Escapade in South-East Asia from November 2006 to March 2007: 01/30/07

December 2nd-4th. Since a Chinese friend was returning December 5th to meet me in Běi hǎi, I decided to go directly from Běi hǎi for few days to Hai nan island by 6 PM ferry. Eleven overnight hours in a 4 bed cabin for 20 can$. Delicious cheap sea food restaurant in Běi hǎi ferry terminal. The sea was perfectly calm.

Běi hǎi-Hai kou ferry

5AM: Arrival to Hai kou on Hai nan island. By taxi to overseas Chinese (Huaqiao) hotel. Very good location and quite nice rooms for 15 can$. I visited Hai kou, the capital of Hai nan in 1992. From then to now I didn’t notice major drastic changes besides the normal technological changes. In 1992 the particularity of Hai nan was the special economic zone status. But now comparing to numerous other Chinese cities, Hai kou seems far behind. I didn’t meet one foreigner. Most of them go to Sanya on the other part of Hai nan for beaches and sea resorts “club meditérannée” style. Hai nan ambition was to be the Hawaii of Asia. No one seems to speak English. A foreigner seems to be still an attraction. People looking at you as you come from another planet, reminding me China of the 80’s.
People seems happy and relax. One difference from some other Chinese northern cities noted is the civilized car driving habit. They respect the pedestrians. This was also noted in Běi hǎi, Guilin and Xia men.
In Hai kou I passed the time meeting some internet friends, walking in the city, looking around and off course I ate hai nan chicken and other delicious fat duck dishes. No temple, monument etc…. visits since I done all in 1992.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haikou Haikou (Chinese: 海口; Hanyu Pinyin: Hǎikǒu; literally "Mouth of the Sea"), situated at the north of Hainan island, is the capital of Hainan Province of the People's Republic of China and has an estimated population of 830,192 (2006), therefore by far the largest city on the island. Located between 19.57 - 20.05 north latitude and 110.10 - 110.23 east longitude in the southernmost part of China; in an area that reaches from Zengmu Ansha in the south to the Qiongzhou Strait in the north; bordering the sea areas of the South China Sea and facing Vietnam in the west across Beibu Bay. The GDP per capita was ¥23920 (ca. US$2890) in 2003, ranked no. 43 among 659 Chinese cities.

Hai kou from Harbour

Chinese overseas hotel where I stayed in Hai kou. Hai nan

Downtown Hai Kou

Flower market

Sunset time in Zhong Shan park

Bridge in Hai kou

December 5th-8th. On December 4th, 11 hours return to Běi hǎi by the 6 PM ferry. Taxi drove me to a recommended hotel by lonely planet (Běi hǎi Yingbingyuan). Rooms ok but not the best for 25 can$. Good location and this hotel once hosted Jiang Zeming.
Běi hǎi is a very nice small city. Clean and relaxed city. Good cheap street food including sea foods (but if you want dog too!!). People are friendly and relaxed. Met only 2 foreigners.
My friend came to visit me and we went to the silver beach 10 km from the city on Tonking gulf (Beibu gulf). Very nice beaches : very long and the sand extremely soft. Differently than expected I swimmed in this day of December 2006 in a sea water ranging from warm to cool.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beihai Běi hǎi is also the ancient Chinese name for Lake Baikal. Beihai (Chinese: 北海; Hanyu Pinyin: Běihǎi; Wade-Giles: Pei-hai), Bakhoi in Cantonese, is a prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China. Beihai (108°50′45″ - 109°47′28″ North, 21°29′ - 21°55′34″ East) means "north sea", meaning that the place is a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin. Běi hǎi has a large shipyard and is reputed to still be a pirate harbour. Population: 1450,000 (2001), 135,500 in urban centre (estimated 2006: 305,000) After the 1876 Sino-British Treaty of Yantai, eight Western nations (UK, US, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium) set up embassies, hospitals, churches, schools, and maritime customs. Today, 15 of these western buildings remain in Běi hǎi. It officially became an international tourist spot (旅遊對外開放城市) in 1982

Downtown Běi hǎi

Very popular chinese made motobike

Cheap and yummy

Night market and restaurants

Good and cheap sea food dinner in Běi hǎi

Another new fan of big mac. Friendly poor and handicapped Chinese in Běi hǎi I offered him a big mac combo

A nice park in downtown Běi hǎi

In Běi hǎi park

In Zhong Shan park, Běi hǎi.

