I’m thinking of taking a short photography trip to Guilin, Yangshuo, Longsheng in China in either Sept or Oct. I need to arrange things with my boss to get some time off, but I’m not sure how much time I should ask for. Obviously, longer is better, but this is Taiwan, so I’m probably limited in how much time I can get.
What do you guys think? Can all 3 places be visited in a week, or would 10 days/2 weeks be better?
I did a search, but all I found was people who’d been there either 10-20 years ago, or people who went on company trips and tour groups. I don’t do tour groups (although I am happy to hire a personal guide/driver for a day if I can set the pace). I’ll be flying to Guilin via Macao or HK, so no need to set aside time for overnight bus/train rides.
I think a week should be enough, as everything is a short bus ride apart, but ten days of course will give you more time to relax and not always be on the move to your next stop.
I was there with my wife in the summer of 2005. We traveled southern China for about a month, and Yangshuo was our first stop. We only stayed a few days, but at the end of our trip we regretted not staying longer. I would consider giving Guilin a miss, as it is just a Chinese city, and the real reason to go is the river trips to see the mountain scenery. You can see the same thing in Yangshuo, which in my opinion was a much nicer place to be. Be warned though, it is a major tourist destination, and you’ll be harrassed by Chinese eager to be your guide at every location. People will also ask you to pay them for any photos you take. My favorite activities were taking a small raft down a river (not the big boat cruise), and hiring a bicycle and just riding through the countryside. Try to go out before sunrise, and you’ll get some glorious shots.
We also visited Longsheng (I assume this is what they call “the dragon’s backbone rice terraces”), and I loved it. The aboriginal people were so much more friendly than the Chinese, and it was wonderful to walk through the mountain terraces. Oh, and it was ridiculously cheap. If I’m ever back in the area I’d like to go for several days and just relax. I should warn you, though, when we were there guest houses were going up like mad, so everything may be different by now.
My information is only slightly less useless (I was there 8 years ago), but I think it’s possible to do that trip in a week if you’re flying straight into Guilin and you bypass Guilin city itself, head straight for Yangshuo, take pictures of the karst for 3 days, pop up to Longsheng for 2 days, and then head back. When I was there, Yangshuo was a total backpacker ghetto, but Guilin city was infamous for its rip-offs.
But I did this trip before I got seriously got into photography myself, so maybe a week isn’t enough.
If you were to have two weeks, I’d suggest you do Yangshuo, Longsheng, and then head north of Longsheng into southwest Guizhou, which has a whole bunch of Miao people and is probably my favorite part of China that I’ve visited, and then fly back to HK from Guiyang.
Aiyo, I always forget the name of the place but there is apparently a hotel run by a Taiwanese chjappy near Yangshuo that encourages resident artists. An extremely reliable friend on things China stays there and says it is fantastic.
Ah, here it is, the Yuzi Hotel. Unfortunately their website is down.
[quote][Guilin) YUZI PARADISE
Dabu Township, Yanshan District, Guilin, 541006, Guangxi, China
Contact person: Michael Suh
+86 (773) 386-9100 Fax: +86 (773) 386-9200
E-mail: yuzi@yuzi-paradise.com
Websites: arts.tom.com
Guilin YUZI Paradise, founded by Taiwanese entrepreneur Mr. Rhy-Chang Tsao in 1996, is a large-scale international park of land art projects mainly engaged in cavern art and contemporary sculpture. It is located in the unique and unspoiled natural surroundings of Guilin. With the joined efforts of global eminent artists, it is to be built as a living museum and leave a fine cultural heritage for future generations. It is a world heritage in progress shared and possessed by the world.
To reach this ultimate goal, the construction of the park is to protect nature and create new culture by displaying contemporary art in various languages and styles. With the perfect combination of sheer natural beauty and peerless art glamour, Guilin YUZI Paradise is to be a fairyland for all the people to experience the eternal power of art and culture.[/quote]
After doing a bit more looking around the net, I discovered that a lot of the photos tagged as Guilin are actually Yangshuo and the surrounding villages. So it looks like I should skip Guilin city.
I think I’ll try to get 2 weeks off, which will leave me a bit of haggling space if my boss doesn’t like that. Probably end up with 10 days. My boss just got back from a holiday in Japan, so she should be in a good mood and hopefully willing to give me a couple of extra days.
Yes you are right. The karst mountain formations are basically all around Yangshuo. Guilin is the nearest city. I’m one of the “I’ve not been for 20 years” folks, but I doubt they could have screwed the scenery. Guilin was nothing to write home about, and no doubt anything that was vaguely interesting has been smashed down and turned into a marble covered mall with KFC and Mackie Ds guarding the entrance ways.
Yes, if its now possible, give Guilin City a miss… I’ve been on that trip at least twice (memory not serving me well now)… once in 1986 and again in 1992… Nothing to see in Guilin. Having said that, allow me to muddle things by saying that I did thoroughly enjoy the boat ride from Guilin to Yangshuo each time I took it… seemed a nice way to enter Yangshuo…