Must see in Guangxi
China Daily | Updated: 2023-04-29 09:36
A Broad Spectrum of Scenery
What you will find here is beyond towering mountains, dense forests, and picturesque scenery. This alpine scenic spot spreads across 17,008 hectares, with over one-third being primeval forest. Its natural landscape can be magnificent but tranquil, peculiar but elegant. The high humidity makes the sea of clouds a common scene here thanks to the mountain climate. And the scenery varies with the season. Here, you can appreciate splendid blossoms in spring, avoid summer heat in the cool canyon, step on red leaves scattered on the ground in autumn, and get stunned by the rime ice in winter. On rainy days, you might look up to see a rainbow hanging in the sky. Along the hilly road, you can experience four seasons and various kinds of weather in one trip. If you come to visit now, you'll be greeted by azaleas of different varieties and a 100-year-old pine tree.
A Hotel in Nature
Chaoranpai International Hotel is only 2 kilometers away from the Lijiang River Source Grand Canyon. By taking both the ecological design and standards of 5-star hotels into account, this hotel has integrated modern services and nature, especially bamboo. The hotel also offers entertainments such as go-carting, cosplay of counter strike, and Chinese-style tea houses. Besides, the mountain itself is like a natural oxygen bar.
Hemlock Spruce — Living Fossil from the Ice Age
Hemlock spruces are found at elevations between 1,600 and 1,800 meters, with one area recognized as China's only hemlock spruce forest, having as many as 130 of them. Hemlock spruce, along with dawn redwood and ginkgo, is "a living fossil". Immune to all cold-weather risks, it stays green throughout the year.
A Heaven of Fauna and Flora
Mao'er mountain is abundant in rare animals and plants. Inhabited by 2,484 species of plants and 345 species of vertebrates, this place can serve as a natural gene bank. And surprisingly, a rare alpine wetland featuring evergreen broad-leaved trees has found a way of surviving in the dwarf forest at a high altitude.
The 'Millennium Kiss' Wonder
It's a miracle that two trees have existed together and grown for around a thousand years. It's even more breathtaking to see the two trees gradually getting close to each other and having a little "kiss". What a lovely sight it is in the natural beauty of Mao'er mountain!
Two ways to get there
1.Take a train and get off at Xing'an Bei station, and take the shuttle bus that goes directly to the Mao'er mountain.
2. Take the Guilin-Xing'an bus from Guilin bus station, get off at Baizhupu station (Zibai Road Intersection), and take the shuttle from Baizhupu to Gaozhai, which is at the foot of the Mao'er mountain.
Travel Tips
Entrance ticket: 160 yuan
Opening hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Recommended duration of visit: 2-4 hours
Location: northwest of Xing'an county, Guilin
Other suggestions: If you decide to go to Mao'er mountain, carry some thick clothes, for the temperature difference from the foot of the mountain to the peak is huge and it is humid in the mountain. If you are a foreigner, you need approval from the reserve administration before entering the area, since it is situated within the national reserve, which foreigners are not allowed to enter without the authorities' permission.