Fall in Love With the Diverse Liuzhou

By Chen Zhiying 

Liuzhou is located in the middle north of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and adjacent to the famous tourism city Guilin. When mentioning it, people will naturally think of the Internet famous food Luosifen, or snail rice noodles, but Liuzhou is more than this. Every time you visit it, you will encounter a different city

Industrial city

Liuzhou is located in the middle reaches of the Liujiang River valley. The Liujiang River, like a belt, meanders eastwards and surrounds the city, dividing the city into two parts. Looking from above, the main part of the city looks like a pot, and Liuzhouthus gains the name of pot city. Such natural endowment and unique locationmake Liuzhou prosperous at one time and lay a good foundation for it to develop industries. Nowadays, Liuzhou has become the major industrial base in south China, boasting national well-known companies and brands such as LiugongMachinery, Wuling Motors, Golden Throat, and Liangmianzhen Toothpaste. 

The magnificent bridges are also the epitome of Liuzhou’s developed industries. At present, there are more than 20 bridges built in Liuzhou, which earns the city the reputation of “Museum of Bridges”. All the bridges witness the most advanced bridge-building technologies in China, for example, Hongguang Bridge is the first suspension bridges in Guangxi, and Baisha Bridge is the world’s largest asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge. Arching across the Liujiang River, they not only connect the lives of local people who are separated by the river but also convey a sense of romance with their complex industrial structure and different appearances in day and at night. 

Tips：Originally, local people named the bridges with numbers like Liuzhou First Bridge. With more and more bridge springing up, such method is on longer adopted. Huxi Bridge, also Liuzhou Fourth Bridge, is the last one named with numbers. 

Fascinating natural scenery

It’s hard to imagine Linzhou, as an industrial city, has such bright and vibrant natural scenery. Liu Zongyuan, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) once described Liuzhou as “Mountain ranges are dense with trees obscuring even the best of eyesight, Winding and convoluted like the intestines are the rivers and streams.” When Xu Xiake, a famous travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644), made his visits to Liuzhou, he composed the lines of “Thousands of mountains stand all around and a river runs around the city.” Here in Liuzhou, you can enjoy the sublime Liujiang river scene, climb grotesque mountains covered by lush vegetation, and have an eyeful of willow tress blowing in the wind. There is no doubt that people said Liuzhou has the most beautiful scenery among industrial cities. 

What’s worth mentioning is the bauhinia planted all over the city. When spring arrives, it booms splendidly on streets and in parks, forming endless flower lanes. The whole city is shrouded in pink and purple mist. Every spring, many tourists coming from afar rush to Liuzhou only to have a look at the stunning bauhinia feast. 

Distinctive ethnic culture

Apart from being a modern city with beautiful surroundings, Liuzhou is distinguished by its ethnic culture. There are 48 ethnic groups including Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Dong, and Mulao inhabiting in Liuzhou, which accounts for more than 52% of the city’s total population. Numerous unique ethnic customs have been formed and nourished in this land such as Manghao Festival, Horse-fighting Festival, oil tea-making techniques, Hundred-family Banquet, Lusheng-playing techniques (a folk musical instrument made of bamboo pipes), Yao’s long drum dance, and Dong folk songs. Architectures with ethnic characteristics are also easily found in Liuzhou such as the Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge, Sanjiang Drum Tower, and Bird’s Nest Bamboo Building. The diverse ethnic groups live here harmoniously generation after generation, adding a special luster to the modern industrial city. 

Tips：1. Liuzhou is known as the hometown of Liu Sanjie (a legendary female folk singer in Guangxi), where folk songs are heard throughout streets and alleys. 

1. There are two autonomous county under the jurisdiction of Liuzhou, namely Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County and Rongshui Miao Autonomous County.

Foodies’ Heaven

Liuzhou is a gourmet paradise with many delicious snacks. Luosifen ranks first in Liuzhou flavor snacks. Making up of unique soft and smooth rice noodles, with sour bamboo shoots, fungus, peanuts, fresh vegetables, and other ingredients, as well as sour, hot, and spicy snail soup, it is a very representative food in Liuzhou and also an indispensable part of the life of local people. In recent years under the pandemic, it has become a national dish popular among the young and old. If you are going to Liuzhou, you must not miss such classic food. Besides snail river noodles, snail duck foot pot, sour fish, filter noodles, and shuiyoudui (fried doughnut with white sesame) are also worth a try. All these can be found in the streets and alleys of Liuzhou city. 

An industrial city with pleasant scenery and good food is just the briefest and the most superficial impression of Liuzhou. If you have visited the city once, you’ll find out it is such an attractive place that you want to spend a lifelong time here. 

Tips: 1. Shuiyoudui was listed into the first batch of the intangible cultural heritage of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

1. If you want to taste authentic Liuzhou local snack, the night market is a must-visit place.