Picturesque Guilin V: Guilin Snacks

If you have visited Guilin, You must taste the most famous snack-Guilin Rice Noodles, which is a staple of Guilin people's diet and is a wonderful and cheap dish. Besides of it, whether do you know other snacks in Guilin? In the article, we will talk about the Guilin snacks.

Chapter Five

Guilin Snacks

Guilin's central location in Ling Nan has given it a cuisine that is influenced by the food of Canton, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian. In recent years, however, Sichuan and Cantonese dishes have become the most popular. The development of tourism, too, has had an effect on eating habits, as local snack foods are enjoyed by tourists from around the world.

Guilin Rice Noodles

Guilin Rice Noodles, which can be either round or flat, are the most popular snack in Guilin. The thing that sets one dish apart from another is the soup, which is made of pork, steak, Lo Han Kuo, and various seasonings. Depending on the ingredients used in the soup, rice noodles can be divided into vegetable, three-fresh, original soup, spicy and sour, beef, and horse meat rice noodles. The horse meat rice noodles of Huixian Lou are the most famous.

Beside Guilin Rice Noodles, nun noodles, chestnut glutinous rice dumplings (banli zong), stewed duck with gingko, lotus-leaf duck, and stewed duck with ginger are also famous and popular in Guilin. Some of the specialties of the region are described below.

Lipu Taro Pork

① Stewed duck with gingko is a traditional dish thought to be a remedy for lung problems. Gingko, cubes of duck meat, ham slices, and other ingredients are steamed in braising cups. The result is light but savory soup in which the tender duck meat contrasts pleasantly with the smooth, slightly slimy texture of the gingko.

② Lipu taro pork is made up of Lipu taro, pork, Guilin preserved bean curd, and various other ingredients. The pork and taro cubes are fried separately and then steamed together, so each piece is golden on the outside and soft and flavorful on the inside. Health benefits of this dish include extinguishing any "fire" (inflammation) in your body and improving your complexion.

③ Stewed clams and chicken is an award-winning dish of the region. A chicken, a pair of clams, preserved longan, and slices of ham are stewed with other ingredients in a covered porcelain pot for two hours. This mellow-flavored dish has many healthful benefits.

④ Lo Han boiled chicken, as the name implies, is steamed with traditional Chinese herb like Lo Han Kuo, astragalus, and codeonopsis pilosula. This refreshing soup can help to lower blood pressure.

Lo Han Boiled Chicken

⑤ Fried chicken with water chestnut uses Guilin water chestnut, quality chicken, fresh mushrooms, and other special ingredients. This dish is delicious and beautiful as well.

⑥ Duck wrapped in lotus leaf is very tasty and healthful. First, the duck is fried to a golden brown. Then cubes of lean pork, bamboo shoot, ham, taro, and mushroom; green beans; and shrimp are stir-fried with seasonings and stuffed into the duck, which is then wrapped with a lotus leaf and steamed. The unique fragrance of the lotus leaf permeates the tender duck meat, making this dish especially delicious.

⑦ Steamed pork with rice flour wrapped in lotus leaf is a traditional homemade dish. The pork is boiled and then stir-fried with soybean sauce, dipped into mung bean flour, wrapped in a lotus leaf, and steamed. The dish is rich but not greasy and helps to lower cholesterol.

Following are list the top 10 guilin snacks and some good dining places as your travel tips.

TOP 10 Guilin Snacks

TOP 1 Guilin Rice Noodles
The main feature of Guilin Rice Noodles is its sauce which is made from more than 36 Chinese medicine and special herbs. 

Fried Chicken with Water Chestnut

TOP 2 Duck wrapped in lotus leaf 
The unique fragrance of the lotus leaf permeates, making this dish especially delicious.

TOP 3 Fried chicken with water chestnut  
It uses Guilin water chestnut, quality chicken, fresh mushrooms, and other special ingredients.

TOP 4 Nun noodles 
The soup is then poured over the noodles, vegetables, and seasonings.

TOP 5 Stewed clams and chicken 
A pair of clams, preserved longan, and slices of ham is stewed with other ingredients.

TOP 6 Lipu taro pork 
It is made up of Lipu taro, pork, Guilin preserved bean curd, and various other ingredients.

TOP 7 Steamed pork with rice flour wrapped in lotus leaf 
It is boiled and then stir-fried with soybean sauce, dipped into mung bean flour.

Nun Noodles 

TOP 8 Sour fried dried fish 
Its smoked with fruit peels and then dried in the sun.

TOP 9 Fried meat floss with sweet-scented osmanthus 
It is a good appetizer with a glass of wine and is the highlight of this dish.

TOP 10 Stewed duck with gingko
Stewed duck with gingko is a traditional dish thought to be a remedy for lung problems.

Good Dining Places

Guilin Bravo Hotel Restaurant
Location: No.14 Rong Hu South Road
Style: Sichuan cuisine

Tong Lai Guan
Location: No. 4, Zhongshan Middle Road, opposite to Guilin Hotel

Guilin Ren Chain Restaurant

Style: Local snacks and traditional dishes

Lao Xiang Qin Restaurant
Location: southeast of Shizijie Square

Style: Beijng and Tianjin cuisine

Guilin Ren Chain Restaurant
The leading caterer in Guilin. The chain restaurants are spread throughout the city.

