Founded during the Yuan dynasty, NANNING, China was only a medium-sized market town until European traders opened a river route from Wuzhou in the early twentieth century, starting a period of rapid growth which saw the city supplanting Guilin as the provincial capital. Largely untouched by the civil war and Japanese invasion, it became a centre of supply and command during the Vietnam War , when the Nanning-Hanoi rail line was used to transport arms shipments via the border town of Pingxiang, 160km away. Nanning saw particularly vicious street fighting after these weapons were looted by rival Red Guard factions during the Cultural Revolution. The military returned for a decade when China and Vietnam came to blows in 1979, but following the resumption of cross-border traffic in the 1990s the city is beginning to capitalize on trade agreements with its neighbour.

Today, Nanning is a bright, easy-going place with a mild boom town atmosphere and mix of leafy boulevards, modern architecture and handful of narrow, colonial-era streets. Amongst all this you'll find good shopping, decent food, a museum strong on regional archeology, and both international and domestic transport connections: in particular, the nearby open border with Vietnam to the west means that Nanning is the first - or final - taste of China for an increasing number of independent travellers.