Qingxiu Mountain 青秀山 In Nanning

 I visited Qingxiu Mountain 青秀山 which is located in the southeast of Nanning City, bordering the winding Yongjiang River, with a total area of ​​about 13.54 square kilometers. The scenic area is dominated by forests, including more than a dozen peaks such as Qingshan and Fenghuangling. The peaks are undulating, the springs are clear, the stones are strange, and the trees are verdant. It is known for "the mountains are not high but beautiful, and the water is not deep but clear". The main peak Fenghuangling is 289 meters above sea level. The scenic area has built a grand view of the South Asian tropical rainforest, the Ming Dynasty style Dragon Elephant Tower, the exotic Sino-Thai Friendship Garden, the International Friendship Garden that brings together the national flowers and trees of ASEAN countries and representative sculptures of international friendly cities, the Guangxi Twelve Generations Ethnic Sculpture Group, Shuiyue Temple, Dongquan, Zhuangyuanquan and the world's largest cycad garden and other attractions. There are many ancient monuments from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and inscriptions by famous scholars in the park. It is a good place for sightseeing and exploring the ancient.

The Millennium Cycad Garden  千年苏铁园 of Qingxiu Mountain covers an area of ​​more than 100 mu, with nearly 100 cycads over 1,000 years old. The oldest "Cycad King" is more than 1,360 years old.

The total area of ​​the orchid garden 兰园 is 320 mu. With "foreign orchid landscaping" as the main line, orchids are naturally planted in the woods, in the cracks of rocks, and beside the gullies according to the ecological habits of various orchids. Scenic spots such as Kaiseki Waterfall, Sky Garden, Cuiping Orchid Fragrance, Gorgeous Orchid Field, Ancient Taolanyun, and Doulan Waterfall have been built. A total of 363 species of orchids and a total of more than 300,000 plants have been planted.

I hiked up to the Guanyin Zen Temple 观音禅寺 that was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of 1,000 years. It covers an area of ​​15 mu and has more than a dozen Buddhist halls such as the Great Hall, the Reclining Buddha Hall, the Dharma Protector Hall, the Prajna Hall, and the Galan Hall.

In addition, I climbed up the Dragon Elephant Tower 龙象塔 that is 70 meters high and has 9 floors, to overlook the beautiful scenery of the entire Nanning city and Qingxiu Mountain Scenic Area.

In the evening, since it was hard for my host family’s young boy to sit and eat in a restaurant, I ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant to share the last dinner with my host family. Since I have an very early flight on 10/11, I will stay in a hostel near the airport shuttle bus station on 10/10.