Nanning's Qingxiu Mountain

I've started and stopped this blog several times this year, so I thought I'd finally finish it.

Qingxiushan is a large mountain area in the southeast of Nanning. It is also the largest tourist attraction in the city. It has existed for centuries, but was only converted in to a tourist spot in 1984, when the local government decided to pave road and create spaces for temples, monuments etc. 30 years later it is THE park to see in Nanning It offers a botanical garden, temples, trees, and monuments. From the university it is an hour on the B10 bus to the north gate. A bit of a trip but well worth it.

According to the official website, Qingxuishan

has been identified as the autonomous-region-level scenic spot in 1989, one of the “Top Ten Scenic Spots” of Nanning in 1997, national first AAAA Scenic Spot in 2000, Advanced Unit for Construction of National Civilized Scenic Spots in 2005 and 2009 and the “Grade A Scenic Spot in Rapidest Development” of Nanning in 2010. State leaders including Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Jia Qinglin, Wu Guanzheng, Wu Yi and Hui Liangyu have visited here too. At present, the Scenic Spot is receiving tourists over 2.2 million person/times annually.

So yeah, there is that. Despite this advertising, it is actually well worth a visit if you are in Nanning.

The temples are a mix of Chinese and Thai (the mountain hosts delegations from ASEAN). Theoldest temple there allegedly dates to the 4th century, but the current one, like many of the temples in the PRC, was constructed in the 1980's as they cleaned up from the Cultural Revolution. Still, the current temple is impressive, if not historical. The Thai temple was built in the 1990's to celebrate Chinese/Thai friendship. It is less a temple and more a tourist attraction shaped like a temple. Still, both are interesting enough to see.

Thai Temple

Chinese temple

There are also several monuments in the park, usually dedicated to communist leaders or anti-Japanese uprisings. Though the history of the park is offered in Chinese or, less comprehensible to the English speaker, Chinglish, they are interesting to see.

anti-Japanese monument

ASEAN statues.

This one is obviously the Philippines

a gate. No idea.

Walking around the mountain area takes a few hours. It is usually a full day, especially in the summer months, when water and shade are necessary. Well worth the trip out for the scenery, plants, and overall green. Also being on a hill mountain it is a bit cooler in the hottest months.