“Ah, Yángshuò, that legendary backpacker hang-out just 65km south of Guìlín. Guìlín gets all the press, but Yángshuò , a great, laid-back base from which to explorer other small villages in the nearby countryside, arguable surpasses it visually. […] Pedalling through the rice fields amid the splendid green-topped limestone peaks for a day, or three, is for many their top China experience.” Lonely Planet China guide Book introduction to Yangshuo. While I would argue if LP was right on Guilin I have to say: It is absolutely right on Yangshuo!
Continue reading Yangshuo 阳朔
Tag Archives: CZ
Li River 漓江
Wednesday, 21-FEB-2007, Li River Cruise
That’s what you MUST do when going to Guilin. So at least all books and people say. The scenery is so famous that it even made it on the back side of the 20 RMB banknote, see my New Year article. OK, if we must 😉 actually, we again had very high expectations. We had secured our tickets already on Tuesday morning right in our hotel. You can buy tickets for this cruise virtually everywhere. As we (thanks to Carol) could book the Chinese way we ‘only’ paid 360 RMB (Lonely Planet says 460 RMB, which might indeed be a price a Westerner would need to pay when booking the trip in a group of Westerners). Ah, yes, per person certainly 😛 Continue reading Li River 漓江
Guilin 桂林
“Say ‘Guìlín’ and watch the looks of rapture (and pride) on the faces of Chinese people. Dotted with supernaturally lovely karst topography gracing the Li River (Li Jiāng) – these bizarre limestone upthursts shape-shifting in dancing mists and haze – the city’s beauty has been celebrated for generations by painters and poets.” This is how the Lonely Planet guide book on China starts describing Guilin. Thereafter also come some warnings about dminished charme due to modern development and cashing-in on the tourist attractions. But prepared with such statements you nonetheless start your journey with highest expectations. Continue reading Guilin 桂林
Germany III (Placeholder to be filled)
It is embarassing but true: I need to insert yet another placeholder to keep room for our second visit to Germany, during which we had the pleasure to attend two weddings of friends of mine, combined with a sightseeing tour to southern Germany. Yet again…time to sort out picture is rare… Continue reading Germany III (Placeholder to be filled)
Century Park “Mosaiculture”: Plant Sculptures
As part of some Tourism Festival Shanghai’s Century Park has at the moment a large number of Plant Sculptures on display. They have been designed by gardeners of different Shanghai district, various Chinese provinces, and also quite large a number of foreign countries. Countries I remember include France, Spain, Belgium, Brasil, Canada, USA, Japan. Not, however, Germany 🙁 Continue reading Century Park “Mosaiculture”: Plant Sculptures
Sunset Sports Bar
You might have heard that there is something like a Soccer World Championship somewhere, well, you may find hints on FIFAworldcup.com.
Recently, a bar named “Sunset Sports Bar” opened very close to my appartment. Just fall out of the south gate, turn right and there you are: A brand new bar, which tries with a couple of flags taped to the ceiling and some pretty fake cups to create something like a sports bar atmosphere. It wouldn’t work on a brand-new bar. It needs a bit of patina for that atmosphere to come up. And that old a Shanghai bar rarely becomes. Never mind, it’s a sports bar, it has beer, burgers, and large video screens, it’s just around the corner, and the staff is very friendly and understands a good bit of English. Hey man, what else could you ever want in Pudong? Continue reading Sunset Sports Bar
Germany II (placeholder, to be filled)
See Part I for an intro. Continue reading Germany II (placeholder, to be filled)
Germany I (placeholder, to be filled)
I have been to Germany in May. Well, what a surprise–I AM German. But I have been there with nice company: my girl-friend. We did a 2 weeks tour through middle and northern Germany to show her my home country for the first time.
Continue reading Germany I (placeholder, to be filled)
A Day in the Grand Hyatt Shanghai
Ever seen this building?
Century Park
Another advantage of the new appartment is the close location to Shanghai’s largest park, Century Park. I skate around it if I’m up for some long-distance skating. And this weekend we eventually visited it.
Most parts of the park are grouped around a large lake in the middle. There are also other small creeks throughout the park, so that–typically Chinese–there is lot’s of water around. A design I still very much like. On most of these waters it is possible to go by hired boat. Continue reading Century Park