📅 16th September 2025 📍Guilin, China

Venturing into China’s Heart: Rice Fields and Rural Reverie

After the customary stops at Volkswagen for a recharge, we made the spontaneous decision to leave the motorway for several hours, eager to capture a glimpse of genuine everyday life in China.

The transformation was immediate. As soon as we left the main road, we found ourselves surrounded by lush green rice fields. Farmers calmly laid their harvest out to dry on the road, the scent of rice drifting on the air. The landscape grew ever more undulating, with steep hills rolling out like a scene borrowed from a textbook or childhood memory of China’s countryside.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset over the chain of jagged hills that closed off the horizon behind the sea of houses. The evening ended with a meal that was as adventurous as the terrain—locally prepared, featuring crispy grasshoppers, a surprising but fitting end to a day steeped in discovery.

Next stop: Hechi