Beach resorts on silver beach

In silver beach, Běi hǎi

On the silver beach, Běi hǎi

December 9th-17th. By confortable bus, 7 hours trip to Gui lin in the same province of Guang xi. Arrival in the evening. The temperature was about 5 centigrades. Luckly, the temperature increased every day to reach more than 15 at the end of my trip in Gui lin.

My Chinese friend hosted me in his home and took care perfectly during my stay. He showed me the different seightseeing places as well as the local life scenes in Gui lin and around the city. He introduced me to several local cuisine. If you go there don’t miss several yummy dishes as different kind of dumplings, the beer fish, the tea fish ……. By the way also do you know the meaning of Gui lin? And how to differentiate Buddha representations from Tang and Song dynasties? Look at the picture I posted and guess……

The beauties of Gui lin and the area has been celebrated for generations by painters and poets. It is doted with supernatural lovely and bizarre karst topography gracing the Li river (Li jiang).
The city of Guilin despite the economic development is still one of a greener and most scenic city of China.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilin
Guilin (Chinese: 桂林; Hanyu Pinyin: Guìlín; Wade-Giles: Kuei-lin, Postal map spelling: Kweilin; Zhuang: Gveilinz) is one of China's most picturesque cities, with a population of 670,000, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China on the west bank of the Lijiang River (also called the Li River). Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city. Its scenery is reputed by many Chinese to be the "finest under heaven", or directly from Chinese: "the mountains and rivers in Guilin are the number one under the heaven." In 111 BC, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Shi An County was established, which could be regarded as the beginning of the city. In 507 AD, the town was renamed Guizhou.
Guilin prospered in the Tang and Song dynasties but remained a county. The city was also a nexus between the central government and the southwest border, and it was where regular armies were placed to guard that border. Canals were built through the city so that food supplies could be directly transported from the food-productive Yangtze plain to the farthest southwestern point of the empire.
In 1921, Guilin became one of the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
In 1940, the city acquired its present name. In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou) where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project. Population: 1.34 million. Urban population: 600,000. Ethnic groups: Zhuang, Yao, Hui, Miao, Han and Dong. The GDP per capita was ¥15775 (ca. US$1910) in 2003, ranked no. 125 among 659 Chinese cities.
Mountains in Gui lin: Diecai Hill (叠彩山), Elephant Trunk Hill (象鼻山), Seven-Star Cave (七星岩), Wave-Subduing Hill (伏波山), Lipu Mountains and Yaoshan Mountains. Lijiang
Local industry: pharmaceutical goods, tires, machinery, fertilizer, silk, perfume, wine, tea, cinnamon, herbal medicine. Local agricultural products: Shatian Pomelo, summer orange, fructus momordicae, ginkgo, moon persimmon, Lipu Tara, Sanhua Alcohol, pepper sauce, fermented bean curd, Guilin Rice Noodle, water chestnut, grain, fish and dried bean milk cream in tight rolls
Guilin cuisine is known for its snacks and the use of spices, especially chili. The famous Guilin chili sauce, Guìlín làjiāojiàng (桂林辣椒酱; used widely in cooking by locals), is made of fresh chili, garlic and fermented soya beans. Guilin rice noodle (Guìlín mĭfĕn 桂林米粉) has been the local breakfast staple since the Qin dynasty and is renowned for its delicate taste. Legend has it that when Qin troops suffering from diarrhea entered this region, a cook created the Guilin rice noodles for the army because they had trouble eating the local food. Specifically, the local specialty is noodles with horse meat, but this dish can also be ordered without the horse meat. Zongzi (粽子; pinyin: zòngzi), a dumpling made from glutinous rice and mung bean paste wrapped by bamboo or banana leaves) is another popular delicacy in Guilin.

