Li River and Yangshou

For the past 40+ years, one of the places I have always longed to see was the Li River area. It is that part of China that we always see in pictures with these mountains rising from the ground, many times looking like they are standing alone next to others of different sizes and shapes. They extend all along this beautiful winding river and into the surrounding valleys. I can honestly say, even though I have probably seen hundreds of pictures and more than one documentary of them over the years, they do not disappoint. These mountains are called Karst landforms and I went to Wikipedia and put a 'modified' definitiion of them at the end of this blog

Luckily for me it had rained two days before and the Li River was clean and the smog washed away. We were all given a seat inside, with tables...about 8 of us to a table. As soon as the boat took off I was up and out of there and spent all but the last half hour (where the landscape had leveled off) outide in front. It is so strange how different people are. Most of the Chinese at my table spent the whole five hours at their table, eating and having a grand party. Even on the top deck there was a VIP cabin with special food brought on board for them. It was toward the front of the boat, but we were able to get in front of them and stand and watch the landscape as we cruised down the river. I staked out my place sort of by a post so that I wasn't really blocking the VIP's view, but no one else seemed to care and, here these people had paid a big price to have this forward topside cabin had to come outside and get into the crush of us plebian viewers to even see what was going on. But, the truth is, they were there for the same experience my table partners below were, to have a good time and a party. It might as well have been at the dock the whole time, for all any of them saw....but, they all had a swell time!. For me, though, it was perfect. I got to stand out there the whole time, with something to lean against when the hip started aching and travel through some of the most gorgeous scenery on earth. The nice thing is that, with only a very few exceptions, no on lives along the river. So, it is still pristine and natural. It (and the next day's travel around Yangshuo) would be my number one recommendation for anybody planning a trip to China.

All was well, until we started to dock. While for a lot of the passengers, it was a one day trip with a bus back to Guilin. However, for me, Yangshuo was a destination. I had my luggage with me....and the dock was m-a-n-y steps below the street level...and I still had my bad hip. Again, a kind Chinese came to my rescue. ( I was beginning to feel a little like Blanche, in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' , when she says' "I depend on the kindness of strangers") One of the men in the party below at my table, a principal in a high school in Beijing, volunteered to carry my bag for me. (to tell the truth, by the time we got to the top, I think he was regretting his politeness). By this time he was looking for someone to 'rescue' him. He talked to several guide-looking people on the way up, trying to find me (and himself) some help. Then, he found me Emily, an adorable young guide who helped me to my hotel.

The Yangshuo/ Yulong (Dragon) River valley area are the second half of this adventure and every bit,(if not more), as beautiful as the Li River cruise In 'The Painted Veil', movie, the part where they are traveling into China on Paloquins through the rice fields and Karst Mt. scenery, was filmed right around here. If you haven't seen it, you might like to. It's with Edward Norton and Natalie Portman and, if for nothing other than the scenery, it is a treat.

To see this area, you have to be able to get out into it. Most people rent bicycles, it's flat and perfect for this sort of touring and only a few local motorized vehicles are allowed in the area - no tour buses. However, I had this problem...my hip. Well, little Emily immediately knew how to solve this. We would rent a electric mo-ped and tour it. As simple as that answer seems, I am not sure I would have ever thought about it. She said she could drive and I would be the passenger....ha.ha.ha. And, it wasn't going to be the other way around either. In Taiwan, my 75 pound (soaking wet) friend Mary rode around with me a couple of times and she loved to talk and wiggle around on the back of my mo-ped so much, I nearly had crashes when she was riding with me.

