Guilin is quite a nice city, much slower pace than Guangzhou or Hong Kong; almost relaxing, except for the hassle from touts. I deal with them with a subtle combination of relentless politeness and monstrous stupidity. Or occasionally I just tell them to fuck off.
The scenery even from the middle of the city is pretty good. Would be amazing without the pollution. Guilin has a population of about 750,000 according to LP, so you wouldn't think it would be too bad - but you can see the result in the picture gallery. You can barely see the karsts in the mid-distance, they just start to fade out. Bit of a shame really, but there your go. Supposed to be better on the way to and in Yangshou.
Couple more pictures in the Guilin photo gallery.
Off to Yangshou tomorrow; on a boat down the Li River - should be fun and the scenery is supposed to be jaw dropping, hoefully with less smog.
