GUANGXI
PROVINCE

Nanning
This pleasant, tree-filled town in southwest China is the capital of Guangxi Province, and in some ways feels more like Southeast Asia than China. The climate is semi-tropical, the countryside round about lush and green. The Cuangxi area is populated by many minority races or 'nationalities' who controlled the area before the arrival of the Chinese from the north and for several centuries before the Mongol invasion in 1253, a kingdom based in northeast Thailand had control of most of the region. Nanning was provincial capital from 1914 to 1936 when local officialdom moved briefly up to the resort town of Guilin, but the capital was shifted back to Nanning after the Communist victory. Since then, the city has grown enormously and now has a population of over half a million.

During the early part of the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s, Nanning and several other places in Guangxi were the scenes of pitched battles between rival political factions, and later between Red Guards and the army units sent in to restore order. Similar fighting occurred in many parts of China, but in Cuangxi it was exacerbated by the fact that the various factions looted the trains taking guns and ammunition to North Vietnam for the war effort, and used the arms to attack their opponents. One resident told me that the entire area of Nanning in front of the railway station was virtually destroyed during artillery battles fought by the Red Guards.

Nanning again served as an important staging area for men and supplies during China's own Vietnam War in early 1979, when the Chinese army launched what was called a 'self-defence counter-attack' into Vietnamese territory. The Chinese troops seized a strip of territory along the border, several miles deep, reportedly at a huge cost in lives, to teach the Vietnamese a 'lesson' but they withdrew after a month. The border has remained tense ever since with both sides reporting a constant stream of armed clashes, mostly of a minor nature.

To the south of Nanning, on the Vietnamese border, is the ironically named FRIENOSHIP PASS where the war started. Until the 1930s, the pass had another name, one which perhaps illustrates the traditional attitude of the Chinese empire towards the people in lndo-China It was called Zhennan Guan- 'Suppression of the South Pass.

The majority race in Cuangxi is the Zhuang, which numbers 13.3 million, according to the 1932 census, They have some cultural and linguistic ties with the Thais, but illiteracy is a ma)' or problem as the Zhuang language has no set writing system.



Guangxi cooking uses a lot of weird animals, and weird parts of animals, much in the same way as Cantonese cuisine, The most famous local alcohol, known as Hejie Jiu, featoures a large, pickled lizard floating in each bottle, Snakes, turtles and pangolins (a sort of Chinese armadillo which is an endangered species) are all considered delicacies, but the most exotic Guangxi dish is called Chia San Jiao, literally 'Eat Three Squeals'. It consists of live rat embryos laid out on a plate. The dish's name is said to have originated from the fact that the animal squeals once when picked up with chopsticks, a second time when dipped in the accompanying sauce and a third (and last) time when it is popped into the mouth. Mmmm!

How to get there and where to stay
There are flights to Nanning from Canton, and it is also accessible by train from Liuzhou and Guilin to the north. here are three main hotels: the yongjiang Hotel (Chaoyang Lu; take a No.5 bus from the railway station) and the Mingyuan Hotel and Youyi Hotel (both on Minzhu Lu). If you are on your own, probably the best way of getting to the hotel is by a pedi-cab from the station. Agree on a price with the driver before starting out; at last report, the going rate was about 1.50 yuan to any of the hotels. Rooms in all three hotels can be rented for about 18 yuan a night.

Guilin (Kweilin)
With its picturesque limestone hills rising out of the rice paddy fields in imitation of a million Chinese paintings, Guilin is China's best-known tourist resort. It has been a favourite holiday spot for centuries, and any number of poets have composed ditties while meditating on the wonders of nature here displayed. 'The river forms a green silk ribbon, the mountains are like blue jade hairpins,' wrote one poet 1200 years ago. 'I have been to many famous places in the world, but none is more beautiful than Guilin,' said former US President Richard Nixon, also famous for his comment on the Great Wall (see p. 65).

