High Speed Getaway to Guangxi China
At a loss for ideas on a last-minute trip during the summer holidays? Worry not– hop on a high speed train for a 4-hour trip to scenic Guangxi in the south of China to be immersed in nature and tradition. Guangxi autonomous region is made up of various cities including Wuzhou, Hezhou and Guilin and is chock full of fun activities, ethnic minority traditions and natural scenery to make it suitable for all ages.
In Pic: Befriending ethnic minorities at Hetang Cultural Village
Wuzhou-Land of Six Forts Tea
High speed train from West Kowloon station to Wuzhou in Guangzhou region costs around HK$700 for a return trip and takes around 4 hours each way with a connecting stop at Guangzhou Nan. Wuzhou is a city lined with rice paddyfields and tea farms producing Six Forts tea (六堡茶 liù bão chá), a black tea which tastes slightly less strong than pu’er without the bitterness aftertaste. Some tea farms allow tea leaves picking and observation on how leaves are turned into tea at their factory with advance booking.
In Pic: Local delicacies at the Maosun Liupao Tea Cultural Center (茂圣六堡茶文化中心)
While in Wuzhou, be sure to try their tea leaf eggs which are eggs boiled in a mixture of different tea leaves. They are tastier than the Hong Kong version, perhaps because they used their hometown Six Forts tea leaves to make them as well. The premier shopping and sightseeing street in Wuzhou, Balcony Building City (骑楼城 Qílóu Chéng) has a wide range of local delicacies to try such as water snails (need to get the snail meat out with a toothpick), boat congee with mix of local seafood, handmade iced soybean milk and marinated chicken wrapped in paper. It’s also a photogenic and historical street with architecture which marries baroque with traditional Chinese building techniques. Be sure to visit the Datong Hotel (大同酒家 Dātōng Hotel) which was the birthplace for the Communist movement in Guangxi and secret meetings were held by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his party members there.
Pic Source: Baidu website on 骑楼城 Balcony Building City
Hezhou-Land of the Ethnic Minority Culture
The next city recommended along the Guangxi travel route is Hezhou. Chinese ethnic minorities live in tribal communities with their own ethnic dances, cuisine and culture in harmony in Hezhou. Hezhou’s ethnic minorities come from different tribes, such as a Yao tribe which is famous for their Yao silver and tribal dance with long drums. In Hezhou, tourists can visit the Huangyao Ancient Town (websites: https://www.huangyao.cn/
https://www.visitourchina.com/hezhou/attraction/huangyao-ancient-town.html) to experience the ethnic minority way of life and try on their traditional costumes and jewellery in a Chinese 1000-year old ancient town surrounded by stone bridges, ponds and breezy willow trees. Look out for homemade Guilin chilli paste in big vats and locally made osmanthus flowers and grapes Chinese wine as souvenirs in the village shops.
In Pic: Ethnic minority photo-taking at Huangyao Ancient Town
Guilin - Land of the Chinese Landscape Painting
“Guilin’s landscape is the most scenic in all the World.” goes the Chinese saying passed on from ancient times. You be the judge when you visit Guilin in Guangxi where oddly shaped limestone hills and lakes abound. It is the muse for many Chinese landscape paintings. Chinese landscape painting workshops at the scenic areas are available with advance booking. There are also cycling tours to visit the limestone hills (most famous ones being the Elephant hill shaped like an elephant’s trunk and the moon hill shaped like the moon) and passes by local farms. Be sure to bring loads of insect repellent and sunscreen when outdoors!
In Pic: T-mall Hill At Zhongshan Mile Landscape Scenic Village (钟山百里水墨画廊景区)
Popular souvenirs to bring home are osmanthus flower tea-flavoured cakes (check the expiry date), Chinese paper fans, wooden hand-crafted toys and Chinese paintings. I brought home some reasonably priced osmanthus shampoo from Guilin’s osmanthus flower farm which worked well with thick dry hair and smelled divine. The osmanthus flower farm also gives workshops on osmanthus cake making and sells osmanthus ice-cream.
There’s more to Guangxi than meets the eye–from natural scenery straight out of a Chinese landscape painting to happy ethnic minority tribes dancing in their towns, be sure to visit on your next leisure trip with family and friends!
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