Nanning China ~ Travel pictures in Guangxi Zhuang
South China Travel reveals my 'Real' China
When I saw Nanning China, on my first South China travel experience, I was smitten! I'd come to NaNNing in the south China province of Guangxi Zhuang from Beijing, by plane, a 3.5 hour flight south. From Nanning, I'd go by bus to Wuzhou (see China provinces travel story) then on to Guangzhou (the former Canton). While I greatly enjoyed the historical Beijing sights, the pearl and jade artisans, and the climb up the Great Wall, I felt that somehow, as yet, I hadn't yet seen the REAL China.
One Fall Day Here, at last, on an early October afternoon, on the half-hour drive from the new marble lined airport to Nanning city, was my REAL China: In the hills and fields of emerald green rice paddies, where workers clad in blue and wearing woven conical hats bent to their tasks; Alongside the road, small farm yards with ramshackle lean-tos and green ponds where ducks paddled lazily; the tree-lined road with a steady stream of pedestrians, trucks, bicycles, motorbikes, pedicabs, water buffalo and cows.
My 'real' China was exotic and chaotic, and yet very familiar. Finally! Here was the China of my childhood dreams! A few years later, I returned to Nanning to find a new freeway bypassed the rice paddies, farm yards and pedestrians, and I realized how fast the Old China is disappearing. I was very glad to have had a glimpse of China as it used to be, and how it is now, like at the Nanning Zoo, Yiling Caves, and Nanning Green Park.
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Nanning China at Mid Autumn Moon Festival  I arrived in Nanning at Mid-Autumn Festival, which is similar in spirit to Western Thanksgiving.
Mid Autumn Festival is set according the full moon following the onset of Fall -- the Harvest Moon. It often coincides with China National Day -- October 1 -- my birthday! Everywhere, Mooncakes were offered -- on the lfight, at the hotel, in shops along the street. And although it was Fall, here in the south, the temperature was a steamy 32C (90 F). That evening, the hotel next to the Majestic (below) held an open air stage show (above) that I watched from the street. Chinese youngsters approached me in the drizzling, humid darkness and shyly said 'Hello" to practice their English.
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Majestic Hotel (Mingyuan Xindu Nanning China  The Majestic Hotel (also known as the Mingyuan Xindu Hotel) was booked by the tour operator, and I was happy with the choice. The dining room was in an annex to the left in this photo. On my first trip, the restaurant valiantly tried to provide us with Western style food (thick peanut butter, or weiners sliced into rounds, etc). Now, they serve foods to cater to many cultures. The Chinese food (Cantonese style) food was superb, with beer and wine available. Find the Majestic / Mingyuan Xindu on this list of Nanning Hotels and compare prices. |
Courier by basket and pole on Nanning Street  On the street in Nanning. This method of carrying heavy loads, while uncommom for Westerners, is actually very practical as it saves your back, and lets you carry a greater weight. And, it's enviromentally friendly! It also keeps others at a distance! Nanning is the capital of Guanxi Zhang, and the center for trade. |
Motorbikes and Cyclists in Nanning  Evening rush hour in Nanning : On the ride in from the airport, Roger, the China travel guide, pointed out that smoggy Nanning is named the Green City for its year-round green trees and temperate climate. At that time, Nanning had about 200,000 motorbikes for its population of 800,000. Nanning is about 200 miles (322 km) from Hanoi and 150 miles (241 km) north from the Vietnam border, just below the Tropic of Cancer, the same latitude as Havana, Cuba, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. |
Deliveries by Horse and Cart, and Smart tiles  At the end of the evening rush hour, around 6 p.m., this horse and cart ventured out on a side street. It was here in Nanning that first I saw sidewalk tiles with 'Braille' bumps near the curb. These tiles are placed to help the blind 'read' with the soles of their feet. The Braille tells them that they are at the street, and street name. How clever of the Chinese! And it was here, in Nanning, that I first saw traffic signal lights with a digital display that counted down the seconds until the traffic lights changed. It took a further 10 years before Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (where I live) adopted similar traffic signals. |
Nanning Market Knitters wait to sell chickens  One afternoon, Roger took me to the nearby market, where these women knitted while waiting for evening rush hour customers to buy the live chickens in cages. Inside, the market tables were laden with neatly trimmed fresh vegetables, and piles of local fruits -- persimmons, tangerines, mandarins -- and of course, tables of freshly-butchered meats, without benefit of refrigeration. |
Dinner Awaits in a cage outside a Nanning restaurant  These cages of live, wild food pre-dated the SARS scare, when many live food stuffs, like a type of badger, were culled to halt the spread of disease. I have to wonder if today, these wire cages of live food are an antiquity, another glimpse of a China long past. |
Nanning China when the weather is sunny and clear  I took this photo on a Spring day, on another trip back to Nanning. Such a welcome change from the humid late summer and Fall, when typhoons stir up the storms off Hong Kong. But then, every place looks gorgeous when the weather is fine! |
Nanning Sculpture Park  Nanning Sculpture Park: When I was here, it was named Guangxi Martyrs Memorial Park. This is the entrance to the Green Pagoda Park area, south from Nanning. A wide promenade overlooks the city of Nanning. Tour bus es take visitors up narrow roads, to a hilltop that is topped itself by the large pagoda. Climb the Pagoda's few hundred stairs, and you have a 360 degree view of the entire Nanning area. I thought I could see to the Vietnam border. |
Feeding the Carp in Green mountain scenic area lake  There are paddle boats for hire here, as well as sacks of fish food to buy so you can feed them. Stand on the other bridge that zig zags from the far side of the Moon Bridge and island in the top photo, and toss pellets to the greedy carp, who all but stand on their tails to get a mouthful. |
Phoenix Pagoda  One of the loveliest pagodas! It's in the Green Mountain Scenic Area, or Green Mountain Park, the 'most famous tourist destination in Nanning', and about 10 km (about 6 miles) southeast of the city centre. This is on Phoenix Ridge, one of 18 such 'ridges' (and several padoga lookouts) in this area. Not that many years ago, the border between Vietnam and China -- just south of here -- was closed during the war. At the base of these hills just outside the park area, new condos and housing had been built. The Phoenix Pagoda is the tallest in Guangxi, 9 storeys high, with 273 steps to the top. Great feng shui, and great views. . .
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