Nov. 3, 2010
Detian and Minshi
I took a two-day tour to Detian and Tongling starting at 7:30 a.m. opposite the train station in Nanning. The tour operates everyday and costs around Y350-450 depending on accommodation. There were about 20 people in my group. The tour bus arrived at Detian around noon, perfect for lunch. Detian Waterfall and the nearby Ban Gioc Waterfall in Vitenam are the second largest cross-border waterfalls in the world. Although it's fall and the water is not at its heaviest, the waterfall looks quite beautiful with the streams. It's worth paying Y20 to get on a boat to have a closer feel of the waterfall. Another interesting site near the waterfall is the so-called No. 53 Meter Stone, a monument installed in the Qing dynasty to mark the border with Vietnam. There is a small Vietnamese market on the other side so you virtually “go abroad” without any procedures.
Less than one hour from Detian is the scenic Mingshi countryside. It's similar to Yangshuo but there are much less tourists. Tour guide usually asks if anyone would like to go to Minshi after seeing Detian Waterfall for Y100 per person and if there are enough people (around 15) they will drive the bus to the area and send you to a boat guided by a local Zhuang folk (included in the Y100). Otherwise you have to hire a car at Detian and arrange boat yourself directly to the resort (very expensive) area and back.
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| Detian Waterfall |
Nov. 4, 2010
Thongling Canyon
Another popular tourist attraction in Southern Guangxi is Thongling Canyon, about one hour drive from Detian. The entrance fee to Thongling Canyon is Y90 for independent travelers and you basically walk about 2 hours to Thongling Waterfall and come back through an underground river. Thongling Canyon is famous for its vast plants. There is another site near Thongling Canyon named Gulongshan Group of Canyons where you pay Y190 to have some rafting to see some other canyons in the Mt. Gulongshan range.
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| Tongling Canyon |
Nov. 5, 2010
Nanning
There are not much sites in capital city of Guangxi, Nanning, the most famous being Mt. Qingxiushan in the south of the city. Bus No. 10 or 33 takes you to the entrance to the park directly from the train station. There is a Y15 entrance fee and another Y5 for the battery car to take you to the central part of the park. It's some pleasant walk in the park although nothing special.
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| Longxiang Tower, Mt. Qingxiushan |
Nov. 6, 2010
Leye Tiankeng
The overnight bus from Nanning (Y113) arrived at Leye very early in the morning (around 6 a.m.) but it's OK to sleep on the bus until it's warmer outside. The tiankeng around Leye are a great wonder in the world. To get to the area, take a minibus to Huaping from Leye Bus Station and get off at the entrance (Y90) to the Tiankeng. The battery car there will take you to Dashiwei Tiankeng (the biggest in the area) and pass Baidong Tiankeng where you can walk to the bottom of it to have some exercise and oxygen therapy.
Leye is linked to Baise by bus (3.5 hours) where another bus takes you to Bama (2.5 hours).
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| Liuxing Tiankeng |
Nov. 7, 2010
Bama
Bama is one of the five longevity areas in the world and it's quite worth a visit.
Surrounded by beautiful mountains and the Panyang River, Bama is a pleasant place that attracted numerous senior citizens to retire here in recent years. Many buildings are being torn down and rebuilt currently to attract tourists and retirees. One cannot help but wonder how long the longevity will last. There are some other sites in the area including Baimo Cave (Baimo Tiankeng, Y200) and A Hundred Bird Rock (underground river cruise, Y70). A bus from Bama to Nanning takes about 4.5 hours and costs Y90.
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| Bama |
Overview
Southern and Western Guangxi is beautiful and famous for its karst landscape. Mingshi and Bama are two beautiful places with relatively less tourists. While it's possible to check out the sites independently, it's usually cheaper (especially for the entrance fees) to join a tour from Nanning.
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