"I would rather live in Guilin than in heaven". This is how Guilin locals say about their homeland. Guilin is a blessed land filled with picturesque mountains, fantastic caves, and graceful rivers, where people live in a happy and peaceful lifestyle. Guilin people are easy going, hospitable, and really enjoy their life. Visitors often find they are so quickly fell in love with Guilin, and so envy about the locals. Some of them chose to settle down, and never want to leave.

  Tai Chi fan dance ealy morning in a Guilin park

Read on, and take a glimpse into the daily life of Guilin people. Early morning When the sun is just above the horizon in the early morning, elderly people can be seen walking the streets heading towards one of Guilin's parks, or open areas for their morning exercises. Guilin's elderly believe strongly in exercise and it gives them an excuse to visit with friends, share common interests and chat. They can be seen throughout the city practicing tai chi, martial arts, ballroom dancing, singing, or doing the local drum or dancing with a Chinese fan.

  Enjoy a Guilin rice noodles

Rice Noodles as common breakfast After their exercises, they will head to local rice noodle restaurants. Guilin is famous for its rice noodles and they are a common breakfast food. Cooked in broth and served in a bowl of soup made from pork, beef, garlic, peanuts, peppers, and radishes, etc, different kinds of rice noodle shops have different secret recipe to make their own rice noodles loved by people.

Family relationship They will then sit and chat for hours. Often, the elderly women have their grandchildren in tow. In Chinese society, the grandparents watch the children while their parents are working. The grandparents will then go to the local markets to buy food for the day. Chinese people believe that if the food wasn't picked that day, it isn't fresh and not worth eating.

  guilin night life (by Li River)

In the evening Guilin really comes to life in the evenings. People return home from work for dinner, which is always a family affair. Normally dinner is eaten at home made by the grandmother, but occasionally people will go to a local restaurant, or roadside stand to eat.