I Wanted to Go to Guilin, So I Went to Guilin

A Li had long heard that "Guilin's landscape is the best under heaven" and had read many poems and essays about Guilin's scenery, always yearning to see the real Guilin landscape with his own eyes.

A Li also once felt like the song "I Want to Go to Guilin" goes: "I want to go to Guilin, oh, I want to go to Guilin, but when I have the time, I don't have the money; I want to go to Guilin, oh, I want to go to Guilin, but when I have the money, I don't have the time..."

From June 18 to 21, 2018, A Li took advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday and some compensatory leave to join a highly rated 4-day, 3-night pure travel tour of Yangshuo and the Li River in Guilin with his friend Yang Liu, booked online. Finally, he experienced the unique beauty and elegance of Guilin's landscape firsthand, and also felt the warmth and shrewdness of Guilin's merchants.

The unique beauty and elegance of Guilin's landscape could be seen everywhere and at any time throughout the entire trip.

On June 19, they visited the World of Shangri-La and the Yulong River in the morning, and the Li River and Silver Cave in the afternoon. On the morning of the 20th, they visited the Dong Ethnic Duoye Ancient Village and the Wanfu Square Leisure Tourism City, and in the afternoon, they visited the Solitary Beauty Peak and Prince City scenic area. On the morning of the 21st, they visited the Ludiguan Stone Museum and the Elephant Trunk Hill, and in the afternoon, the Mulong Lake. A Li was captivated by the variously shaped, exquisitely delicate mountains everywhere in Guilin; by the crystal-clear, shimmering waters; and by the unfathomably deep, strangely shaped karst caves.

The bamboo rafts on the Yulong River and Li River, along with the phoenix-tail bamboos on both banks, made A Li linger! The waterfall-like silver stalactites in Silver Cave and the lifelike shape and color of the "Root of Life" shocked A Li! And the flowering cycads by Mulong Lake amazed A Li even more: not only can cycads bloom, but their flowers also come in male and female types!

As for the warmth and shrewdness of Guilin merchants, A Li personally felt it surpassed other places he had visited. It seemed even the weather in Guilin was influenced by the merchants: when A Li checked the weather before departing, it predicted rain every day, so he specially bought water shoes. But after arriving, the first three days of the trip were sunny and bright, and only on the last day did it pour rain, so his water shoes weren't useless after all. Guilin's weather delighted A Li beyond expectations, and he returned satisfied.

The warmth and shrewdness of Guilin merchants were evident in making sure tourists played well, shopped well, and ate well.

Throughout the trip, the tour guide and the guides at each scenic spot were very warm and dutiful. All the places on the itinerary were visited, and all the necessary explanations were given.

As for how to make tourists shop well, the merchants at each scenic spot racked their brains.

On the 19th, during the boat ride on the Li River, the boat staff not only gave enthusiastic commentary but also stopped at the best scenic spots. Each tourist took turns standing at the bow while a staff member took several photos with a camera. Tourists could pick the ones they liked and have them printed on the spot for 20 yuan each. During the photo session, cormorant boats would approach, and the cormorant owners would rent out their birds temporarily. Many tourists bought their own photos as souvenirs of their visit.

When touring Silver Cave, there was a treasure exhibition inside the cave. Tourists could buy tickets to enter and shop, but it wasn't mandatory. However, the exit of Silver Cave had several shops that tourists had to pass through. Each shop's path wound back and forth, zigzagging, forcing every tourist to walk past every shelf in each store. This was the first time A Li had encountered such a twisting exit, and all the happy feelings he had earlier vanished. Plus, the meeting time set by the tour guide was approaching, and A Li, already exhausted, became furious as he wound through the shops. He made up his mind to condemn this unscrupulous, even extremely vile, practice in his online review after returning!

On the 20th, when they visited the brand-new Dong Ethnic Duoye Ancient Village, the process was exactly the same as when A Li had visited the Tibetan villages in Songpan, Sichuan, and the Mosuo villages by Lugu Lake in Yunnan: a beautiful village cultural representative came out to receive them, first introducing the ethnic culture, then describing folk remedies claiming that silverware could cure a hundred diseases, then using a silver comb or bracelet to perform scraping therapy (gua sha) on one or two tourists, and finally leading the group into a silver shop to freely purchase "locally handmade silverware." A Li found it very strange: three different ethnic groups, located far apart, yet their folk remedies were the same? Even the words spoken by the three cultural representatives were identical. He sought an answer! Of course, there were differences—the prices of the silverware: in the Tibetan village in Songpan, Sichuan, silver was about 20 yuan per gram; in the Mosuo village by Lugu Lake, Yunnan, it was over 20 yuan per gram; and here, it was about 30 yuan per gram. The cost was about 4 yuan per gram for all of them. Why was there such a big price difference in three places? A Li asked again! Because he had no money, A Li didn't buy any of the miraculous silver items, but many in the group bought silver bowls, cups, bracelets, rings, etc.

