Guilin Shopping

HELP!

The word came to my mind, but didn't reach the mouth, when we were received by 5 elegant girls, modeling... pearls.

A rational analysis gave me some tranquility:" I'm with Americans, so, THIS TIME, someone else will pay the show. I will escape!"

Pure illusion! THAT necklace was... inevitable.

Hope again: the employee, in her diligence to sell the necklace, broke its lock. She tried to replace it, but she had no one similar. The closer alternatives were so expensive that even Fernanda refused to buy.

And the miracle happened: I came out of the pearl factory without having to buy anything.

PS - I was planning, upon arriving to Portugal, to go to Fatima and light a candle to celebrate the miracle. I didn't know that Fernanda was carrying a heavy weight in her conscience for not respecting the sacred commandment: BUY. Next day... the airport... the free shop... pearls...

Damn! The candle would be cheaper!

What to buy: Pearls

What to pay: Too much for my taste

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Once again, we only did a little bit of shopping here, still had to try and get the baggage under 20kg for our flight to Shanghai!

Here is just a rough idea on the prices we paid in Guilin, with prices being slightly cheaper still in Yangshao:-

Taxi from Airport to Hotel = 100rmb = about $16AUD
Hotel internet use 5rmb for half hour = $1AUD
Nicer t-shirts 50rmb each = about $9AUD
Day cruise on Li River booked from Hotel 450rmb = about $79AUD
Bracelets varied 5-10rmb
Bottle ice tea 5rmb = $1AUD
Laundry service - 2tops and 2pants 73rmb = about $12AUD
Nice bag in Yangshao 90rmb = about $15AUD
Playing cards 10rmb = $2AUD
Bracelets in Yangshao - all 5rmb each

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This shop, in the Seven Star Scenic Area over the Li River in the eastern part of Guilin, lies next door to the Guilin Natural Fantastic Stone Gallery. The gallery exhibits a wonderful array of exquisite rock, stone and crystal formations. This shop, next door to the gallery, is where you can buy some of them which surely must depend on how much luggage allowance you have when you fly back home.

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The main shopping centre is right in the middle of the city and is, in fact, a pedestrian street full of western style shops that include Adidas and Nike. There's a little night market that features a few stalls from the early evening in the same area.

Guilin is famous for their beautiful silk scrolls. Much of the landscape and beautiful river scenery is depicted on these traditional scrolls.

What to buy: Even though we had decided ..no more artwork from our travels , we couldn't resist a gorgeous original piece in traditional black and white. It is so gorgeous and brings back wonderful memories.

What to pay: Prices vary depending on tne piece but they are reasonable for what you get.

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Its a open street, U get all sorts of stuff, Traditional as well as fancy stuff....

What to buy: But Antiques, Kimonos, Chinese traditional Dress, Hand made Guilin Balls, Crystal stuff...

What to pay: They charge you very high at the beginning....Offer them the least price u want to pay...They mite act stubborn at first then all u do is walk away they'll come back to u.....For eg:i bought this Silk Kimono which he priced at ard 600 Yuans which i managed to get down to 100 Per Piece. Which i think is a really good bargain....

Fans, fans and more fans to cool you during the hot summer June till August. These shops are located at the pier of Yangshuo, once you get out of the boat cruise along the Li River.

What to buy: These big Yangshuo fans are great for decorations! I simply can't resist walking bypass these fancy fans without buying it. These fans are delightfully delicate, yet sturdy and colorful. The fans are available in various sizes and they are made with either silk or paper as the fan support and background.

The painted fan undergoes a series of processes including dyeing, mounting and paiting with lacquer or water colour paint before it is ready for retail. You can always find the backdrop of the fans are either depicting birds (crane, small chirpy birds), bamboos, flowers (peony, usually), insects and traditional, beautiful Chinese girls.

It makes a nice gift but caution, if you buy a big fan, you need to handcarry it. It can be rather clumsy. Small fans are nice and handy. The selection in the town and at the pier is good but make sure you bargain hard here - most stores and stall owners are used to ripping foreigners off; that includes the oversea Chinese who don't speak good Chinese.

What to pay: RMB5 - RMB8 for small fans while RMB10-RMB15 for the medium size and RMB18 to RMB30 for big fans. Nothing more or less. Be firm with your bargain. Learn some Chinese, especially for shopping purposes, to get a head start. That should surprise the sellers.

What to buy: Guilin is famous throughout China for its rice noodles. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner by local people. Even restaurant and hotel also serve this famous noodles. The noodles have a very smooth, white and strong texture and often eaten together with some soup, spring onion, groundnuts and marinated meat. The fried version is tasty too. There are many varieties of Guilin noodles depending on the condiments / ingredients.

What to pay: Noodles are sold by weight. Approximately RMB1.60 for 2 kati.