Blogs from Xingping, Guangxi, China, Asia

Xingping: The quieter and more quainter version of the commercialised Yangshuo, with less tourists and more of an authentic town feel. Made up of quaint narrow streets, with brick and wooden shop exteriors all lined together in long terraced rows, it almost looked untouched from a distant past. If that was not enough reason to visit, the small town was beautifully built at the foot of huge karst mountains overlooking the Li River. On our arrival (via 40min bus from Yangshuo) we walked through the small streets in search of our hostel. Passing under cloth canopies strung between shops and illuminated lanterns, we heard the faint sound of traditional music being played. As we got closer there was a small group of locals; some smoking, some playing instruments whilst others played cards. Then out of nowhere ... read more

Well this will be the final entry for this trip. I woke up early this morning in hopes of catching the sunrise. I hiked to the top of a peak in hopes of getting a glimpse of the sun. No such luck. It was the same hike I did yesterday, and it is a nice one. I still had some nice views and could enjoy the morning music blasting from the elementary school down below. China, I've got to say, is a noisy place. I was pretty high up, but all the noise reached me unimpeded by buildings, trees, or other obstructions. The car horns, boat motors, music, and voices all reached my observation point. A lot to take in. After the hike I had breakfast at the hostel and then took off. I rode about ... read more

Alors pour aujourd'hui résumé de la journée : ceux qui ont mal au genou (Dom eu Gabrielle) vont nous rejoindre en bus un peu plus tard à Xingping, le reste prend le bus jusqu'à Yangdi, il s'agit ensuite de faire une rando jusqu'à Xingping... Jusqu'à là, tout roulait... Bon ce qu'on ne savait pas c'est qu'il fallait prendre un bateau pour traverser le fleuve pour commencer la rando, et sans panneau d'information on a passé pas mal de temps à négocier le prix et à trouver un bateau. On prend deux bateaux en plastique imitation bambou et c'est parti pour une vingtaine de minutes de balade sur la rivière Li pour aller au point de départ. On est tous les 8, plus un chinois qui était dans le même bus et dans notre bateau (il sera ... read more

So, We made it back to Yangshuo after a night in Xingping. This time without the early morning adventures. Xingping was beautiful. We had lots of fun there depsite the constant rain and the "wet cold" that the rain brought with it. It's a small enough rural town and that we saw no modern heating except in our hostel. It was pretty peaceful, and quiet. You don't notice how used to the city noises you get until you leave them behind! The Hostel itself was great (called "this old place hostel"). They even had firebrick oven roasted pizza that was pretty good. We splurged twice and went western with the pizza. We had great plans of taking full advantage of the rural setting to go hiking, and biking, and see some caves, etc.... After an overnight ... read more

Xingping... read more