Introducing Guǎngxī
The mysterious karst peaks of Guìlín and Yángshuò may lure most travellers to this province, but more and more, it’s Guǎngxī’s mosaic of nationalities that makes people linger.
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While the limestone scenery, dotted with rice terraces, covered bridges and drum towers makes for a bewitching combination of sights and is one of the most photographed parts of China, those who head off to Guìzhōu or Guǎngdōng before dipping their toes further into the province are missing out on a great deal.
The less touristed south has China’s best mainland beaches, the rock paintings on Left River (Zuǒ Jiāng), a border crossing with Vietnam and the binational Detian Waterfall. It’s also where you’ll hear Zhuang or Vietnamese spoken in the streets and see these languages sharing street signs with Chinese characters.
Nearly 75% of Guǎngxī is non-Han. Today the Zhuang are China’s largest minority, with well over 15 million people concentrated in Guǎngxī. The Zhuang are virtually indistinguishable from the Han Chinese, and the province is often referred to as the Guǎngxī Zhuang Autonomous Region. The province is also home to smaller numbers of Dong, Maonan, Mulao, Jing (Vietnamese Gin) and Yi peoples.
Guǎngxī roughly translates as ‘vast, boundless west’, and for centuries its remoteness and challenging topography kept it poverty-stricken (a residual problem out of the main cities). Its area of 236, 000 sq km ranks it ninth in size nationally; and with nearly 46 million habitants, it’s the 11th most populated province in the country.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: Hechi in Guǎngxī
by serblanco 11 September 2011
Ok, so I'll definitely first head to Guilin! Anyway, I found the Leye-Fengshan Geopark near Hechi, maybe if I'll still keen to see more…
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Re: Hechi in Guǎngxī
by 9roche 08 September 2011
The area around Guilin to Yangzhou is, quite simply, the most beautiful place on Earth.
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RE: Teaching China
by turkeylegs 02 September 2011
Nice list of options! Personally, I would go for Kunming, Yunnan or Nanning, Guangxi. Both are really colourful cities to live in. Good…
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Our Top Picks For Guǎngxī
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1 Li River
Take in China’s legendary karst scenery as you cruise along the Li River from Guìlín
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2 Yángshuò
Pedal through the rice paddies and limestone peaks of Yángshuò in search of ancient villages
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3 Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces
Rice Terraces near Lóngshèng and sleep in a Zhuang village
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4 Sānjiāng
Enter Guìzhōu province via the ‘back door’ of Sānjiāng – a lush, isolated region of lovely villages, river ferries and wooden bridges
Our favourite Guǎngxī Blogs (beta)
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A Little Light Show…Harmonizing Nature and Theatre in Yangshuo
Blog: A Little Adrift - A RTW Travelogue - 14 October 2011
Murmurings from the large audience hushed as a clear and open darkness dropped over our outdoor theatre. The silence was far from absolute though as a breeze swept nearby leaves into a quiet song, a gentle lapping of water, and eventually the sweet notes of a string instrument drifting up from the distant water as the show began. The boats paddled out from the edges of our riverside theatre and colored floodlights illuminated the distant limestone mountains in a myriad of primary colors accompanying the mood of the story. Back in 2008, I ...
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Back drifting
Blog: Drifting Aimless - 3 October 2010
Dreams of Siberia give way to the blue morning haze, ice on a northerly wind, winter has found me once again, its time to flee, to south and out of China for good, already I have been here nearly two months, time to move on. I plot a course skirting the border back to Kunming [...]
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Dog Day Afternoon
Blog: Drifting Aimless - 26 September 2010
The scene resembled something out of a horror movie. The frozen angry scowling death grimaces left me under no illusions; those dogs had died hard. Brandishing a huge meat cleaver, gleefully a man hammered away surrounded by what Id imagine the end-product of a stick of dynamite and a barrel full of dogs might well [...]
