VisitOurChina team outing in Guilin Maojia village lotus pond

Last weekend, VisitOurChina’s team gathered to spend an amazing day strolling about Guilin vicinity to the village of MaoJia Cun (毛家村) where lies a hidden lotus pond and a gorgeous preserved nature. Regarding this wonderful day we had there all together, we cannot help but sharing it with you because we are also your friends in China and that is so much fun!

On Saturday morning, our team met near to Guilin Lianda Commercial Plaza (联达广场) to pick up a bus stopping on the way to the village in the south-east of Guilin city. Known by locals as an idyllic place to enjoy some of the best sceneries of Guilin and typical farmers’ lifestyle, Maojia Cun is also where locates a little stream where taking a small boat to a lotus pond. The program was exciting to everyone! Getting off the bus, we joined some of us who came by ridding bicycle – for they are pure bicycle lovers ;) – and continued our way to the village located between hundreds of rice fields, half of us using a tuk-tuk, half ridding bicycle. The way to the village was of pure beauty.

Summer in South China is the time for harvest and when rice fields and terraces take on their yellow-golden jacket. We had the immense chance to see farmers harvesting their rice fields and making the rice drying on the big and large plan of the road, the exact same people are using for transportation. Our tuk-tuk was driving on the rice for it couldn’t do in a different way and that is exactly how people do there. Just the way to that pond was a pure highlight to me, I keep it in my mind for ever now.

We arrived at the border of the stream and embarked for a gentle cruise using a small boat on which 5 people could sit on small chairs for kids. Once departed, the feeling was amazing. There we were, comfortably sat with our boat driver, discovering an amazing stream where luxuriant vegetation was developing away from any pollution and big tourist groups. With the hot weather that started to burn our heads by the end of the morning, some of us started to put hands or feet in the water to get cooler. The journey on the stream was calm and peaceful, looking at the many flowers, small fish, birds, waterlilies and other types of vegetations growing there.

After a 15 minutes journey on a tiny stream, our boat reached the entrance of the lotus pond kept by a local farmer reminding the few (Chinese) tourists visiting the place to do not touch the flowers or so ever and keep in mind the preservation of the gorgeous nature flowering there. How could it be possible to destroy such a place? By the moment we entered, everyone started to have some astonishing exclamation sounds. Indeed, the pond was amazing! There, we finally started to stand up in order to see the landscape and not being jutted out by the lotus and waterlilies. They were so huge, of a human height! Waterlilies of the size of a bicycle wheel and lotus flowers the same size of a human head! We had so much fun there, taking lots of pictures and enjoying our time all together.

Our small boats continued their way farther into the countryside. On our way we crossed other boats of Chinese tourists, one of which was composed of men singing traditional Chinese songs. With the grandiose landscape displayed in front of our eyes, and the karstic mountains of Guilin in the background, we were really like in a travel book, like in a dream that was actually true and so beautiful! Finally, we reached the foot of a mountain: the Dragon Head Mountain (龙头山, long tou shan), the nest step of our boat and hiking day!

Discovering Guilin is also discovering its mountains and their importance into the region’s symbolism and importance. Just like that, we climbed the mountain under the summer heat of 35 degrees that was heating Guilin and first stopped half way taking memorable team pictures that speak for themselves. Guilin landscapes are the best under the Heaven and that is definitely true! The most courageous of us climbed to the top of the mountain, onto the China flag that had been driven in there years ago. Happy to stand at one of the best tops providing a 360’ view of the surrounding of Guilin, they kept the scenery into their mind. Mixing different types of green, yellow, blue and reflections of the light, the landscape in front of us was magic, a landscape that no one can get bored of even after a lifetime living in Guilin.

Happy to have climbed this mountain and full of everlasting memories of such a place, we climbed down and get back to our boat waiting for us. Lunch time arriving (and some people were – believe me – really hungry, Sissi will recognize herself here ;)), we finally decided to come back to Guilin downtown for having lunch all together and relax after such a day in the middle of Guilin scenery.

I keep a wonderful memory of that day we spent all together, all happy to share such a friendly moment in Guilin and having the opportunity to have other experiences all together in what we love: tourism! This team outing is by far the best that I had, one that I will remember for years and that I am thankful to everyone. This is also that the VisitOurChina team spirit!

--- By Sophie (Visit Our China)