Gui flower tree. Origin of the name of Gui lin city

In front of Gui lin city

Fishing birds and me in front of Elephant Trunk Hill (

Glass bridge

4 bridges

Duck enjoying the quiet lake

In Fu Bo Hill (underground water hill)

In Fu Bo Hill (underground water hill). Can you differentiate between Buddha sculptures from Tang or Song dynasties?

One thousand man pot . Fu Bo Hill

Dagoba in Gui lin (double click on the text picture for details)

Gui lin by night

Ancient south gate

Arc de triomphe?

Gui lin golden bridge

Golden and sliver pagodas

Temple in Seven Star Park, Gui lin

In the temple

In Seven Star Park, Chinese history display

Camel hill, Seven Star Park. Bill Clinton made a speech here on environment.

Local minorities people

Red panda, in Seven Star Park

Free hair cut in Da Xu town , 60 km from Gui lin

Market in Da Xu town

Da Xu town

Da xu town, Chao Mi a kind of steamed rice dish

Dou Fu (Tofu)

Home made sausages in Da xu town

Ancient village where people still living there. Near Gui lin

Ancient village .

Ancient village.

In ancient village.

Ancient village.

Spontanous smile in Ancient village.

Old car in Ancient village.

Cave in Gui lin

Ling canal. Located in xing’an county , 66 km north of Gui lin. It was built 2221 years ago in 214 BC. For more details double click the text-pictures

Ling Canal

Feng shui-Mei lin pavilion

Me and Ling canal

Ling canal

Xing’an town on ling canal

Xing’an town

Yang shuo where we spent 2 nights is one of tourist destinations specially for foreigners. It’s a very small city surrounded by karst formations and from where you can enjoy boat trips on Li river. The city is a mixture of Chinese charm and western atmosphere, This city reminded me Banff in Canada. Its worthwhile also to rent as we made bicycles and to explore all the area in a relaxed way. Don’t miss also a spectacular night show on the river performed by local farmers.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo
Yangshuo (Simplified Chinese: 阳朔; Traditional Chinese: 陽朔; Hanyu Pinyin: Yángshuò) is a small town in Guilin, Guangxi Province. Surrounded by towering karst peaks, bordered on one side by the Li River (漓江) it is easily accessible by bus or by boat from nearby Guilin. Over the years, it has become extremely popular with foreign backpackers as a place to unwind. Nowadays, it is rare to visit this city without finding throngs of local and foreign tourists.
The town borders the Li river on one side, and is situated on a small plain between a number of karst peaks. Two main roads run away from the water and form the central part of the town, Chinese Street (Dei Chui Lu) and West Street (西街, xi jie). Most foreign-oriented businesses, such as hostels, hotels, rock climbing companies, restaurants and entertainment venues, are situated on West Street or the pedestrian only Xian Qian Street which runs between Chinese and West Street.
Visitors to Yangshuo often swim in the Li river or the cleaner Yu Long (Dragon River), climb one of the many nearby karst peaks, hire a bicycle for a cycling trip through the karst scenery or simply relax in the town itself, which is largely devoid of vehicular traffic. Additionally, there is a butterfly cave near the town and a number of cave systems. Yangshuo is also China's foremost venue for rock climbing, with around 200 bolted routes and several companies offering guiding and equipment hire. With mountain biking and kayaking becoming more popular, Yangshuo is becoming an adventure sports centre as well as a stop on the traveller's trail.
Most visitors to Yangshuo spend at least some time exploring the surrounding area by bicycle. Because it is still a small place in spite of the rapid tourism development, Yangshuo is one of the only major tourist destinations in the country from which real rural China is easily accessible. Within minutes of the town centre by bike, tourists can find themselves practically lost amongst karst peaks and paddy fields. Bike rental is available from numerous touts on the side of the main streets.