冒险娘之旅 Part 23 Solitary Beauty Peak

When Zhao Liang asked if I would like to visit the Jingjiang Prince Mansion 靖江王府, I was clueless on this attraction. However I did not have anything planned that day so I followed her. The entrance fee, guided tour and hotel transfer costed 70rmb each. We were join by Wei Zhen and her husband at the last minute.

Jingjiang Prince Mansion was built in the Ming Dynasty by the grandnephew of the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Shouqian. Zhu Shouqian held the Jingjiang Prince title. He built his capital in the center of Guilin. As Chinese believe in fengshui, every prince mansion 王府 would need a backing mountain 靠山. So the 靖江王府 was built in front of the Solitary Beauty Peak 独秀峰. I also learned that there is a dragon pulse 龙脉 under the peak so the mansion was built a little to the side in order not to hurt the 龙脉.

Inside the Peace Cave at the foot of the Peak, there are 60 Tai Sui 太岁 carved on the stone walls. You can find your Tai Sui by the year you were born in. I was born in 1978 so Tai Sui would be 戊午太岁黎卿大将军. The guide said that those born under this Tai Sui star, would have a hard life in the early stage of life and a easy life on the later half 先苦后甜. Cool. According to the chinese zodiac, I will be offending my Tai Sui next year. So I prayed sincerely that he will be lenient to me then.

A poem on Solitary Beauty Peak

Next on the tour, we were taken to the Examination House where we were put to a test. Zhao Liang and I was a team but I was useless since the test paper was written in chinese. In the end Wei Zhen won the top scholar title 状元 that day.

Zhao Liang serious at work.

but forgot to put her name on the test paper. Doh!

Wei Zhen was our 女状元.

For the last stop, we will be climbing the Solitary Beauty Peak. Since the peak is at the center of Guilin, we got to view the whole city from the top. After that, 3 of us proceed for lunch at Zhengyang Pedestrian street 正阳步行街 while Wei Zhen's husband return for work. After lunch, we took a stroll at Ronghu Lake 榕湖 where there is a thousand years old banyan tree. We chatted and got to know each other better by the lake.

Soon it was time to leave as Zhao Liang needed to catch her bus back while Wei Zhen had another appointment. With a few hours left before my train ride to Liuzhou, I bought a 武大郎饼 to enjoy by the Shanhu Lake 杉湖. Then I returned to Lakeside Inn which is a minute walk from the lake to collect my luggages. Goodbye Guilin. Though I did not see you at your best but I did enjoyed myself. Till then...