Sunday 1 July 2012

Landscapes of Guilin

In 1984 China issued a set of 10 pre stamped postcards of the beautiful and unique landscape of Guilin.  They showed the area in different weather and times of day
  This card is called Xingping Wonderland and it does indeed look like a wonderland with the parasol opened as the boats drift past on the river. All the photographs were taken by Ren Guoen who is still designing stunning stamps for China.  Quoting from the postcard insert which succinctly describes Guilin
 Guilin, the Crown of Super Landscapes in China, has long been renowned for its beautiful scenery. Sailing downstream along both banks of the Lijiang River from Guilin to Yangshuo, one can enjoy a multitude of green weirdly-shaped hills with gorgeous steep precipices. Surrounded by crystal-clear water and flanked by strange peaks, the Lijiang River forms a picturesque landscape which looks just like a magnificent scroll. "The River winds like a blue silk ribbon, while the hills erect like green jade hairpins" is the vivid description of this unique scenery by an ancient poet".
Here is one that shows intense green of Green Lotus Peak which is on the west bank of the Li River.  All the peaks have wonderfully evocative names, such as the carp and the golden tile but the Green Lotus also has a legend of the Green Lotus Fairy
 The area has many sweet osmanthus trees which flower in late summer and autumn, the  flowers are used in scented teas.  Just the thing to drink while gazing at the scenery.  China only issued these pre-stamped postcards in 1984 but of course with scenery like this they have appeared on stamps of other years, see here  

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps theme of  'Scenic Natural Areas'
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5 comments:

viridian said...

Truly an enchanting landscaep. there is an interesting geological reson why it looks like this, but I won't bore you. Thanks you for sharing these lovely stamps and postcards, and whisking us away to China!

Bob Scotney said...

Scenes of the week! Two great stamps with marvellous scenery. Viridian has me intrigued - I'm off to check out the geology.

VioletSky said...

I am prepared to be bored, so am off to google this "weirdly shaped" landscaped.
These stamps and cards are gorgeous.

Debs @ Penny Black 1840 said...

china is top of my list of countries to visit one day! fantastic images...

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

The stamps and cards are breathtaking so they must be quite incredible in real life.