Nanning Qingxiu Mountain is perfect for both sightseeing and photography
Qingxiu Mountain is vast, with four areas: east, south, west, and north. Entering from the south gate costs 20 yuan, with discounted tickets at 10 yuan for seniors over 60 and children. Tickets are valid for three days. We chose to explore on foot. After entering, there's a long uphill path that's a bit tiring.
The south area features attractions like Shueyue Temple, Tianchi Pool, Dong Spring, Dragon Elephant Tower, Millennium Cycad Garden, Palm Garden, Hillside Meadow, Fragrant Flower Garden, Xiao Terrace, Ancient Path, and Peach Blossom Island. Tianchi Pool is filled with koi fish that surge to the surface when fed. Dong Spring is named after Ming Dynasty's Dong Chuance, with water trickling from the dragon's head. At the foot of the mountain near the south gate, you can collect spring water for 1 yuan per large container (water dispenser size).
The Dragon Elephant Tower has nine floors. I was initially hesitant to climb it, but it's a must-see. Fortunately, the view was worth the effort. Each floor has observation windows offering panoramic views of Nanning city, including modern skyscrapers, cargo ships and cruise boats on the Yong River, and the Nanning Bridge. You can also see Nanning Confucius Temple, Guangxi Ethnology Museum, Nanning Museum, and more. First-time visitors should definitely climb the tower - you won't be disappointed.
Along the paths are many tall Chinese golden rain trees with bright yellow flowers covering the branches. This was my first time seeing these flowers, also called flame trees. We skipped the Cycad and Palm Gardens as I've seen cycads before, and palms are common. The Hillside Meadow is a large grassy area with peacocks wearing beak guards to prevent pecking, attracting crowds of photographers, especially when they display their feathers. The Fragrant Flower Garden had only a few azaleas blooming, with other plants either past or before their flowering season. We walked a small section of the Ancient Path on the way to Dong Spring - it's made of stone blocks but nothing special. Xiao Terrace relates to a love story about playing the xiao flute to attract a phoenix, requiring climbing many steps to Phoenix Ridge. Visitors coming down told us there were only a few information plaques at the top and nothing worth seeing, so we skipped it due to fatigue rather than time constraints.
At Peach Blossom Island, we saw no peach blossoms, only cherry plum trees, as we had missed the season. We then headed to the north area, which was livelier.
The east area has Water Plant Garden, Leaf Garden, Cherry Blossom Garden, and Bamboo Garden, which we didn't visit.
The north area includes Osmanthus Garden, Orchid Garden, Sprouting Plant Garden, Golden Cypress Lake, Orchid Lake, Cymbidium Orchid Waterfall, and Guangxi Precious Tree Species Exhibition Garden. On the way, we passed Guanyin Zen Temple but didn't enter. The path signs were unclear, and we took a detour to the Osmanthus Garden. The osmanthus flowers were still fragrant. The Orchid Garden had many butterfly orchids in red, pink, yellow, and white, growing in rock crevices and nourished by spring water, blooming beautifully. After walking so much, we were tired and only took a quick look around.
The scenic area was clean with no mosquitoes, making for a comfortable visit.
The west area has Zhuang Brocade Square, Bronze Drum Music Platform, China-ASEAN Friendship Garden, and Friendship Corridor, which we didn't visit today.
After exploring the north area, we exited through Gate 1 and took a taxi back to the south gate as there was no shuttle service.