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Nanning is one of those provincial centers that provide an insight into just how fast this once-backwater region of China is developing, the neon of new affluence leaping out at the visitor from every store front. It doesn't have a plethora of sights, but it's a worthwhile day-walk.
    A mere market town at the turn of the century, Nanning has grown to become the capital of Guangxi. Apart from the urban expansion that the post-1949 railway induced in the south-west, Nanning became an important staging post for shipping srms to Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. It's now reprising that role, this time in the thriving border trade that has sprung from Beijing's increasing friendly ties with Hanoi.
The railway line to the border town of Pingxiang was built in 1952, and was extended to Hanoi, giving Vietnam a lifeline to China. The link was cut in 1979 with the Chinese invasion of Vietnam; today the line is open again. Nanning is an oft-ignored transit point for travelers moving on to Vietnam; you can even arrange a Vietnam visa here. With the appropriate paperwork, you can travel to Hanoi by train once again. Since the opening of the Nankun Railway in 1998, more visitors are circumventing Guilin on the congested Kunming-Yangshuo route.
    Despite the region's rich patchwork of 30 minorities, the only colourful minorities you're likely to encounter in town are the occasional Miao and Dong people selling silver bracelets and earrings on the pedestrian overpasses near the train station.

Orientation
Nanning city maps are available at shops and stalls near the train and long-distance bus stations; better ones will have a provincial map on the back and colour-coded bus lines. At the time of writing there were no English-language maps available.