Originally we wanted to go to Gurong Watertown last Sunday (see newsletter), but the evening before our tour-organizer informed us (surprise, surprise) that the town has closed its doors.

As it was too late to inform everyone we decided to start the tour as planned but make a little hike a little further down the original destination and visit the house of the family of a sunny hiking club member:

The first rays of sunshine are peaking through the clouds and temperatures are finally back in the double digits. What better way to celebrate than go pick some of the first strawberries of the season?

Those of you that subscribed to our newsletter (hint, hint) had the chance of joining us and the Sunny Hiker Group last Saturday to the strawberry fields in Daxu. If you missed the tour or had to work, here are some photos:

Last monday we took a car to Huangyao, which is about 200km away from Guilin. We started early in the morning so we were lucky enough to arrive before the hordes of tourists.

Huangyao is a well preserved, around 1000 years old settlement. As many others it has already been blessed with being discovered by mass tourism which lead to a rather hefty entrance fee of RMB70 per person. Still, I would say it was worth the money.

Inside the compound, Huangyao is way better than other places like Yangshuo or Daxu. Of course there are little stalls selling fake antiques and Mao-Bibles, but it is much more laid back. Nobody tries to pull you into their shops. I bought a traditional dress for my little daugther and paid only RMB 20 without much bargaining.

Should you go there, remember to bring some snacks. While you can get pickled veggies and cooked eggs easily, there are not many restaurants. (Actually, we saw only one).  To finish this rather short report, here are some photos: (For more photos please visit our Huangyao Photo Gallery)

This is a follow up from the recent China Visa post: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is!

It is not that easy to get a visa like “China Observer” claims to be. There is a more accurate overview on  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/service.htm

For people who would normally require to obtain a visa in advance there are certain emergency situations which will permit them to get a visa on arrival.

These will always require an invitation from an accredited Chinese organisation which explains the emergency, (mostly related to business purposes which from the Chinese perspective it is important that you are admitted without delay) or you must yourself be in a real emergency situation such as a passenger in a plane or ship in mechanical difficulty.

Aliens who hold ordinary passports issued by countries which have diplomatic relations or official trade links with China as well as letter(s) or telegram(s) from authorized units in China, may, under any of the following circumstances where they must necessarily rush to China but have no time to apply for a visa, apply to the visa-granting departments at entry ports as authorized by the Ministry of Public Security.

The Rules on Visa Issued at Entry Ports are not applicable to the nationals of United States.

1. They are invited at the last moment by a Chinese host to come to China for a trade fair.

2. They are invited to come to China to submit a tender or to sign a formal economic or trade contract.

3. They come to China by appointment to supervise the inspection of import and export commodities or to participate in a check-and-accept operation in accordance with contracts.

4. They are invited to participate in the installation of equipment or in the emergency repair of engineering projects.

5. They come to China at the request of the Chinese side to solve a problem of claims.

6. They are invited to come to provide technical advisory services.

7. They come to China due to a last-minute change in the composition of a visiting group and with consent of the Chinese side after the visas are granted.

8. They come to China to see patients in critical conditions, or to undertake funeral matters.

9. Owing to force majeure, transit visa holders cannot leave the country within twenty-four hours by taking the original place or by taking other means of transport.

10. Other invited guests who really have no time for visa application to the aforesaid China’s resident agencies abroad, and who hold letter(s) or telegram(s) from competent authorities who give the consent for the invited guests to apply for the visa at the designated entry ports.

The visa-granting agencies at entry ports shall not accept and handle visa applications filled out by people who do not come under the aforesaid circumstances.

Some accredited International Travel Agencies incorporated under Chinese laws may apply for group-tour visa at entry ports with Visa Notification Form issued by provincial office of foreign affairs.

Visa-issuing departments at port of entry, as authorized by the Ministry of Public Security, are stationed at the following ports:

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Xi’an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guangzhou (Baiyun Airport), Shenzhen (Luohu, Shekou), Zhuhai (Gongbei), Haikou, Sanya, Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Chengdu, Nanjing, Changchun, Huichun, Hekou, Mohan.

There is also provision for a short stay (5 day) ‘visa on arrival’ for some nationalities for persons who only want to visit a Special Economic Zone such as Zhuhai or Shenzhen.

“Lifechangingtravel” just reviewed the list of world’s most threatened tourist sites.

For Yangshuo they had the following to say:

“Now the town attracts more than three million visitors a year – more than it can easily sustain,” the magazine stated.