It rained the first day I was there, so we ended up renting 2 mo-peds and took off for a day in Eden the day after that. PJ has always kidded me about talking in 'superaltives', but the words, exquisite, breathtaking, gorgeous, awesome, fabulously beautiful are part of a legitimate lexicon to describe the Guilin, Li River, Yulong River, Yangshuo valley area. Before this trip, Bali, the North Shore of Kauai and my Peace Corps site in Kenya are the three most beautiful places in the world (that I've seen, of course). Now, this area must be added to the list. As along the Li River, there are many karsts in the area. Each is different, unique by itself and helps to create beauitful landscapes as it combines with others. Depending on where you are the combinations of these different peaks shift perspective and the whole scene changes, bringing another 'ooh, aah'. To add to the joy of the relaxing ride, all through the countryside are rice fields, vegetable gardens, and orange and almond groves. And, to tell you the truth, it was great to be on a mo-ped again. At 68, and still toodling around like that made me feel young again (or at least 'younger')

The Dragon (Yulong) River runs through the center of this area. Here we stopped for a little cruise. Just Emily and me on bamboo chairs attached to a bamboo raft about 5 or 6 bamboo poles wide, being punted down the river by our boatman behind. After the rain the day before, the weather couldn't have been more cooperative, sunny with clear blue skies, but not too hot. Emily agreed with my 'plan' to start in the south and follow the spring north. Hope she is right. But, for that day it was perfect. We stopped at a little village for lunch, went to some caves...Butterfly Caves, that Jeff had found on a site..and she was thinking about anyway, and went to a little village where we got to take our own bamboo raft and punt across the river...that was 'elegant' - but we got to the other side.

One more interesting evening tour that my smart little Emily encouraged me to take. Went with a group out on a boat and watched fisherman catching fish with coromorants. I had heard about this in Japan but never seen it. The birds have stiff wire type thing poked through their necks (you can see it if you look closely at the picture - remember: double click and the pictures get bigger). They are tied with some ropes and swim along beside the fishing boats, diving for fish. Every now and then the fisherman hauls them in, turns them upside down and squeezes their necks and the fish come out the birds mouth (because they can't swallow them). They do this all night and this is the fish we eat in the restaurants in Yangshuo. Hopefully after all that work, the wire is removed and the birds are given some time to have a great big meal....which they certainly deserve.

It was at the hotel here that I heard most about the riots and aftermath in Tibet. I think Karl Rove is working with the
Chinese to help create the spin language they were using. It was the 'Evil Dali Clique' that was upsetting the harmony of the ethnic relationships in Tibet. I.e., the Tibetens were rioting against the Han Chinese who have colonized the country in the past 60+ years. But, the best, was how all these rioters were 'voluntarily' turning themselves over to the Chinese government because they knew how wrong they had been and were sooo sorry. Gag, me! I do wish I actually understood the Chinese side of their argument that Tibet belongs to them. Maybe it would make me a little more sympathetic to their cause. And, I will say one thing. The Western press, with very few exceptions, does only tell the Tibetan view. It's sort of like Israel and Palestine. Over the years we have gotten a lot information that predisposes us to support Israel....or even more accurately, think that the Palestinians are in the wrong. I like Israel and believe 100% in its right to exist. I'm just trying to say, that some times the Western press does have it's biases too. Now, it's been ages since I have made a 'political' statement. Don't worry, I won't go 'charlene' on you and start a 'political', rather than a travel blog. It was interesting, though, listening to this Chinese news. It would be tough living here, though, and having only it to tell me what was going on in the world. I can get most internet sites though. So, I stay somewhat abreast of what is going on. But, one of the reasons I am happy not to be in the good old U. S of A is that I don't have to hear this stuff day in and day out and be driven crazy by it.

Now, I am through phase one of my journey.. It's on to Yunnan and the captivating little town of Lijiang. All you take care, Charlene



KARST LANDFORMS..are generally the result of mildly acidic water acting on soluble bedrock such as limestone or dolostone. The carbonic acid that causes these features is formed as rain passes through the atmosphere picking up CO2, which dissolves in the water.
This mildly acidic water begins to dissolve the surface and any fractures or bedding planes in the limestone bedrock. Over time these fractures enlarge as the bedrock continues to dissolve. Openings in the rock increase in size, and an underground drainage system begins to develop, allowing more water to pass through and accelerating the formation of underground karst features. (ME) This also leaves the karst mountains with lots of caves and staligmites and staligtites (sp?). I got to go in several of these. Everything nowadays is all fixed up for the tourists, and in the interesting areas, they were decorated with all sorts of lights. Or, as in the case of the butterfly caves, where some of the formations looked just liked butterflies, they were just highlighted.

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