Tongling Gorge

After Detian, we took the hour long drive up to Tongling, arriving at the hotel at around 6pm. At 130rmb ($26Cad/22,000krw) it was about the best deal you could get. We then headed for dinner and a couple Saigon beers we had picked up at Detian in the park next to the lit up gate. I was hoping to see stars, but the sky was very overcast, so we were out of luck.

gate at night

view from the room

out front

After a long day at Detian we were asleep well before 10pm. 

The next day we were up at 6am to get breakfst and head down in to Tongling gorge. Although not nearly as visited by tourists as the falls, I think I may have liked the gorge more. A canyon in a sub tropical rainforest that ends with a much taller waterfall. I say hiking, but most of it - as with many natural places developed for tourism in China - has lots of steps. Something my knees are feeling today.

Much as with Detian, there isn't that much to say, it is something to see and experience.

mountains at the top on the gorge

making our way down

the raging river

the falls

To hike the whole gorge in and out you only NEED about 90 minutes, but we stayed for almost three hours. It was such a great place to experience. It is a beautiful part of western Guangxi. The whole area is the northern end of the karst mountains that spread through Vietnam in to Thailand and Burma. 

After the hike we quickly showered (my shirt looked like I had been swimming in it - a gorge in a humid tropical climate does not lend itself to air circulation. It is like breathing water). Then, it was off to Jingxi, a small town just west of the gorge for lunch and a quick look around. It was a cool small town, but an hour was about all we needed. Then the four hour drive back to Nanning.

Jingxi reservoir

The trip was definitely a highlight of Guangxi for me and up there with Guilin as the best of Guangxi. We will be in Beihai later this month for Yen's birthday, but otherwise our time in Guangxi is up. We (or at least I) will be back in October to grab a couple boxes we are leaving in storage, but I doubt I will be in Guangxi again except for an occasional visit to friends in Nanning. So it seemed like if we were going to see any more of the province it is now or never. I am very glad that we did.