Guilin/Yangshou

With the opening of the HIGH SPEED TRAIN in Austin MTR, Hong Kong is virtually connected to the whole of mainland CHINA. As convenient as it is, you won't need to arrive 2 hours in advance to catch your flight, empty water bottles, or go through vigorous security checks! In the high speed station you just brisk your way through, however do allocate one hour extra before departure time.

https://www.highspeed.mtr.com.hk/en/main/index.html

In all cases, always remember to take a snapshot of your ticket in case you misplace it!

Believe me it is highly possible that you drop the ticket as there are about 2 or 3 checkpoints where they stop you to check your ticket against your passport documents. So make sure you hold on tight to them.

Fisherman using the cormorant to fish

High Speed train condition

As the trains are relatively new, only open for business since 2018, the washroom and seat area are relatively clean.

Train cafeteria, although they do serve lunch boxes, but the food is horrible however you look at it!! The train do provide some snacks for complimentary together with a bottle of water. However, my best suggestion would be to grab something from outside!!

The 3 hour journey will take you across some very badly polluted Guangzhou, farming land and then the enchanting karst land of Guilin.

Yangshou

This place is simply enchanting. The karst landscape is magical you feel like you are in Disney land except that they are all a natural phenomenon. Here is a little background about the limestone formation history.

http://www.geotimes.org/apr07/article.html?id=Travels0407.html

Yangshou as a good base to explore this area, simply because you are in the heart of it all. I have read blogs of travelers in Guilin, saying that they are surrounded with the karst landscape but getting to them seem so hard and far. Unless you come to experience city lights, light shows, city life in karst land, I would think Yangshou is all of the opposite!

The are some awesome guesthouses in the surrounding countryside next to the mighty YangDiXiang. Namely, http://www.yangshuosecretgarden.com/services/rooms/

It is constantly full however if you plan in advance you may be lucky!

What to do you Yangshou

There is a varied of activities you can do in Yangshou

• mountain climbing, i did not try it but maybe you will be able to get somthing from here https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106763709/yangshuo

• rent a bicycle and cycle around the countryside

• don't go on any boat rides, it is disgusting to be treated like pigs, but if you really have to, try the bamboo one!

• hikes, hikes, hikes, there are so many hikes around the area that will simply blow your mind away. I will list them separately as each of them deserves some detail explanation!

• late spring to summer, during the nights, the banks of the rivers are lighted up by fire flies. Such a fantastic sight!

Date of visit: May 2019