Zhongshan Lu

An entire side of Zhongshan Lu is closed off to traffic. A two-way main road becomes one-way. Several blocks - two or three kilometres - of the road becomes one long night market. A smorgasbord of sights, sounds and smells.

Red stalls along the road sell colourful clothes and dazzling accessories such as jewellery. Minority people sell handmade arts and crafts, intriguing toys and dolls as well as curious charms. The night sky is filled with folk music played from traditional instruments.

Xinhua Bookstore

...the heavy steel bomb doors at the entrance, remnants from a paranoid time when every building had such an installation for fear of Soviet attack.

Reed Flute Cave

Failed attempt.

Star-Picking Pavilion

(6 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

His walking boots trudge heavily up the hundreds of steps. Not a soul can be seen or heard. No one dares to climb up to this height. The rain falls down lightly around him. Unnoticeable, as his body is covered in sweat, either from the humidity or pure effort.

The foliage clears suddenly and he's out in the open, at the peak. All around him, the peaks of karst hills are wreathed in cloud, heavy with rain. The Li River is swollen from the overnight storm but its busy traffic continues.

Here at the Star-Picking Pavilion, he gazes down at beautiful beautiful Guilin and wishes it was night so he could pick stars right out of the sky.

Forest of Stelae

(5 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

Camel Hill

(4 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

Seven Star Cave

(3 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

Two middle-aged women - probably of the Zhuang - sing what seems to be a traditional folk song to an erhu played by an elderly man at the mouth of the cave. Their voices float down with the rain - now slightly heavier - into the dense foliage below, making it sound otherworldly. Like the songs of forest spirits, beckoning to the adventurous. Luring them deeper and deeper into their world. Never to return.

He plunges into the blackness of the cave and the voices of the tour guides with their gullible sheep are replaced by the sound of deathly silence. Here, in the netherworld, Darkness is not just the absence of light. It's a living entity on its own. Here, in the world of shadows.

Qixia Temple

(2 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

The slight drizzle causes droplets of clear water to fall from the wooden eaves of the temple's roof. Instinctively, he raises his hand as if to push aside the screen of crystal beads. The old world falls away immediately as he steps over the threshold. Nuns go about their daily duties busily: conducting prayers, burning joss-sticks and folding paper money before the watchful eyes of their towering deities.

Seven Star Park

(1 of 6 of Seven Star Park)

Banyan Lake

Li River

It's probably safe to say that the two rivers: the Peach Blossom River and the Li River especially are the heart and soul of Guilin. It beats with the rhythm of the seasons, expanding during the wet season and retreating during the dry season. Its waters flow together in unison like the collective souls of those who swim, bathe and play in its waters.

The fisherfolk who live on its banks still fish to this day on bamboo rafts. The women do their washing and cook for their families by the river. Back when farming was the main economic activity (before tourism overtook it), the waters of the rivers would have been used to irrigate the fields.

And just as it has shaped so many of Guilin's hills over the countless millennia, so too does it shape the very lives of its people to this very day.

Elephant Hill

Folded Brocade Hill

Diecai means 'folded brocade'. The name of the hill originates from an essay written by Yuan Hui, a Tang Dynasty writer:

The hill spreads with horizontal stratums, is dotted with colourful greens like a folded brocade.

Nanmen Bridge

Where Peach Blossom River branches into two, people walk on water while bamboo rafts transport goods across and ferry people to floating pavilions.

Cedar Lake

People converge by the colourfully-lit banks of Cedar Lake. Lovers huddle close together with hands clasped, whispering sweet words to each other. Loners finish their dinners, enjoying the dazzling lights of the Sun and Moon Pagodas reflected by the waters of the lake. Friends joke around and laugh out loud, enjoying a cigarette or two. Latecomers circumvent the lake, searching for suitable places to sit. A Chinese love ballad wafts softly across the shimmering lake from an outdoor bistro. This is the paradise that is Guilin.

Princely Palace II

Evening falls. The whole place comes alive with people playing all sorts of sports. Football. Volleyball. Table tennis. Basketball. Jogging. With such a large expanse of space just sitting there not doing anything during the early mornings and late evenings, it would be quite a waste not to open it up to the people. This is probably how some - if not many - of China's talents were nurtured and discovered. But it's only the first step since we all know the intensity of China's sports schools.

Solitary Beauty Peak

The following is a record in the Lingui County Annals during the Qing Dynasty:

Solitary Beauty Peak towers in the centre of the provincial circumvallation of Guilin. All hills near and far surround the peak like past feudal rulers worshipping their king, conferring an imperial demeanor on Solitary Beauty Peak. From its solitary peak of over 50 zhang, one can overlook all official buildings and houses inside and outside the city, row upon row. Cloud and brume rise from its base and wreathe around the hill. The stars are near and can be touched in front of one's breast. Hence, the verse 'the solitary peak is distinguished from other numerous hills.'

Princely Palace

McDonald's

It's weird. McDonald's is probably considered an outrageously expensive meal at 20 yuan compared to their plan meals of a few yuan. On the train, all they ate were cup noodles. Here in Guilin, all they eat are rice or porridge with a simple dish of meat mixed with vegetables. With Chinese nationals patronizing McDonald's, the divide between the rich and poor must be terribly wide.

Guangzhou - Guilin (Train) II

Everyone begins to settle down. Some still walk up and down the aisles but only to get hot water for their instant cup noodles or to go to the toilet. Somewhere in the carriage, a radio blares out what sounds like Chinese opera. Cards flash out and the gambling begins.

The teenager buys a newspaper from the trolley lady and lays them page by page on the floor. The teenager beckons to his two other cousins and him to join him on the floor. They huddle close together for warmth against the blasts of freezing wind when the train enters a tunnel.

The musky smell of sweat so characteristic of Chinese nationals is no longer noticeable. They laugh together at the people who try to cross over them. And when the wind gets unbearably cold, the teenager asks his parents for a blanket which he spreads out over everyone.

He's impressed at the unity of Chinese nationals. People make space for other people to sit on the floor, share newspapers and blankets as well as morally support each other. Maybe there is some hope after all.

The carriage attendant finds out he can speak Cantonese and strikes up a lively conversation. He finds this strange because the attendant answers a question from a Chinese national with a curt - bordering on harsh - answer in Mandarin. Maybe it's the language. Or maybe it's just the way of dealing with Chinese nationals.

When he tries to sleep, he can feel the eyes of the attendant watching protectively over him. The attendant's cautioned him a couple of times now on how unsafe it is in China. Instinctively, he covers his watch with his hand.