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Picture a normal city; roads, buildings, people, cars etc... Then throw in some insane mountains right in the middle. But not normal mountains, these are more dramatic. With a small diameter, they rise steeply from the ground, randomly rocketing skyward from the flat ground. Stir well and what have you got? Guilin...
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These mountains are littered throughout the city. The reaction I had when I first laid eyes on Guilin was similar to visiting
Cappadocia. Am I on another planet? I had never seen anything like it before.
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Guilin is one of the more developed in Guanxi provence. And by developed I mean lots of traffic, beeping horns, big buildings etc. I arrived early after the best train journey I have taken to date in China. I had purchased a sleeper ticket and did not realise until I actually got on the train. There was no way I would have bought a sleeper normally, I am way too cheap. But having already paid for it I just laid back and relaxed. I met up with my host that morning - Lucy, a seriously awesome girl. She took a lot of time to show me around and we even hung out together for a weekend in Yangshou, but we will get to that...