Hao Da Ma Cate Square
Location: Fl. 4, Bagui Building
Style: Buffet featuring a variety of snacks. Also from here, you can enjoy the bustling Center Square and Zhongshan Road.

Picturesque Guilin IV: Impression Sanjie Liu

If you have a tour of Guilin, the Impression Sanjie Liu should be a must-see attraction, which is directed by the famous director, Mr Zhang Yimou. I'm sure you will be impressed by the performance. In the article, we will talk about the Impression Sanjie Liu.

Chapter Four

Impression Sanjie Liu

Comments from the audiences on some travel blogs about Impression Sanjie Liu

I was deeply moved and inspired by the show. It taught me that there are many different ways to make a difference, and you just have to be creative!
-----Helen Wang May 7, 2007

I watched the performance last week when I traveled to Guilin. I was shocked by the beauty of the moving picture in front of me, but failed find a single suitable word to describe it to my students. I showed them your article, and the students love it very much. It's good description and comment on Impression Liu Sanjie.
-----Veronica Lee May 10, 2007

Singing

The large-scale performance The Impressional Sanjie Liu is the core project of The Li River Mountain-Water Theatre, it was invested by GuiLin Guangwei Wenhua Tourism and Culture Co.Ltd.，and took 5 years to completed．

This performance expresses the beautiful scenery of the Li River，the colorful culture of the ethnic groups in Guangxi and the brave imagination of the excellent artists in China，it is the first of its kind the word.

The performance regards the Impression Sanjie Liu as the general theme，and creatively combines the classical Sanjie Liu's Songs，ethnic groups’ culture and the fishing lights together，to reflect the harmonious atmosphere between human beings and the nature．The performance lasts for 70 minutes and 600 plus actors and actress are involved．

Impression Sanjie Liu is a sensational night show performed in the largest natural theatre in the world. Boundless sky and 12 peaks about 2km along Li River compose the stage of mountain and river backdrops.

Show on the River

This is a totally different performance from the conventional form. The theater is the nature itself. The sceneries of the four seasons are changing, the weather is changing, so does the performance is changing to match up with the changeable nature. 

In this stage, only the half of the performance is created by man, and the other half is belonged to the mysterious nature.

If it were raining during the performance, you can put on the raincoat that we prepare for you, if you came here in the hot summer, you have to take the anti-mosquito spray with you, if there were flood, half of the auditorium probably could be under the water, and if there were thunderstorm, the performance could be ceased. This is our performance—a performance interacting with the nature.

Sanjie Liu is the singing goddess in the legend of ethnic group of Zhuang. In 1961, there was a film made with the same title as her name "Sanjie Liu" which has been a classic and popular music film in China from then on. 

In the play “Impression Sanjie Liu”, you won't see the plots, the characters and the usual scenes, but rather a series of impressions, and those impressions are got from the landscapes and the ordinary life of the place, Because Sanjie Liu was born and bred from this magic land, her legend radiates the wonderful atmosphere of this place and naivety of the local people.

Fisherman/Hillman/Actor

There are more than 600 people involved in this play. Most of them are fishermen from the 5 villages along the river. They work in the river in the daytime, and participates the performance in the evening with their bamboo rafts. 

Torch

Some of the performers are the little singers from the villages of ethnic group of Dong and the young girls of other ethnic minorities group .They sing with the nature and untrained voices and dance with spontaneous style. In the gorgeous landscape, they are extraordinary beautiful and brilliant.

The play was presented to the audiences formally on Mar.20.2004.After saw the play, the officers of the world tourism organization commended. "This is a unique play, you can't see it nowhere the world but here. And it's worth to buy a round-trip air ticket from anywhere in the world only to see the play."

Above all, the fantastic night entertainment show-Impression Liu Sanjiein has been performed in the natural scenic setting in Yangshuo these years. It is popular with tourists across the world. The "Legend of Liu Sanjie" is well-known amid Chinese people. That is what let the legendary Liu Sanjie come out from a story, from a movie and be performing on a real stage.

The performance has paid much attention to environmental protection and offer portable toilets at the venue. Ever since the premiere on March 20, 2004, the performance has been performed every two or three days. What's more different is that this creative musical show is actually a poverty-alleviation project. The average income for the farmers there is less than $10 a month. 

Dancing

Thousands of people from the surrounding villages participated in the show. Each show employs 600 local village performers. Each person received $3 for the performance s/he attended. It attracts the significant amount of tourists to the area. The tickets cost anywhere between $20--$80. This is absolutely a world-class show - as someone said: "a masterpiece by the Creator and man."

Travel Tips for Watching Impression Sanjie Liu

Plan A - Take a golf car: a type of public transportation service in old town of Yangshuo, pickup place for the show is at the front door of Yangshuo Pradise Ressort, the golf car can take 9 persons one time, and it cost RMB 20-30 one way to the show place, you can pay the driver RMB 20-30, ask the driver to go right away; or you might wait for other passengers, and share the cost together.  When the show finishs, it will be difficult sometimes to find a golf car to go back to the hotel, you might need to walk 40 minutes. 

Plan B - Show + round trip transfers: ask your tour consultant or your tour guide to reserve the ticket, and the cost is USD 33 per person,  the tour guide will find the seat for you, escort you to find the car when the show ends, and driver will be waiting for you to take you back to the hotel.  It is expensive because you have to pay the overtime work cost for the tour guide and driver.