Guilin is a magical place with its thimble shaped Karst mountains and 'Tropfstein' caves - both are absolutely stunning. According to experts this area boasts some of the most spectacular karst topography in the world. We stayed in the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, about 1 hr drive from Guilin airport - a small place along the banks of Yulong river and according to Ian the nicest place he has been to in China so far (our friend Orli had recommended the place when she visited in 2010). When we arrived in the evening we tried Guilin Rice Noodle soup, a local speciality, for dinner.
The next day after a nice breakfast overlooking the river (and the many bamboo rafters drifting by) we rented a guide & bike and explored the area. We skipped the 1400 year old Banyan tree but went for our first Chinese Tropfstein cave experience - us together with thousands (coach loads) Chinese tourists. Dragon cave was described by the retreats guest information book as 'can appear tacky to westerners' and we are not sure the word tacky does justice to the different colour neon filled caverns full of stalactites, stalagmites and flow stones and the noisy tour group guides blaring into their microphones. It is totally at odds with the serene awe-insipring natural beauty which fills these caves. We would have liked to experience it in silence to be able to take in its full magnificence - instead it is a mass tourist experience akin to a theme park. Nevertheless it was quite special in its own sort of way. Once we emerged from the cave we continued our bike ride through little villages and along rice paddies amidst the limestone rocks. We finished off our explorations with a bamboo raft back to the retreat.
On Sunday we walked from the retreat to Moon Hill and up the 20 minutes to where you can see through the half-moon shaped whole in the rock. The views from up there are breathtaking. In the afternoon we went to Silver Cave, another Tropfstein cave with an equally beautiful and surreal experience.
Given that Guilin is only 1 hr flight from Hong Kong it will become a future destination for when we need a quick escape from Hong Kong :)
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