However, there are steps those on a gap year in China can take to ensure their visit does not have a detrimental effect on the locale, it added.

These include hiring a bicycle and pedalling through the nearby hamlets, hiking through the mountains or rock-climbing, rather than using too much transport.

We have one more suggestions to give: Don’t go there at all!

<beginning of rant>

Seriously, why does everyone want get on a cramped, overpriced tourist boat, get carted down the Li River while getting the membranous blasted out by the obnoxious tour guide explaining sites through his megaphone? When arriving in Yangshuo you’re directly greeted by an armada of hawkers, beggars and looky-looky people that will follow you on your whole trip.

The city itself, while situated in a REALLY beautiful setting,   doesn’t have much to offer either… that means, except you want to buy bags full of souvenirs.

<end of rant>

Yes, you could rent a bike and escape to the country side, but why not directly go off the beaten track and visit something less spoiled by modern mass tourism?

There are so many places around that are worth a visit: Xing’an,  Daxu,  Xiong Cun, Liang Jiang, just to name a few.  You will get less hawkers, better food and a real glimpse at country life in China.

China Hospitality News ran an article about the Tourism Department of Guilin Government opening the “the first tourist public service management body in China”:

“An official of the administration said that it will devise a plan for Guilin to build a public tourist system, establish tourist service centers and tourist distribution centers in downtown areas, promote a self-drive service system and the hire of recreational vehicles, and build a first class tourist public information service platform.”

While this is certainly a laudable effort to make Guilin, eh, … “better”, some open question remain:

First, we would really like to know how a “self-drive service system” is going to work if foreign driving licenses are still not accepted here. It is unlikely that this system is meant to be for bicycles only.

Second, we are a bit worried about the “distributing free promotional materials to tourists directly” part. It is not that we don’t like freebies but we don’t think that the Government should get involved into the daily turf wars between beggars, hawkers, “massaggi-ladies” and tricycle drivers for the last tourists that couldn’t escape into a nearby coffee shop.

Still, an improvement of the current situation in the Tourist Information (hardly anybody speaks English, no information material) will definitely benefit those visitors that want to explore Guilin and surrounding by themselves.

At this point we would like to point towards our partner page “Guilin Hiking” which will soon start to organize hiking trips again.

The German speaking “China Observer” reported that from now on it will be possible to get “on-arrival” tourist visas in Guilin Liangjiang International Airport.

This is, if true, good news for last minute tourists who don’t have time to shuffle to the Chinese embassy in their home country to apply for a visa. The maximum duration is limited to 30 days. It is not known if these on-arrival visas can be extended by another 30 days like “normal” Chinese tourist visas.

To get the visa you need to take a visa application form, a passport photo with white background and a copy of you passport (+ the passport of course) with you.

The “Port Visa Office” at the Airport is open the whole day:

Tel: +86 0773 2845053
Fax: +86 0773 2845053

The visa fees are CNY 130 for group tours and CNY 160 for single travelers.

source: http://www.china-observer.de/index.php?entry=entry100117-084010

Happened already some time ago, so here are finally the photos for the opening ceremony of the new (or rather rebuild) Chuanshan Bridge:

As the first page of our “Guilin Transport” Section we put a copy of the Train Schedule for Guilin Train Station online.

In the short future we plan to extend the section by adding a bus plan and other useful information about getting around in and around Guilin

Click here to go directly to the Guilin Train Schedule

Here a list of Chinese Public Holidays for 2010.

State Council General Office’s information on the holiday regulations for 2010
Office of the State Council Notice No. 27 (2009)

New Year: 1st January – 3rd January in total 3 days

Spring Festival:13th February – 19th february 2010, in total 7 days, 20th February (Saturday) and 21st February (Sunday) are working days

Qingming (memorial day of the deceased): 3rd April – 5th April 2010, in total 3 days

Labour Day: 1st May – 3rd May 2010, in total 3 days,

Dragon Boat Festival: 14th June – 16th June 2010, in total 3 days, 12th June (Saturday) and 13th June (Sunday) are working days

Mid Autum Festival: 22nd September – 24th September 2010, in total 3 days, 19th (Sunday) and 25th (Saturday) are working days

National Day: 1st October – 7th October 2010, in total 7 days, 26th September (Sunday) and 9th October (Saturday) are working days

General Office of the State Council
Dezember 7, 2009

For the original Chinese announcement, click here