The countryside around Guilin in Guangxi province, southern China. I spent 5 days there on traveling with my two friends two years ago, and the scenery is simply unforgettable.
It's filled with tiny mist covered karst limestone peaks, and a beautiful winding river. JRR Tolken traveled around there before writing The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and supposedly used it as inspiration for the landscapes. When I was there I expected to see elves and hobbits lurking around every corner. It’s really the most magical looking place I've ever been. If you want to visit, the best place to go is Yangshuo, a town a few hours outside of Guilin that has a lot of hostels and cafes catering to backpackers.
The underground caves carved by water that originated these features are equally amazing. It just makes this place twice as appealing as a fairy tale location.
A great way to view this incredible scenery is by taking a boat ride down the Li River. Zhang Yimou, who produced the opening to the Beijing Olympic games, has a cast-of-hundreds folk spectacle that uses these mountains at the junction of the Li and Liu rivers in Guangxi as the backdrop, illuminating them with giant spotlights. This is a popular area for the Chinese to vacation, but not many foreigners.
So, a place taken out of a fairy tale, that’s what I will call it when I recommend it to friends.
