at night, the reflection of the moon can be seen through the arch and it looks as if it is under the water and floating on the surface of the water at the same time. That sounds pretty amazing but too bad we only had time in the morning to visit the Elephant Hill Trunk. 

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Other than the Elephant Hill Trunk, there are not many things to see here actually. That's why the owner of the place has decorated the surrounding area with decorations like elephant sculptures made from grass. This looks kinda cute actually.

And some random cartoon characters which I don't know who. Oh and there are mini elephant sculptures too. There is also a stairway leading to a pagoda. But if you are not interested in climbing uphill, I guess you only need 30 minutes max here. 

How to go to Elephant Hill Scenic Area in Guilin:

The easiest way is to take taxi and ask the driver to bring you to 象鼻山 (Xiàng bí shān). If you are adventurous enough or prefer to take cheaper method of transportation, you can take bus no. 2, 16 or 23 to Elephant Hill Scenic Area. You can get off at Xiangshan Park and make your way to Elephant Hill Scenic Area. 

1. Shop for Chinese silk and cloth

The cloth in China are often made from silk. There are different grades of silk so there are clothes for every budget level. The best one can cost a bomb though.

2. Shop for souvenirs

Keychains, fridge magnets, pencils and all kind of stationeries can be found here in Xi Jie Shopping Street. The most common ones are the mascot panda from Beijing Olympic back in 2008. 

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3. Try out food that you never heard before

Has anyone tried eating Blacksmith Beef before? If not, this will be a good chance for you to try one here in Xi Jie Shopping Street. After all, the store owner did mention that "no good no pay". Although in reality, I would think that the store owner will at least scold you if you do not pay. 

4. Get drunk but don't drive

Or you can get drunk later at your hotel room after you bought this bottle of Chinese wine. The alcohol level in these drink is pretty high. Some Chinese martial arts movies even show people who can fight after drinking these alcohol (the Drunken Master, anyone?).

5. Enjoy the surrounding mountainous scenery

Xi Jie Shopping Street is surrounded by Chinese natural beauty, the mountains. You can simply take a walk and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains and the lake here. 

There are quite a number of restaurants around the shopping street (including McDonald's) and these restaurants open quite late until just before midnight. Some of the bars and clubs stay open until the last guests leave. What a dedication indeed. XD

The shopping district is surrounded by mountains. The mountains in China do resemble those mountains depicted in the martial arts movie and Kungfu Panda. They do look pretty majestic too.

The main shopping street of Xi Jie looks very orderly and surprisingly clean (this does not come often in China). The crowd is also quite okay that day so we don't really have to walk and bump into someone else for every few steps. You will be able to find a lot of things to see here from food, souvenirs, cloths and drinks. 

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To maintain the order, there is a small police station spotted in Xi Jie. It looks kinda cute. Hahaha.

Xi Jie is also known as "foreigners street". We were quite amazed when we heard an elderly Chinese women spoke to the customer in English. A lot of stores in Xi Jie have bilingual shop signs too. I guess I should not feel shocked when I see that there is a Russian shop in the middle of Xi Jie. This shop is just one of the many stores which have been opened by foreigners who have settled here in Yangshuo.

You can hire a bicycle to wander in Xi Jie. As a local saying goes: 'no bike, no Yangshuo.' But that day, we prefer to just walk in our pace while happily looking around each stores in Xi Jie. 

"You don't have to have it all in order to move forward."