Guilin is situated on the banks of the Li Jiang (Li River) and has a population of more than 300000. It was a centre of Chinese resistance during the Second World War, and Japanese bombing raids damaged large sections of it; however, there are still some picturesque streets left in the north of the town. A number of industries were established after the Communist victory including machine tools and electronics and, by the 19705, were operating so successfully that the Li Jiang was becoming seriously polluted and the extraordinary crags that leap out of nowhere were being eroded by the heavy chemical pollution in the air. Steps have since been taken to clean up the offending factories.

There are many lovely sights to see in and around Guilin. Some of the best known are: RERO ELUJE CAVE (Ludi Yan) in the northwest of the town, containing huge technicolour stalagmites and stalacites; FOLOFO BROCAOF HILL (Diecai Shn) and FUBUO SHAN in the northern part of the town next to the river; SEVEN STAR CRAG on the eastern bank of the river; and EL EPHANT TRUNK HILL to the south of the town.



For budget travellers without a CTS guide and car, the following bus tour is suggested: take a No.3 bus to Reed Flute Cave (which is the route terminus); from there, a No.13 bus, get off at the fourth stop for Folded Brocade Hill; return to the same bus stop and go one more stop for Fubuo Shan; from there, take a No.2 bus and get off at the third stop for Elephant Trunk Hill. For the Seven Star Park4 take a No. 11 bus to its terminus. The Friendship Store is on the main street (119 Zhongshan Zhong Lu), close to most of the city's other main shops.

Guilin is famous for its exotic foods, and most of the main hotels can provide a meal consisting of various strange beasts. The Yueya Lou (Moon Tooth Hall) Restaurant in the Seven Star Park also serves wild game meals; always book in advance. Another of Guilin's specialities is fermented beancurd. One shop that sells it is at 12 Zhongshan Zhong Lu.

No visit to Guilin would be complete without a cruise on the Li Jiang. CTS arranges five-hour boat trips every day from Guilin south to YANGSHUO, an interesting town about 30 miles (48 kilometres) south. Buses take passengers back to Guilin at the end of the day. The boat ride is expensive 40 yuan a head - but the scenery is gorgeous. A tip for budget travellers: you might try taking a bus to Yangshuo and taking the boat (which costs only six yuan) back to Guilin. There is a small hotel in Yangshuo if you feel like spending the night there. One person I spoke to who had stayed there described its location as being 'down the main street on the left'.

How to get there and where to stay
There are flights to Guilin from Canton and Hong Kong, and trains from anywhere else on the China railway network.

The list of hotels is long4 as befits an important tourist resort. The Li Jiang Hotel (1 Shahu Bei Lu) is a huge, modern hotel in the centre of the city with all mod cons, but the restaurant is terrible. The Rougha Hotel (17 Ronghu Bei Lu) is cheaper and is situated beside the two lakes in the south of the city. The Guile Hotel (25 Zhongshan Zhong Lu; the hotel sign says 'Kweilin Hotel') is the one at which budget travellers usually stay. The dormitory is on the sixth floor.

If you're with CTS, getting from the railway station to your hotel is no problem. If you're by yourself, none of the hotels is more than half an hour's walk, but if you have a heavy load4 take a No.1 bus from the station and get off at the second stop for the Guilin Hotel.

Liuzhou (Liuchow)
This town in southwest China is a major rail junction and stopping-place on the way to or from such places as Nanning4 Guilin and Sichuan Province. The countryside around the town is very pleasant, as is the countryside in the whole of southwest China.

The main tourist attractions are the DULE (pronounced Doo-luh) CAVES (take a No. 9 bus from opposite the Liujiang Hotel; the trip takes about 45 minutes).and the YOFENG5HAN PARK which provides an excellent view of the whole town (take a No. 9 bus from opposite the Liujiang Hotel; get off at the ninth stop, Renmin Nan Lu, then walk south for five minutes).

How to get there and where to stay
Liuzhou is only accessible by train, There are three or four hotels, all reasonably priced, the two main ones being the Liushozi Hotel (1 Wenge Lu), and the Liujiang' Hotel (72 Gongyuan Lu). Both hotels have special buses waiting to pick up passengers from some trains, and there are pedi-cabs at the station. A pedi-cab ride to one of the hotels should cost about 2.50 yuan.