The Presidents' Fishing Village — Xingping in Guilin

I came to Xingping because of two particular interests. First of all, I was hoping that I could shoot some photographs of the fishing practice there. The fishermen of Xingping engaged in fishing by using the cormorant. Secondly, the karst peak clusters that are featured on the RMB 20 yuan note is along the river boat tour of Xingping. Xingping had a beginning as a fishing village more than 1,700 years ago during the Ming dynasty. Both the former President Sun Yatsen and U.S. President Clinton have visited Xingping, therefore it has earned a good name as “president fishing village.” The old houses of Xinping line its main streets. They are very photogenic. These houses are built with blue bricks. A lot of them have two stories with extended eaves. Classic wooden doors stand at the entrance to these old houses, and the views are very nice in Xingping. Xingping was a whole lot more like Huangyao within the wide spectrum of ancient towns in China. It is also a bit smaller than Huangyao, and it took just a few main streets to appreciate all that it offers. This is what I liked. I took a quick walk in Xingping. Certainly there were a whole lot of beautification efforts to dress the ancient town in an appearance that appeals to tourists. The storefronts were bling bling and there were some instagrammable photo spots as well. The stores and restaurants in Xingping came with a greater variety than what I saw in Huangyao. Xingping as a fishing community is well-known for its special former fishing techniques, and both foreign and local tourists come for the same reasons that I came. Its old town certainly reflects the effort to offer choices to the tourists. There were pizzerias, coffee shops, a western bakery, and restaurants serving different specialties of Guilin cuisine.