MAGIC HOUR

I enjoy planning trips as much as I enjoy traveling itself. Although the initial spark for a trip often comes from a sudden whim, I tend to create nearly perfect itineraries concentrated on photography. Of course, photo shooting depends on the weather, I plan trips to avoid the rainy season. Besides, I gather detailed information beforehand and build in a reasonable time margin for weather. This is why friends say my vacations resemble reporting trips.

For the Guilin trip, which was decided based on mileage award ticket availability, I stayed in the less-known town of Xingping located between Cities of Guilin and Yangshuo, two major tourist cities in the region. In post-COVID-19 days, latest tourist information for China is still limited, and details of minor towns are extremely limited.

I was only able to gather limited information about Xingping beforehand. However, this town lies along the highlight section of the cruise route from Guilin to Yangshuo and is apparently famous as the location depicted on the 20-yuan banknote. There seemed to be short cruises originating from this town, offering a chance to enjoy the boat trip as well.

The reason I deliberately chose to stay in Xingping was the information that sunrise view from Xianggong Mountain was beautiful. However, specific details were scarce, and even the access to Xianggong Mountain was unclear. While Chinese-language tours seemed available from places like Guilin City, by looking at the map, the nearest town was Xingping.

Although I still did not fully understand everything, I decided to stay in Xingping for all three nights of the itinerary. I had a feeling that just staying in Xingping would make me fully enjoy Guilin.

Entrusting everything without full understanding. Consider this as an investment, it would be arrant nonsense. However, since the airfare was free, I figured I had little to lose even if it failed.

Arranging sunrise trip by myself seemed difficult, I made inquiry to the hotel. They referred to me a company that handles their tour desk services. When I contacted the company, I was told that they were able to arrange sunrise tour at Xianggong Mountain. They also supported me with various other inquiries, which were big help for gathering information.

Although I would stay in Guilin for three nights, the schedule only allowed for two sunrise viewings. Since photography was the main focus of the trip, I booked sunrise tours for both days. Getting up early on weekdays is tough, but I can manage the early rise during the travel.

The tour company contacted me via WeChat the day before. I needed to walk 15 minutes to the meeting point. Since I would cross the river by a small boat and then travel overland, this likely avoids unnecessary expenses.

The meeting time was 5 AM. I boarded a ferry operated by the village on the opposite shore and then drove to Xianggong Mountain. The driver waited for me at the parking lot near the ticket office. I suppose this meant he was not a guide, but since tickets can be purchased using gestures and Alipay, this was actually more relaxed and preferable.

However, relaxed feeling ended here.

To reach the viewpoint of Xianggong Mountain, I had to climb steep stairs. According to my iPhone, it was equivalent to climbing 20 floors. After struggling up the stairs, the viewpoint was extremely crowded. I managed to get a spot around the third row, but the photo shooting conditions were poor. Even worse, clouds were thick too. While it could be called fantastic scenery, it was a major letdown.

Feeling sulky, I went down the mountain and returned to the car. On the way back to the pier for Xingping, the sun emerged at a spot with great views. Perhaps sensing my bad mood, the driver stopped there, letting me to take some great photos.

This lifted my spirits. I returned to the hotel for a nap and woke up after noon. Xingping has an ancient town where historic buildings house cafes and shops. I had a light meal at one of the cafes.

Walking through the town, I found a tourist boat terminal next to the ferry landing. Several tours seemed available, but I was not sure which one to choose. I opted for a 90-minute tour which seemed popular. I thought gestures and Alipay might suffice to purchase tickets, but surprisingly, Alipay was not accepted. If gestures and Alipay do not work, then translation apps and credit cards will do. Even using airline miles, getting free tickets are tough, but paying for works out most of the time.

The weather had already cleared up to a beautiful sunny day. I thought it might be a bit disappointing since the boat had no windows opened, but on the way back, they let me ride on the rooftop observation deck. It was quite spectacular.

After getting off the sightseeing boat, it was getting close to evening. I headed to the second main spot in this town for sunset photography. It was the location depicted on the back of the 20-yuan banknote. While several spots claimed to be the “scenic painting location,” I found a spot ideal for photography. Facing west, the evening view was beautiful.

In the early next morning, I headed to Xianggong Mountain again. I requested an earlier time since it was too crowded on the previous day. Ultimately, it was bound by the ferry schedule, it did not make much difference. The ferry had about half the passengers compared to the previous day. Came to think of it, last day was a Sunday.

The crowd at Xianggong Mountain was also about a half of the size, which allowed me to secure the front row at the spot I found the day before. Being at the front means I was able to use the fence as a tripod substitute, so shotting by slow shutter speeds were not problem. This day was clear, letting me enjoy everything from the pre-sunrise glow to the moment the sun peeked over the mountains.

In my research beforehand, I found that there were raft boats in Xingping. There were several ticket sellers in Xingping, but I was not sure which one to pick. I asked the tour desk to book my ticket. Since I was able to specify the boarding time, I chose the latest departure. It coincided perfectly with sunset time.

Perhaps because the raft boat operation is managed by another village, the boarding point was a little too far from the hotel. The raft was low to the water, offering a more immersive experience than sightseeing boat on previous day. The sunset unfolded near the spot depicted on the 20-yuan banknote.

