WUZHOU , 220km southeast of Guilin, is an increasingly modern, prosperous trading city and river port, its fragmentary colonial architecture a reminder of foreign influence during the late nineteenth century when British steamers puffed down the
Xi River to Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Today these have been replaced with faster domestic ferries and hovercraft, but the river remains a major transport artery - so much so that Wuzhou has never been linked to the national rail network - and many foreign visitors still arrive or depart along it. Lured by the prospects of Guilin, Yangshuo or Guangzhou, few leave time between connections to have a look around, but Wuzhou is an interesting place: eminently Chinese, comfortably sized and a fine introduction to the interior of the People's Republic.
The City
Everything of interest in Wuzhou is scattered through the old quarters and, once you've got your bearings, you can comfortably visit all the sights on foot. Daily life in Wuzhou is best experienced at its many
markets , the largest of which fills the streets north of Xijiang Yi Lu. It's all here: dried and fresh food by the sackful or slab, pet goldfish and songbirds of all descriptions, an army of cobblers, key cutters and watch repairmen, pots of ancient-looking bonsai, and a thoroughly Cantonese selection of wok-bound
wildlife (including endangered mandarin ducks and flying squirrels). On Sunday mornings the crowds are medieval in their intensity, though everything is unusually clean and organized, and prices are clearly marked - even if they turn out to be merely a starting point in negotiations.
From the market area, head up Nanhuan Lu and turn right until you come to the Zhongshan Lu junction, where a shady fig tree overhangs a tiny triangle of green, a meeting point for the city's domino and chess players. Ten minutes north, steps ascend to Zhongshan Park (¥1), a leafy hilltop covered in well-established, relaxing ornamental gardens. There's a funfair at the entrance, including a pedal-powered elevated monorail running between gaps in the trees, and steps ascending past ponds and flowerbeds to the well-preserved 1928 exterior of the Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall . Carry on through to the park's north gates and you'll find, almost directly opposite, an alleyway winding around the hill to Xizhu Yuan , the Western Bamboo Temple, whose yellow, fortress-like walls and green-tiled roof stand proudly above the city. Restored in the 1980s and run by a handful of nuns who go about their devotions with quiet enthusiasm, the necessarily cramped halls are steeply stacked up the slope, and contain wooden Buddhist statues and a decent vegetarian restaurant , sometimes open to the public for an hour or two around noon.
