HJ ZULHEIMY - SEPANJANG JALAN KENANGAN: CHINA

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

24 March 2024 : 2.24 a.m

My family and I (wife, two sons, and my mother-in-law) took off on AirAsia flight AK 156 from KLIA 2 at 6.00 am to Guilin, Yangshuo, and Guangzhou on 11 - 16 November 2017. I chose this holiday when my wife and I attended MATTA Fair 2017 at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur in early 2017. We booked this holiday through Andalusia Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd.

I was supposed to go earlier in October 2017, but since my wife and I were selected at the last minute to perform Hajj to Mecca in the Hajj season of 2017 @ 1438H, I had to postpone my vacation to China to November 2017.

This is my 3rd visit to China. Previously, I visited Beijing, Tianmen, and Chengde in 2001, and then Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in 2003.

We arrived safely at LiangJiang International Airport in Guilin, China at 10 am. LiangJiang International Airport in Guilin is located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, about 28 km from the center of Guilin City. The airport was opened on October 1, 1996.

In 2014, Liangjiang Airport was the 33rd busiest airport in China, with the number of passengers increasing to 5,875,327 people.

GUILIN, CHINA

Guilin is a city in southern China known for its dramatic landscape of limestone karst hill. Guilin is one of the famous tourist destinations in China. The panoramic beauty of the Li River in Guilin can be seen in the printing of the 20 Yuan (RMB) banknote in China.

Guilin is the third largest city in Guangxi after Nanning and Liuzhuo. The total population is 800,000 people. The name "Guilin" means "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus". Osmanthus is the name of a plant that is abundant in this city. Osmanthus leaves can be made into tea and have high medicinal value.

OSMANTHUS LEAVE

Guilin was founded in 214 BC during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC). Emperor Qin Shihuang built the Ling Canal, which made Guilin the gateway between the Central Plains and Lingnan Province (now Guangdong, Guangxi, and part of Hunan, Jiangxi).

During the reign of the Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD), Guilin became the capital of the modern Guangxi Autonomous Region and Hainan Province.

Guilin became the capital of Guangxi Province from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) until 1912.

During the Second World War, Guilin became an Air Force base where many attacks were launched against the Japanese army from this base.

In 1981, Guilin was listed by the State Council of China as one of the four cities, besides Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, as Historical and Cultural Heritage Sites.

The history of Guilin begins as early as the first century BC. It was founded as a trading center in China. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, a garrison was established, and Guilin began to grow rapidly with the plantation industry at that time. The city was badly destroyed during the Second World War.

However, after the war, the city was gradually restored. In Guangxi and Guilin, there are settlements of 12 ethnic minorities in China.

LI RIVER, GUILIN

Upon arriving at Liangjiang Airport in Guilin, we were greeted by a local tour guide named Mr. Alex. From the airport, we were taken to have lunch at Endian Halal Muslim Restaurant, which is located at Haitang 1st Alley, Xiangshan Qu, Guilin Shi, Guangzi, Zhuangzuziqu.

Our tour guide Mr. Alex briefed us on the tour schedule

Ever since I first set foot on Chinese soil in 2001 in Beijing, I have grown fond of Chinese Muslim cuisine. Chinese people here don't eat a lot of rice; their menu has more side dishes than rice. Soup is the main menu item in China. So in China, we have to follow the taste of the people here... if in Malaysia we eat more rice, but here, we have to change it to more side dishes than rice. However, the food here is really good, just less spicy.

Endian Halal Restaurant is located at Haitang 1st Alley, Xiangshan Qu, Guilin Shi, Guangxi. At first glance, we might think this is an Indian Muslim restaurant, but the truth is that it is a restaurant run by local residents.

Serving Chinese-style food such as soup and various types of fried vegetables, here there is also a three-flavored sea bass menu that tastes the same as in Malaysia.

So don't worry about the food in Guilin because the restaurant serves Chinese Muslim food adapted for the Malaysian palate.

At dinner, we were taken to another Chinese Muslim restaurant in Guilin City. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but the menu was quite interesting and we were very satisfied.

CHONG SHAN MOSQUE, GUILIN

After lunch, we were taken to the Chong Shan Mosque for the Zohor and Asr prayers (Jamak Taqdim). This mosque is located next to the Endian Restaurant, which is on Chongshan Road.

**Jamak prayers mean to combine two different prayers by performing them at one time, either in the timing of the first prayer or the second prayer, enable a person to get the facilitation to perform these prayers is he has to be travelling.

Chong Shan Mosque was built in 1735, during the 13th year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. The mosque was later enlarged in 1849, during the reign of Emperor Jianqing. Restoration work on the mosque was carried out during the time of Emperor Daoguang (1821-1850) and also after the founding of the People's Republic of China (1912-1949). Today, the mosque covers an area of 2000 square meters.

ISLAM IN CHINA

Muslims are a minority group in China, representing around 2 percent of the total population (20-30 million people). Though Hui Muslims are the most numerous group, the greatest concentration of Muslims are in Xinjiang, which contains a significant Uyghur population (about 12 millions Uyghurs).

Reference:

1. Wikipedia : Islam in China

Days Hotel, Yangshuo, Guilin

Days Hotel, located in Yangshuo, Guilin, in Guangxi, China, is our accommodation for our stay in Yangshuo. We will be staying here for one night only before spending the next night in Guilin.

YANGSHUO, CHINA

Yangshuo is located about 80 km from Guilin, and the journey there takes almost half an hour. It is situated in the north of Guangxi Province, which is a province in Southern China. The capital of Guangxi Province is Nanning, which is about 380 km from Guilin. The majority of the population in Guangxi Province is made up of the Zhuang ethnic group (pronounced Chuang in Chinese). They are the second largest ethnic group in China, after the Han ethnic group, which makes up 90% of the entire Chinese population.