Arriving in Guling we were met by Jocelyn our guide and Mr Chin our driver. Yes he does have a chin and no he does not know the story of the three little pigs. It's just mum and I on this leg of the tour. The first thing that gets your attention is the temperature. It's warm and humid like summer in Brisvegas. The next thing that grabs your attention is the massive limestone Karst's. It's like being in a giant game of Warhammer. They stand imposingly in every direction and come in many different shapes, though their height seems to be consistent. I'll have to find an explanation of how they are formed because I could not understand our guides explanation.
On the way to our hotel we are told that Gui'lin is a province governed by a autonomous ethnic minority. There are 55 recognised ethnic minorities in the country. One of the implications of this is that the minorities are not governed by the one child policy. I love the way the country regularly throws up issues that blow away my preconceived idea that China is one singular whole. It is a country of great diversity and the people it contains are a big pointer to that.
Being limestone country we stopped in on a rather spectacular cave for a sticky beak. The attachment of the culture to animals and mythical beast was present once again with lights pointing out formations of tigers, turtles, dragons, centipedes and owls to name a few. Mum pointed out that the dog in one display looked more like a marino sheep but our guide was not having any of that. I reckon I could see a few emus too but thought better of sharing my culturally imperialist perspective.
We dropped our bags off at the hotel, had lunch and headed off to the local national park. Aptly named Elephant Trunk Hill, it's quite beautiful and cooling on a warm day. The Karst in the park has been shaped by the local river to look like an Elephants trunk. A short steep walk to the top of the Karst reveals a great view of the amazing War Hammer landscape. Unfortunately the sun and sky are hidden once again by the haze, I'd love to see see it on a clear day.
Our evening show (it's getting to be expected, all this entertainment) was a display of some of the rich cultural traditions in the area. Each one of the minority groups in the area is famous for their dancing, singing or building skills. Yet they all share a common tradition of folk songs. Our show was an incomprehensible high pitched singing, dancing, acrobatic and highly colorful display of traditional costumes and folk songs. Despite some of the male performers looking like they would rather be out the back having a durrie and the lip syncing being almost perfect, I got a sense that this performance is not just a thing for the tourists but part of keeping the culture alive. I reckon that's why Neighbors has such longevity, it's expressive of our rich cultural language not to mention social aspiration.
Tomorrow we have a boat ride up the Li river, being on the water it will hopefully make the day cooler.
Ben & Mum
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Location:Gui'ling
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