Those Pretty Mountains - Part One : Guilin

Since we talked about moving in Beijing, there has been a place in China that I really wanted to see.  It is one of those places that are part of this unconscious vague image of China: a few steep but small mountains, with their tops obstructed by the clouds, their still image reflecting in the water of a calm river, cut by the passage of a old man fishing on a bamboo raft.

Guangxi-Guilin-Yanshou

And so for Christmas Paul offered me a trip to go see these places.  What a wonderful wonderful surprise!

So family-style we pack everyone and went onto our plane (Without the diaper bag, forgotten at home. But I am digressing, this is a totally different story).

Here is a glance at my first sight of the Guangxi region, from the plane:

First destination: 桂林 Guilin.

Known for its scenery, the city is sparkled by these steep rock formation, the karst peaks. These little pointy mountains are covering the whole region. In fact its landscape is so special that the city was used as a setting for decor of the planet Kashyyk in Star Wars Episode III.  Here is the view from our hotel room:

The next day, we took the morning to find the zoo, and say hi to the pandas. As usual, their sight that makes Noam quite happy. But with their stained yellowed fur, I really can't help finding the poor guys a bit dirty. And lazy, as they eat bamboo shoots and scratch themselves snail-paced. The little red pandas look much more playful, like furry little bears with long tails.

The Li River serpentine through the city. Its scenery is also found on the back of the 20 Yuan bills. Its  urban shores have been landscaped in a lovely way. At night boats take passengers around the city for a lovely tour, leaving from Fir Lake. It was a real surprise for me to see such beautiful manmade scenery in  an urban setting. Too many times, the Chinese way landscaping and decorating verges on the kitsch. But there, with the meandering of the river, the pretty white bridges, the carved pagodas, with the karst mountains as a background,

Back to the hotel, once the boys in bed, we celebrated the beginning of the new year with the soft sound of the champagne bubbles for only popping noises, since fireworks here are kept for the "real" new year in a couple months.

Welcome 2010!