A Different Liuzhou: Visiting Before the Heat Sets In

Liuzhou is about to enter its plum rain season, so I squeezed in a quick trip before the rains arrived.

My strongest impression of Liuzhou is probably Liuzhou luosifen (snail noodles). And on this trip I certainly ate a lot of it.

This was a special journey: a solo five-day tour, driving a rental car the whole way. I booked a Volkswagen Golf online through a rental platform and picked it up right at Liuzhou Station — seamless. With the scorching heat everywhere lately, having a car made the trip so much more comfortable. Just imagine standing in the blazing sun waiting for a bus, waiting, waiting — I would have completely lost my mind.

When I arrived in Liuzhou, it was just drizzling, and after the rain the city felt extra fresh.

I picked up the car and headed straight to the sights — that’s the beauty of renting a car. You go wherever you want without having to drop your luggage at the hotel first.

Flowers were blooming everywhere. After the rain, the fragrance of blossoms, the scent of grass, and the earthy smell of soil all came alive. That’s the kind of nature I love.

Liuhou Park was almost empty, wonderfully quiet. You could hear cheerful birdsong at any moment — such a delight.

As I walked deeper into the park, more people started to appear. A Liuzhou local told me that going out in the rain is the real fun. Haha. I also saw koi in the pond, and you could tell just by their size how well-fed they are. The Prayer-for-Rain stone tablet I came across felt especially fitting at that moment. Around the park you can also spot lines of poetry by Liu Zongyuan.

A rain shower truly lives up to its name — on and off, on and off. I did a full loop of Liuhou Park on the map and got caught in two bursts of rain, and the air cooled down noticeably. No wonder the locals come out even when it's raining; they just know it will stop soon.

Leaving the park, it was still drizzling, so I drove to the Industrial Museum. In the park I bumped into a young woman traveling alone, and her next stop was also the Liuzhou Industrial Museum. So I gave her a lift, and we became travel buddies.

The rain stopped the moment we arrived at the Liuzhou Industrial Museum. The museum mainly introduces Liuzhou's industrial history. Liuzhou is a key industrial city in southern China, playing a vital role in self-sufficient chemical production and machinery manufacturing. If you're not very familiar with Liuzhou, you might still recognize "Liang Mian Zhen toothpaste" — a brand many people know. Though it has declined now, it was hugely influential in the past.

We explored the museum for just over an hour. In that time I felt like I’d grasped Liuzhou’s development story and understood the influence this industrial city wielded in modern history.

After that, I headed to Yaobu Ancient Town. My travel buddy was going elsewhere, so we parted ways.

The Liuzhou Industrial Museum and Yaobu Ancient Town are only separated by one road and complement each other nicely. During the day, the ancient town lacked the dazzling lights of night; only a few shops were open, but from the number of restaurants you could easily imagine how crowded it gets after dark. If there weren't so many people, there wouldn't be so many eateries.

I’d recommend visiting at night. During the day, the ancient town looks fairly ordinary and it’s still very hot. The real problem is the blazing sun: no one wants to wander around in broad daylight. There isn’t much greenery, so it feels like you’re roasting the whole time.

I randomly picked a luosifen shop and had a bowl I really loved. After eating, I caught the water bus.

There is a water bus stop at Yaobu Ancient Town, where both the No. 1 downstream and No. 2 routes stop. Buses come every half hour and fare is 3 yuan — just scan a QR code to board. I strongly recommend giving it a try. Seeing Liuzhou from the water is a totally different feeling.

Taking in Liuzhou from the river, the boat’s motion brings a cool breeze, banishing the sweltering heat of the land. The views on both banks were crystal clear. Dark clouds gathering in the distance felt a bit oppressive, so I turned my eyes to the water — it looked so much softer.

The bridge spanning the river looked even more imposing in the sunlight. Watching all the traffic crossing back and forth, I could feel my own breath tighten. As someone afraid of heights and overwhelmed by massive structures, every encounter with mountains or the sea makes me both nervous and excited.

Off the boat, we strolled around for a while, then went to the Diwang Yunding Tower.

The Yunding Observation Deck ticket is 49 yuan. There’s a restaurant-bar up top where you can dine. Wanting to enjoy the night view longer, I chose a meal package and reserved a window seat. From my experience, if you just want night-time photos, it’s fine to just go sightseeing at the right time.

The view up there is truly beautiful, but because it gets windy, photos can easily come out blurry. I arrived around 7:30 p.m. and took my first shot, then had dinner, and took the rest of the photos afterwards. As for the food, the setting was nice, the menu was limited, but it tasted decent.

After coming down from the 76th-floor observation deck, I drove straight to Wuxing Pedestrian Street. I passed the East Gate scenic spot and grabbed a quick photo — sightseeing and photo-taking in one go.

That night I only had a bowl of Zhang Fei cassava sweet soup. I strolled past all the luosifen shops, but even a small bowl here is huge — too much for me. Since I’d already eaten up in the tower, I just couldn’t fit in any more of the street food. A bit regretful. I’d still recommend just enjoying the view in the tower without dining.

Probably because of the daytime rain and heat, the pedestrian street that evening was insanely crowded. By the time I arrived, only hot cassava soup was left, and before I could even finish my bowl, they were completely sold out.

Qingyun Market had a night market as well, also packed with people. Bathed in the market’s lights, my first day in Liuzhou came to an end.

The next morning, I didn’t wake up early. I’d planned to visit a morning market, but by the time I looked at the clock it was already 8 a.m. — close enough, I suppose.

In most places, morning markets rarely draw young people, but at Qingyun Market more than half the crowd was young. So yes, it’s a bit of an Instagram hotspot and has definitely become a proper tourist attraction.

Going with the flow, I found the recommended stalls and finally got to taste all the snacks I’d been craving: corn juice, steamed dumplings, tofu pudding — I tried them all.

One tip: Gui Jie, Pan Ji, and Zhang Ji aren’t on the main street of Qingyun Market; they’re down a lane on the right-hand side. They have proper shopfronts, except Pan Ji which is just a small cart (though it does have a shop space at the market entrance).

And try not to get your iced tofu pudding to go. I carried mine for less than ten minutes and the flavour had already worsened.

Travelogue Contents 1. Day 1: Rainy Liuzhou, Limitless Freshness 2. Day 2: A Journey Starting from the Morning Market Travel Information Hotel Index Guide Index Flight Index Website Navigation Travel Index Cruise Index Corporate Travel Index Franchise Cooperation Distribution Alliance Friendly Links Corporate Gift Cards Insurance Agent Agent Cooperation Hotel Cooperation Destination & Scenic Area Cooperation More Cooperation About Ctrip About Ctrip Ctrip News Contact Us Careers User Agreement Privacy Policy Business License Security Center Ctrip Content Center Intellectual Property Trip.com Group Algorithm Disclosure