Eventually I conceded defeat and decided to turn on some tunes and look out the window. I must admit, after seeing the dismal, flat and cold grey setting of Zhengzhou, I was a bit relieved when I looked out the window and saw some green and some mountains! By time we "woke up" we were just about in Guangxi province. At about 9:00 we passed the city of Guilin. This is considered by much of China to be the most beautiful place in the country. I have heard a few times that it is also considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is a tourist city and as such, the train station actually looked clean. How nice.
The reason Guilin is famous is because of the mountains. You know how when you think of Chinese mountains, you think of these steep pointy mountains that you would see in Kung Fun Panda or a Chinese watercolor painting? These are the mountains from Guilin. These type of mountains are called karst. If you have seen all the Star Wars movies, then you have seen images from Guilin. The mountains were used as background images for the Wookie planet Kashyyyk. (See these images)
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| This is a picture I snapped out of the train window as we were passing Guilin. Not much, but you can see some of the mountains in the background. |