After touring Duoye Ancient Village, the guide led them to Wanfu Square Leisure Tourism City, where the only scenic spot was the Century Lianhua Supermarket! A Li's companion, the childlike Yang Liu, went to ask the guide, "Guide, we booked a pure travel tour with no shopping, why are you taking us to a supermarket?" The guide replied sincerely and friendly, "Because this is a AAA-rated scenic spot." The guide wasn't lying: on the wall at the entrance of Wanfu Square Leisure Tourism City, A Li indeed saw a sign from the National Tourism Administration's Scenic Spot Quality Rating Committee certifying it as a national AAA scenic spot. Not far from the supermarket entrance, they also found the locked Visitor Center of Wanfu Square Leisure Tourism City. Having learned something new, A Li, Yang Liu, and all the other tourists happily strolled around the Century Lianhua Supermarket. The items there weren't as expensive as they had imagined, so many people came out carrying big and small bags. At the exit of the shopping area, the guide gave each person a small box of osmanthus cake, which was a complimentary gift promised by the merchant online.

In the afternoon, they went to the Solitary Beauty Peak and Prince City scenic area. During the tour, the guide organized activities such as making ink rubbings of the character "Fu" (fortune), paying respects to one's zodiac deity, and participating in a mock imperial exam. The group members had a lot of fun, but naturally they had to consider whether to buy their own rubbings, their zodiac deity images, and their imperial exam photos. By the time the exam game ended, everyone realized the meeting time was approaching, and they hadn't even climbed Solitary Beauty Peak, the famous peak of Guilin! A Li could only take a close-up photo of the peak before getting on the bus, leaving a regret.

On the morning of the 21st, they visited Guanshitang (Stone Watching Hall) displaying many photos of famous visitors. After admiring various large and small jadeite and bloodstone items, A Li and his group were led into a huge hall selling all kinds of precious jade. Perhaps because it was the last day of the trip and everyone's wallets were likely empty, no one in the group bought any beautiful jade this time.

Looking back at the few days in Guilin, A Li noticed that only on the last day, at Elephant Trunk Hill Park, did he not worry about extra shopping—what netizens call paying the IQ tax. A Li wondered: was it because of the heavy rain that day? He sought an answer again.

A Li never imagined that a supposedly pure travel four-day tour of Guilin would hide so many opportunities to pay the IQ tax; even more surprising, the online reviews for this tour product were very high—both the ones he saw before departure and those after returning! A Li himself also gave a five-star review after returning.

A Li guessed the main reason was the quality of the group meals.

Compared to the group meals A Li had experienced before, this trip's group meals were the best. Every meal was at a proper hotel, and the hotel environment was astonishingly good. The diners included both tour groups and individual customers. The quality and quantity of the food were impeccable.

On the evening of June 18, they had authentic Guilin rice noodles at Ritouhuo Rice Noodle Shop near the Guilin Li River Theater—a big bowl of noodles with a braised egg and a few slices of meat, plus soybeans, pickled vegetables, etc., which they could add themselves, and they could also buy small steamed dishes.

On the noon of June 19, they had the local specialty beer fish feast at a big hotel in Yangshuo. The group members were satisfied with both the color and taste of the dishes, and many took photos to post on their social media.

On the noon of June 20, they ate the popular local dish "Chunji Roasted Goose" at a restaurant in a bustling area of Guilin. The amount of food brought was so much that they couldn't finish it, and the restaurant provided a vast supply of fresh fruit that tourists could take freely—as long as they could eat it. This time, very few people took photos; everyone was busy eating.

On the noon of June 21, they had a buffet worth 99 yuan at a super five-star hotel, the Grand Palace. The hotel was as luxurious as a palace, breathtaking. There was also a huge variety of food, which they could enjoy leisurely.

To capture a person's heart, one must first capture their stomach. Guilin merchants really understand this!

Once they were happy with the food, all displeasure vanished instantly. Besides, the guide frequently talked about how poor Guilin was: in order to preserve its beautiful mountains and clear waters, Guilin had moved all heavy industries away, so the economy was very backward. Everyone coming to travel and buy things was helping to alleviate poverty. Moreover, when the guide bid farewell to each person, he repeatedly urged them to give him a good online review; otherwise, he wouldn't get his monthly salary!

Every group meal was excellent, and each was different. The complimentary osmanthus cake also tasted good. As the saying goes: "He who receives gifts puts his hand in his pocket." And on the afternoon of June 18, the merchant also gave away a ticket to the large 5D magic show "Between the Mountains and Rivers," allowing everyone to watch a thrilling performance! So, who would still be embarrassed to give a bad review online? Of course, it was a five-star review!

Half a month has passed since the four-day Guilin tour, and A Li still occasionally thinks about what he saw and heard there. He hopes that Guilin's landscape will always keep its unique beauty and elegance; he also hopes that Guilin merchants will always retain their warmth and kindness; and he also hopes that in the future, Guilin merchants will reduce their shrewdness that makes tourists pay more IQ tax.

July 6, 2018