Cultural Extremes in Guilin (Guilin)

Member Name: WHISTLINGTOADS

Product:	Guilin
Date:	21/07/01 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful , scenery, in Guilin

Disadvantages: Extreme , poverty, and underdevelopment

On a recent trip to China, I was fortunate to stop over in Guilin; home of massive cultural extremes and a true reflection of China as a whole.

Guilin is probably one of the most written - about, painted and photographed city in China. Apparently many years ago Guilin was at the bottom of the ocean on a volcanic ridge. As a result several volcanic hills developed under the sea. The effects of waves on the rock converted the hills into mammary-like structures that have since been raised above sea level. In a very misty area these hills benefit from heavy greenery and therfore look like mounds of spinach on some giant schoolboy's plate.

Serious scholars of art and Chinese ancient history spend years learning to paint pictures of these hills in an almost ethereal quality. Each painting is specially signed and assigned with an identification stamp. I was very fortunate to be able to purchase one of these pictures fron university students in their final year. On the markets of Guilin you willl find many copies of these paintings and I have to say they are excellent quality for a very low price.

Like a two-headed coin, there are two sides to Guilin; one of extreme beauty (and associated tourism) and one of extreme poverty. Unlike the other Chinese cities I visited, Guilin showed a lack of commercial investment:- All the market stalls in the street markets were selling the same tourist tat... In other cities there is more variety suggesting more freedom and affluence.

We purchased an ice cream cone in one of the many shops; although it was a good copy of a Magnum on the outside label it contained pink coloured and unflavoured water on the inside.... I doubt that the local people have any idea what a Magnum tastes like, so that it is difficult to get a decent copy.

In the hotels there was a lack of fresh fruit; this might seem strange, but we could measure the cultural and economic wealth by the amount of fresh fruit in the
hotels as we travelled round the country. Melon appeared at breakfast but this had no taste whatsoever. Vegetables were restricted to floaters in the soap at lunch time. I had some serious concerns about the incidence of rickets in the local people.

The main roads were totally disrupted when I was there in May as new drains are being installed. This is the best idea that I can imagine the locals have had. Drainage and sewage in China is surprisingly under-developed and the disease opportunities are quite high so improving the drainage will make Guilin more accessible to Western Tourists.

If you have an opportunity to visit Guilin, take the boat tours to see the hills; they are breathtaking.

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