The scenic Guilin city centre

Renowned for its unique and picturesque scenery, Guilin is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in China. I wasn’t sure what to expect spending after 2 peaceful days in the Yangshuo countryside, but I was quite pleasantly surprised by the city’s greenery and relaxing atmosphere esp. considering it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in China.

Top & main: Guilin Botanical Garden; bottom right & left: our Chinese style hotel and its pond full of gold fish

Our hotel, Guilinyi, located inside the Guilin botanical garden, is like an oasis in the city! It is like a Chinese style resort with fish ponds, tea house, exotic plants and flowers. Being inside the botanical garden gave us an opportunity to stroll around, although the garden is not very big, it has an European garden, a Japanese garden and an amusement park within!

Top left & right: the historical Wangcheng City; Main: The amazing Reed Flute Cave

We were not very lucky with the weather and it rained quite heavily for most of the time, so we skipped outdoor activities like the river cruise and opted for sightseeing within the city centre. The sightseeing was interesting but too touristy ( and slightly stressful), we much preferred our leisurely stroll along the riverbank and around the lakes.

Unlike other larger Chinese cities, Guilin seems greener and slower, we thoroughly enjoyed watching the health conscious locals exercising, fishing or dancing in groups… It turned out that people-watching was one of the highlights of the trip!