Despite going to Xingping with limited information, I ended up extremely satisfied. I probably enjoyed more than if I would go to Guilin City and follow the standard tourist route.

The choice was almost a gamble. If I had paid for plane tickets, I might not have taken the risk. Although it is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but a free lunch is really tasty.

Just before Japan’s Golden Week in May 2025, I checked my mileages with various airlines and found that I had 60,000 miles with All Nippon Airways (ANA) expiring in April 2026. Considering miles expiring by the end of 2026, they were more than 70,000 miles. At that point, I already had Golden Week plan for Mexico flying Japan Airlines (JAL) and summer vacation plans for Uzbekistan flying Asiana Airlines, so I had no immediate use for the ANA miles.

I started considering destinations using the miles. I could not find a time for another long vacation, so I had to choose international flights within Asia. This was meant as a trip with my family.

Since award tickets were likely unavailable during the New Year’s holiday season, a realistic schedule would be around autumn. Hong Kong, being in its dry season, first came to my mind but every feasible timing slot was on a waitlist. Taking my mother on a red-eye flight to Southeast Asia sounded too much, and using miles for a shorter sector, namely Tokyo/Seoul, would not use the miles up. Besides, with more people traveling together, I could not take an unforeseeable chance such as waiting for cancellations. I decided to go to mainland China, where was relatively easy to find award tickets.

When I asked my mother where she would like to go, she only mentioned scenic spots in inland region of mainland China. Since I had not fully recovered from stomachache from Sichuan Province visit, I briefly researched and rejected them all.

Searching for award seat availability, I noticed there was a public holiday on a Tuesday in November, with seats available on flights to/from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Near Guangzhou, Guilin is famous for its scenery. Guangdong Province is the home of Cantonese cuisine, far from the fiery heat of Sichuan cuisine. Furthermore, like Hong Kong, it should be in dry season. Or so I thought.

At this point, it was the day before the Mexico trip departure. To keep putting off award ticket booking made no sense, without researching Guilin at all, I decided to book the award Guangzhou tickets. I committed sinful act of using JAL’s in-flight WiFi on the way to Dallas to reserve ANA award ticket and then putting off dealing with everything else.

After returning from Mexico, I began my research. I simply thought that taking a boat trip would be a good idea when visiting Guilin, but it seemed to take nearly a full day. Meanwhile, I found a spot with an incredible sunrise view, but it was quite far from downtown Guilin. Fitting everything together in the limited schedule seemed difficult. After carefully looking into, I found truly spectacular viewpoints on the boat trip were rather limited, so I decided to stay in a rural town near the sunrise scenic spot. That town has a Hilton hotel. I probably would not stay there alone, but it would be acceptable with my family.

When I talked about my plan to a friend who visits China often, I got a harsh critique. First off, Guilin is not in Guangdong Province; it belongs to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Then, Guangxi (広西 – west) has a distinct cultural sphere, different from Guangdong (広東 – east), with its own unique cuisine. They were quite far from my initial assumptions.

Also, I was told that when it comes to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, “rural town” means the real rural area. I countered that the hotel was a Hilton, but the friend warned not to overestimate Hilton hotels in Chinese rural towns. Hmm.

Ultimately, it came down to trusting my friend or trusting the Hilton. My friend had helped me a lot on previous trips to China, so I should probably trust the friend than Hilton. However, there seemed no other suitable options in the limited schedule, I decided to take a chance on Hilton.

We arrived at Guangzhou Airport slightly earlier than scheduled. It was clear and sunny, much warmer than Tokyo. Since taking the subway would take too long, we met up with the driver I had arranged and headed to Guangzhou South Station.

Considering possible flight delay, I booked train tickets later on that day. We killed time at the station, doing some shopping. From what I learned beforehand, all the restaurants in the rural town seemed to close around 9 PM. The Hilton was likely no exception, so we stopped at a restaurant, stocked up on groceries at a convenience store, and then boarded the 5:57 PM train. A little risk hedging for the rural town.

By the time the train left Guangzhou, darkness had fallen. Artificial lights gradually faded from view. Being a high-speed rail line, the tracks must run through remote areas. Or so I thought.

We arrived at Yangshuo Station, one stop before Guilin. Though it is called Yangshuo Station, it was likely built on an easily secured land near Yangshuo City on the most direct route possible between Guangzhou and Guilin. To put it bluntly, aside from a few taxis, it was a station where seemed to be nothing but despair. In an English expression, it was “middle of nowhere.” Still, we managed to meet up with the driver who had been arranged for us. A small risk hedging for the rural town too.

Our hotel was in the town of Xingping. Upon arrival, I did not feel the town was particularly rural. After dropping off luggage and heading out, I found a few restaurants were still open late, and there were even two convenience stores. Although it was deserted, a few souvenir shops were open too. Moreover, this town had not only a Hilton but also a Mercure.

Considering the question of which one to believe, it seemed the conclusion was here. While one should not overestimate Hilton hotels in Chinese rural towns, a town with two international hotel brands probably should not be considered as a rural town.