Blogs from Guangxi, China, Asia
May 23rd 2012
Just a short paragraph on the beauties of this spot. Population of only about 300,000, which makes it very small by Chinese standards, this is also a very touristy spot with many foreigners around - including us!! The karsts are gorgeous, the people are very friendly and the food is funky - we have eaten water snails stuffed - very tasty, frogs - mmmm not my preference, duck, pork, baby shrimp cooked to crunchiness, taro crispy sticks to name a few things - great place to experiment, We also had to try the beer fish and rice noodles - both are local specialities. Yesterday we went for a Li River cruise - lovely spot to view the karsts which are plentiful and very beautiful. and today we went for a bike ride through the lanes and ... read more
April 27th 2012
It was refreshing to wake up in a tropical resort in a tropical rain shower. The previous night we went for a swim after the hoard of 80+ Shanghai American School students had their pool party, so we felt somewhat energised. I am not too sure who runs the Yangshuo Resort Hotel, but it is a foreign style Banyan Tree wannabe type hotel with all the amenities but none of the expertise. It seems to be the Shanghai expat weekend retreat, which is probably a good reason to avoid it. My room has an amazing bath in the center of the room, but I am missing my $20 dollar room at the Dong Village with it's water faucet and riverside views. We headed for the lovely Yangshuo West Street, and got on a river raft down ... read more
Day 27 - Dong Village and Longji Rice Terrace
Published: April 27th 2012Asia » China » Guangxi » Yangshuo
April 26th 2012
Our $20 dollar rooms with balconies overlooked the river and rice paddies that fed on the river, and it was a perfect summer morning in the deep South of China. There is nothing quite so refreshing as waking up to the sound of running water. With a simple bowl of noodles for breakfast, we walked across the Dong bridges to the village. I was almost contemplating staying at the guesthouse for a year to simply clear my head of decades of city life. After a light lunch we drove to the Longji Rice Terraces, said to be amongst the most beautiful in the world. The lighting and timing prevented us from being able to capture it's beauty as well as in the numerous photobooks that you can purchase on the way up. It is hard for ... read more
April 18th 2012
Jinxiu and Mengshan county is right next to Lipu township, also claimed to have Yao community, especially in Jinxiu region, so I went over to check out some markets. Xiayi and Xinxu in Mengshan county both could see some Yao woman, they all kept their headdress. Mengshan has its place in the Chinese history, the revolted of the Taiping Kingdom army had made their name here and began the short 13 years glory(1851-1864). Now there was only a small shrine said to be where the upraising began that visitor could see. The Mengshan town didn't has much to offer to tourist, 2 small hilltop could hike up but offer no view! 3 extreme huge banyan trees stood on the north end of town, but the surrounding construction work stop me from hang around too long! About ... read more
April 17th 2012
Last thursday morning I left my hotel in Ping An very early and walked down the hill in the rain to the carpark to catch the bus to Longsheng. The bus was on time but we had to wait about 30 minutes for some passengers that had been at a large wedding in town and were a little late getting up. It was an enjoyable 40 minute trip and the guy I had been sitting next to showed me the bus to get on for Sanjiang. We left right away and it took only an hour and a half to arrive at the Sanjiang bus station. A couple of the things I have noticed in China is the number of bridges they have, and also how much cement is being used for government works as well ... read more
April 15th 2012
11-04-2012 Lipu is a small town further down from Yangshaw in the southern most part of Guilin region. famous for the vegetable - taros. that made a delicious pork dish called "liyukourou", but I couldn't able to located any places that serve this dishes in town, instead you could find package sell in supermarket that you could cook it back home. well...same like the famous ham dishes in Xuanwei, nowhere I could taste it while there, but I could buy in supermarket. Like any township in Guilin region, they all claimed to have wonderful karst hillforms sites, indeed...I saw couple of nice scene along the road on the way here, but...I guess I was a bit numb of Karst hillform after so many years around souther China. Beside...my main aim was looking for the Yao in ... read more
Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces
Published: April 11th 2012Asia » China » Guangxi » Longji Rice Terraces
April 11th 2012
Our bus to Ping An left Yangshuo just before 8am and about 3 hours later we changed to a smaller bus which stopped at a small village so we could have a look at some longhaired women. This place was very touristy with all the ladies from the village trying to sell us souvenirs and charging people to take their photo. Also, besides our busload of mostly Chinese tourists there must have been about 5 more buses full of tourists at the village as well. After wandering around for 10 minutes they ushered us into a large building where we sat through a short but entertaining cultural show. The length of the ladies hair was impressive, almost reaching the ground. From here it was back on the bus where we drove along a pretty river before ... read more
April 8th 2012
Tried to do some look around in Longsheng area, but the weather wasn't promising, rain and cloudy. Longsheng town had nothing that could remind me of the tiny village that I had visited almost 20 years ago, now it was a town with neon-lite all through the night. Back then I remember the guesthouse by the river and the water-wheel, a single hammock which I had spend many lazy afternoon. By evening I walk up the trail behind to a Miao village, where they offered you-cha the oil tea and food for a small fee. now...seldom traveler stay here, most of them head right away up to the terrace area where spread with guesthouses. Me...no...I guess I had enough rice terrace picture for the last 10 years. beside...I am not really willing to spend 80 yuan ... read more
April 7th 2012
My flight to Guangzhou went fine and I arrived about 8pm. After asking a few people I hopped on the right bus to take me into the city, and from the bus station I caught a taxi the last couple of kilometres to my hostel. The hostel was very modern with drinks and food available, and my 6 bed dorm room was fine. I also liked the location, just a short 8 cent ferry ride across the river to Shamien Island and a 15 cent ferry ride to the main part of town. On my first full day I just walked around the city area and Shamien Island. It was a pleasure watching the older people enjoying themselves in the park, dancing, singing, and exercising. The following day I caught the impressive underground to a large ... read more
