桂林／Guilin

一直都有听说桂林是个漂亮的地方，刚踏出火车站时，完全没有这样的感觉。或许是因为从昆明到桂林坐了18个小时的火车，而心情受到影响吧。后来到处走走，才发现桂林确实是有它的美。
It has been said that Guilin is a lovely city, yet I had no such feelings when I stepped out of the train station. I guessed 18 hours on the train has more or less affected my level of appreciation for the place. Yet, after taking a walk through the city, I can't help but notice there is something captivating about the city.先到桂林的市中心晃一晃。虽然没有昆明那么大，但桂林也算是个繁华的都市。与其他都市一样，桂林的市中心有一条人行步道，给我的第一感觉是，和台北的西门町很相似，尤其是在看到它与西门町一样，在购物区的正中央搭起了大舞台。不过西门町比桂林的步行街热闹，商店也更多样化，更新潮。

First up, is a trip to the heart of Guilin. Although Guilin is not as big as Kunming, it is nonetheless a bustling city. Similar to the other big cities, Guilin has a main shopping street which is in fact a pedestrain walkway. The moment I stepped into the shopping district, it strikes me as very similar to the Orchard Road of Taipei, aka Hsimending, especially with a stage right smack in the middle of it. However Guilin's main shopping street has less shops and surprises compared to Hsimending.

到了晚上，其中一条主要街道就变成了一个很大、很长的夜市，卖的都是一些针对游客的东西，像首饰啦、土产啦等。

At night, one of the main streets will be transformed into a huge night market. As with most night markets, you will find lots of wares targetted at tourists, eg. accessories, clothes and local products. 夜晚的桂林也有它美丽的地方。像是湖都被照亮，玻璃桥上有人在唱京剧，日月双塔也非常漂亮。

Guilin is equally beautiful at night. The lake is all lit up, you can see opera performances in glass bridge and the moon and sun towers are great for pictures.也发现了一些有趣的东西，如这家专门卖西藏产品的店，还有中国到处都可见的《卖男孩的小火柴》店，以及可爱的告示牌。

There are other interesting things to be seen, like this Tibetan shop, the shop named "The little matchsticks selling boys" and also cute signboards like the one below, which uses poetic terms to tell people not to step on the grass.

桂林有很多“园”，千挑万挑，最后决定去最方便，最出名的七星园。老天不作美，一直下着毛毛细雨，结果拍出来的照片看起来都蒙蒙的。不过，这个地方还是廷美的，看得出为什么是桂林顶尖旅游景点之一。

Guilin is famous for having many beautiful gardens and parks. After much deliberation, I decided to check out one of the more famous one, the Seven Stars Park. It was definitely not a good day for a walkabout at the drizzle that started in the morning did not seem to be abating anytime, resulting in everything seeming to be covered in mist. But I can see why this place is one of the top rated tourist destination in Guilin.

从七星园内的小山上，可以眺望整个桂林。

From the hilltop within Seven Stars Park, you can see the whole of Guilin.七星园内一个非去不可的地方就是这个号称“第一洞天”的“七星岩”岩石洞。这个洞很大，里面的岩石都很漂亮，让你忍不住惊叹大自然的奥妙。

The number one must-see place in this park is the limestone cave. This is a really big cave with many beautifully formed stalactites, which leaves one amazed at the work of nature. 在离开桂林前，有幸看到一个非常漂亮的日落，让我对这个原本第一印象不怎么好的城市留下美好的回忆。　　～伟

Just before leaving Guilin for the next destination, I managed to catch a very beautiful sunset, leaving me more impressed by the city than when I arrived on the first day.　　～wei