Guilin – The Hometown of Liu Sanjie

Continuing of China post, previously I have blogged about the longevity village, Bama. After spending 3 days there, we took a 7 hours coach ride to Guilin.

When we talked about Guilin, one thing that represents the city is definitely Liu San Jie. Originally based on famous film set in the mountains and rivers of Guilin, Liu San Jie is a farmer’s girl who lived in Tang Dynasty. 

She showed great potential when she was very young. She can recite the Chinese traditional poems at the age of 12. She was so good at creating folk songs that she can sing immediately when she saw a scenery. She has so many songs that no one can compete with here in singing match.

Because of its popularity, the government built a Liu Sanjie Cultural Garden which is a memoral park named after Liu Sanjie, hoping to carry forward the culture of Guangxi minorities.

The ethnic group of Yao people are well known for their singing over many generations. The women are also good weavers while the men are good planters. These wooden buildings are their home which is very simple. The woods in front are used for making fire for cooking.

Bronze drums are important instruments used by the Zhang people during important ceremonies.

Yao people are good in dancing, this long drum dancing best represent them. Please don’t ask me to dance for you.

Play with the tong instruments!

Longevity Village, walk through it as though you have been through all the ups and downs in life.

This is the place where Liu Sanjie met her lover.

After which, lunch was at this local restaurant which serves traditional guilin noodles. Sorry there is only one food shot. It is impossible to be a food blogger when you are travelling. Because the aunties and uncles in the tour group simply snatch the food when it arrives at the table.

After I shot finish this dish, I don’t have anymore chicken and fried egg to eat. No, not that I am slow in taking photos, I only took 3 shot of this noodles. Imagine how fast / kiasu they were!

Liu Sanjie has definitely inspired many people in Guilin. The main character of the movie, was played by Huang Wanqiu who has also subsequently become a household name in China. At the Guangxi Provincial Art Gallery every night from 8-9pm, there will be “Songs of Liu Sanjie” performance which consists of minority songs and dances. 

Huang Wanqiu directs this show for spread Liu Sanjie culture all over the world. Audiences coming from all over the world will be attracted by the songs which may carry a feeling of nostalgia. The 60+ year old Huang Wanqiu will still perform if she is not travelling. It was such a rare opportunity to see her. She leads a hard life just like Liu Sanjie. If you are wondering, the songs in the Liu Sanjiu movie wasn’t sung by her. 

The one hour performances is not only songs and dances. There is also acrobatic performances. 

Not for the weak heart. This man was piercing a pin through his eyelids and pulling two pails of water up. Kids, please do not learn this at home. 

This man is walking on lightbulbs!

He can also eat fire and use his teeth to hold up the table! This is crazy!

There is also thousand hand guan yin. 

Huang Wanqiu also trained her own daughter – Xiao Qiu into a young San Jie Liu actress. They, together with a troop of other actors have created a rich audio-visual feast for the song and dance lovers. After the performance, you have the chance to have a group photo with Huang Wanqiu too!

Besides Liu Sanjie, Guilin also have beautiful landscapes. 

The Guilin city is actually very small, the hotels, restaurants and shopping areas are all within walking distance. One must-visit attraction in Guilin is the Sun and Moon Twin Towers (日月双塔). Its name derived from the “Day”, “month” shall be co-wall “Ming” is intended to symbolize Guilin better tomorrow.

   

These places is best viewed at night because of the beautiful lightings of the towers.

That’s about all for Guilin. I will continue with the beautiful Yang Shuo in the next post. For my post on Bama, the longevity village, click here.