Yangshuo

This had to be one of the most uniquely beautiful places in China.  From the moment the bus traversed the road from Guilin, the nearby scenery dazzled the eyes.  In the setting sun, the karst formations and pinnacles jut out of the ground into the haze and mist, dreamy and mysterious, as if you are in some strange wonderland.  Sometimes the hills seem like jagged waves, other times vaguely like the imaginative names given, like "fish out of the water, tortoise climbing the hill, and 8 immortals crossing the river."  I never got "grandpa watching apple..."

 

Yangshuo is a backpacker's haunt, much smaller and quieter than Guilin, but immensely more charming and relaxing.  Though rapidly changing, good rooms here were very cheap during our stay (130 yuan for a riverview and less than 60-80 elsewhere).  Lots of good food -- Western and Chinese, including the local specialties Beer Fish, Pork with taro, and Li River shrimp. Don't know about the spicy dog listed in the menu...    

The surrounding country side was so quiet, the everyday lives in the small villages seemingly undisturbed.  No cars, no motorbikes, no noise.  Just farmers plowing their fields using water buffaloes and ladies watering the vegetable crops with large wooden water vats balanced from a plank across their backs.  Rice seemed so organic and hard won -- the seeding, transplanting, and harvesting, to the separating, drying, and milling, made you never want to waste another grain.

Rented bikes took us through narrow paths into villages, through fields, and often led nowhere. Another popular activity was the motorized bamboo rafts up the Li River to take in the scenery. From the town of Xinping, this view is what appears on the back of the Chinese 20RMB note. 

Back on the main roads, it was the usual congestion and crowding.  The local buses packed as many bodies onboard as possible, and then would cram in a few more along the way - no chickens or livestock though.  We sat on one bus that actually left only half full, but proceeded to slow troll along the route for the next 20 minutes.  

The trip back to Hong Kong went something like this:  2 hour bus ride to Guilin, 30 minute walk with packs to the next bus, 30 minute ride to airport, 1 hour flight to Shenzen, 45 minutes cab trip to the border, shuttle bus, border crossing, shuttle bus, then 30 minutes on the minibus home. Late night dinner of fried rice and wonton soup at 2 AM.

Pictures