We flew from Beijing to Guilin, with a layover in Xi'an on the way down. Our airline was China Air which I would rate at about Northwest Airlines level. Not awesome but certainly serviceable. We met a fellow foreign traveller on the way down who was here from Spain, so Mandi got a nice opportunity to use her Spanish in person for the first time in awhile. We got in around 9pm and then took a taxi from Guilin to Yangshuo, one hour away by expressway. Even though it was nighttime we could make out the outlines of the limestone karst landscape surrounding us.
To be blunt, it was cloudy the entire week and we had at least two days of rain. This resulted in some truly frozen wanderings around the town and a sub-arctic boat ride up the Li River. But on the other hand, we had a number of really amazing experiences that made the week more than worthwhile.
It was Chinese New Year to begin with, which meant constant excitement in the form of firecrackers, fireworks and lots of "Xinnian Kuaile" (Happy New Year) greetings from the people trying to rip us off. Our hostel was comfortable enough though it tended towards cold in the 45 degree weather. But this was more than made up for by our host's hospitality. The owner asked us to eat dinner with her and some friends on New Year's day which was not only a fantastic southern Chinese traditional dinner but also a nice chance to feel social with some other international guests and Hong Kong Chinese who spoke English. There were two French architects staying with us who were working on the restoration of a Ming-era village which was especially interesting.
Mandi and I took two long bike rides, both times renting nice Giant mountain bikes from our hostel. Yangshuo and the area around it is made up of a networks of streams, rivers and valleys flowing between the vertical karst peaks. This means that one can take some relatively easy, level bike rides while surrounded on all sides by mountains, a unique experience. The roads we biked were built from deep red earth, and they wound through the landscape connected the tiny outlying villages. We rode for hours, taking occasional breaks to eat some crackers or have a drink while shooting photos. Each village was filled with folks dying to say hello to us or at least have a look as we went by, though they seemed to see enough tourists that we didn't really phase them. I stopped and asked for directions quite a few times and, as we made our way onto a river ferry alongside a mass of Chinese without access to improved roads and bridges at the end of our second ride, I felt like I had almost escaped urban China.
Besides that we had some fun events on the side - a visit to a water cave that involved riding a boat in through about two feet of vertical space over the stream and then about an hour of walking inside a fairly large cave, a hike to the top of Moon Hill (a karst peak with a huge circular hole in the mountain) and some delicious if slightly pricy American breakfasts for the first time in ages. Our host always had a supply of "juzi" (Mandarin oranges) ready to be squeezed for juice each morning which made the most intensely delicious orange juice I've ever had. We also took a cooking class with her which was great as I have expanded my repertoire of Chinese dishes from fried rice to fried rice and kung pao chicken. Although, we did write down a few more interesting recipes that I've not yet tried to reproduce without assistance.
The town of Yangshuo itself was fairly packed with tourists, which made the odd looks and calls of "laowai" even more disconcerting - if they see hundreds of white people each day you would think the Chinese in Yangshuo might eventually stop noting it, but I guess not. But it also had some less frequented parts, especially across the river. Mandi and I spent one morning just walking past all the New Year's decorations and seeing how many characters I recognized and then could teach to her. The winding lanes, bridges, pools and parks all helped the rather small area of the city feel dense and full of things to see, and the views of the peaks overshadowing the town added to the borderline-claustraphobic effect.
Anyway, my apologies again for the delay - hope you enjoy some of the pictures below. Highly recommended if you are ever in China, especially during a warmer part of the year!
Moon Hill, where we took a good couple hours to hike all the way to the top above the "moon" and back down.
A fun house on the river in Yangshuo.
By far the prettiest part of the cave we visited.
This is how most of the countryside looked, though we saw all sorts of places where everything from cabbage to oranges were still growing. The rice paddies were taking a rest.
I consult the map on one of our all-day bike excursions.
Overused narrator introduction: "China, a nation of contrasts. Where the ancient and the modern exist side by side." etc.
We saw lots of oxen, still the animal of choice for these farmers.
At Chinese New Year, all the families decorate their doors like this. The banners just have wishes for prosperity and so on in the new year. Note the candles burning.
Oxen swimming across the river. I asked their owner where they were going as he stood and watched them swim alone out into the water. "The other side of course."
A picture from atop one of the peaks in town.
The sun only came out for two hours but at least I got this picture.
Delicious citrus fruit even in the winter.
Crowded West Street, the main drag for tourists and diners in Yangshuo.
