Golden Week

For Golden Week, a week of celebration in China, our only week off in October, we decided to go to the South of China. Over this week, many people travel; families get together and most students go back home, so it is a good idea to plan ahead. We decided to fly to Guilin, in the Guanxi province, spend three nights in Yangshuo, which is a small town an hour away from Guilin, and then spend two nights in Guilin. We then flew back into Beijing where we spent the week-end.

The south was great! Very different from industrial Tianjin. We took a bicycle ride the first night, between rice paddies, beautiful peaks and mountains. The next day we relaxed on the river, on a bamboo raft, and enjoyed an open-air performance on the Li-river. It reminded us of the Olympics opening ceremony! We also took a tour of the Shangri-La and got a glimpse of some ancient Chinese traditions. We visited a cave as well. Back in Guilin we also enjoyed a day in the rice paddies. It was also fun to walk around, shop, meet new people and enjoy southern food.

China has so much to offer. There are so many different things to see, so many different sceneries and landscapes, so many different types of food to enjoy! I feel like I will never have time to see all of China.

Back in Beijing we visited the touristic places like Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. All were very impressive. We also enjoyed Beijing’s nightlife, and even tried interesting food like scorpions!

Golden Week was a lot of fun, I would advise everyone to travel over that week, try new things and enjoy the time you have in China. It is a beautiful country.

By Marilou Gantier