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Finding China in GuilinBy Marianne Bray Editor's note: CNN International TV brings its global resources to China in early April for its "Eye on China" special programming.  This was what I was looking for. SPECIAL REPORTHOW TO GET THERE-Dragonair and China Southern Airlines fly to Guilin from Hong Kong, as does Bangkok Airways -Domestic airlines also fly to Guilin from many destinations around China. The city can also reached by train and bus -A Dragonair 4-day, 3-night package to Guilin and Yangshuo starts from HK$3,780 -The best time to go to Guilin is between April to October, when it is the most green. However this is also mid-summer so it can be hot, wet and humid -It is best to avoid the two golden week holidays: 1 to 7 May and 1 to 7 October HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- I knew the "Two Rivers, Four Lakes" evening cruise had taken a peculiar turn when I glimpsed the Tower Bridge of London standing tall along a city canal in one of China's top tourist destinations. We had just flown into Guilin, land of jagged karst peaks and misty vistas in Gaungxi Zhang Autonomous Region, south China, on a three-night package tour. Even before we had a chance to check into the Sheraton Hotel in the center of town, our tour guide Zhoug Liu whisked us off to stand amid hordes of well-dressed Chinese for the Friday night cruise. Soon we were sitting on the back of the flat-bottomed barge, my mother and I, passing trees lit up in purple on the banks of the Peach Blossom River Canal. Music boomed out of loudspeakers as we fended off a tourist from Taiwan, who started fanning my mother's reddened face, and a group of children who shouted in staccato: "Hello!! How old are you? I like hamburger, apples and cucumber." Suddenly the gates on a lock closed, water filled up and we rose up to the canal above and to a sea of Chinese peering over the waterway beside the Moon and Silver pagodas. Lo and behold, the Ponts de Paris loomed up behind them, followed by L'arc de Triomphe bathed in yellow light, complete with etched carvings. Looming ahead was the Tower Bridge of London, this time in a golden light, sitting next to a medieval castle whose origins looked Germanic. The cruise was a premonition of days to come in the Middle Kingdom, a journey whose destinations seemed to diverge as far as possible from the place whose scenery is so unreal it has been immortalized by painters and poets. Everywhere we went we stumbled across great icons from the West. And the more we toured, the more we got the distinct impression that China -- so fiercely proud of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall -- seemed to be showing every face but its own in Guilin. On an obligatory visit to the Shangri-la theme park, and to the South Pacific Pearl Factory, we were startled to see two Louvre replicas in Guilin's Central Square. At the "AAAA" tourist attraction of the Reed Flute Cave, 83 stone engravings lit up with garish lights as tour groups passed. One was backlighted to look like a cityscape they said was New York. As we were being whisked around, we were taunted by glimpses of the landscape, peaks with names like Wave Subduing Hill, and Elephant Trunk Hill. 'Best under Heaven'On our last day, we were booked into one of the most celebrated journeys in all of China -- the cruise 83 kilometers down the Li River to Yangshuo. I was excited because I would finally get lost in the nature I had come to see. But I wasn't the only one. When we got to Zhujiang Wharf, around 80 double-decker boats were moored at piers ready for the 4-hour journey at the hottest and brightest time of the day. Liu took us to the foreigner boat, along with many Japanese and Koreans. The lower deck, where most of the travelers were seated, housed a restaurant with air conditioning, piped music and lots of card vendors. As we motored past the "Yearning-for-Husband's-Return Rock," Liu introduced us to the wonders of the Li River. Puffing on his "The Best under Heaven" cigarettes and taking a swig of his Li Spring Beer, he listed a number of superlatives, taking pause between each one. "Blue jade hills... green silk water... hidden caves... mysterious rocks...," he said gesturing around him. "This landscape is not for China but for the world." The boat wound its way past a myriad jagged peaks, past the Half-side Ferry and A Boy Worships Buddha hills. But the cruise was at a time of day too bright to take good pictures and lunch was served inside the foreigners boat at the most picturesque part of the journey. Finally we arrived at Yangshuo and I saw a wizened old man holding a pole where two black birds called cormorants were perched. Here was the China of legend. I took a photograph, and immediately he swamped down on me, asking for money. Now we had a taste of what was out there, we did not wait. Yangshuo's main street is called Xijie, or West Street, a place known for its Western style. But we walked past the Fawlty Towers Hotel, the Hard Seat Café, the Heauen Hostel, and the Paradise Yangshuo Resort where former U.S. President Bill Clinton was featured. We reached the outskirts and shortly after passing the Big Banyan Tree we found a deserted country lane near Moon Hill. The lane was flanked by orange and rice paddy fields, with peaks towering on all sides. We walked past the creek and into the village, where we met two girls who beckoned towards Five Finger peak, asking if they could take us there. We saw a Chinese government edict in red on a village house saying couples could only have one child. We watched farmers planting rice seeds by hand while a water buffalo ambled for a dip in a pool nearby. We sat down near the pool to sip on our Guilin Three-Flower Wine. Finally we had found the Guilin we were looking for, and we were happy. Our guide too was happy -- for he had seen his China through a new eye. 
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