GUILIN AND YANGSHOU

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Guilin was only a one night stop off for us. Originally we were supposed to get a boat from here that takes you down the Li River to a town called Yangshou. However, it is the dry season and the river is low so the large boats cannot make the journey (our hotel in Guilin had informed us of this a few days earlier). We got to Guilin at around 9.30pm and were picked up by a taxi which we had arranged through Shanghai airport at a fraction of the cost we had been quoted by others. Tim feeling rather smug about this!! Our hotel was actually an apartment owned by a local chinese lady. She was very nice and welcoming and pretty much let us in and left us to it for the night. She was coming back the following day to show us where to get the bus from to Yangshou. After 2 hours of trying to get the computer to download photos and the air conditioning to warm up we conceded defeat and went to bed bloody cold and getting very behind with the blog. We have had quite some trouble downloading photos in our hostels which is why the postings have been delayed.

The bus was very cheap only 15 yuan (1 pound) each for the 40 minute ride. After being scared to death by an old chinese lady tugging on my arm at the roadside and shouting and gesturing at us(desperate for us to get her bus) we decided on a larger bus that could house the backpacks no problem. I have no nails left at this point!!!!! The journey was steady and comfortable and we were quite the entertainment for the locals being the only westerners on there. Tim had a guy next to him that kept grinning and laughing - we were not sure why but everyone was very friendly.

Guilin and Yangshou boast some of the best scenery in China and it is very true. The bus ride took us through mountains and fields great to be in the countyside for a change. Although it was a large road it was not so busy and the guys here dont drive very fast so it was quite relaxing just looking out the windows at the endless hill peaks that are unbelievable.

After following our map to our hotel (true backpacking now) we arrived to a rather sulky looking girl who informed us we were in the wrong place and gestured up the road. We were booked at the River View Hotel and she was telling us we wanted the River View Grande. Grande obviously isnt going to be the price we were expecting and we knew she was wrong but we gave her the benefit and the staff at the Grande assured us our booking was with the other hotel. So we went back to little miss sulky and she booked us in straight away (feeling like she was trying to scam us at this point) but we didnt dwell on it. Our room was lovely and the balcony overlooked the river. The only problem with this really was the river was pretty much dry and it was damn cold. Hey ho we dumped our things and went off for a walk.

Yangshou is a really pretty town. Lots of little bridges over small rivers and lakes. Small streets that are pedestrianised so they are really nice to stroll down looking at the shops. More fake designer labels than we have seen anywhere else and overall it has a really peaceful feel to it. We loved it instantly. It is quite touristy here which is to be expected as it is the docking place for all the boat tours but it is very quiet here at the moment as it is low season. The town itself is nestled on a back drop of incredible hills and right next to the river which provides it with so many visitors. Even though we could not get the boat from Guilin we had been told that you could get small boat rides and rafts from Yangshou so we were relieved we would not miss the river scenery.

We had left our warm coats in shanghai as we expected it to be warmer in the south. BIG MISTAKE. It is really cold and on our second day it did nothing but rain persistently. we were concerned that we would be staying here for a week and that if the weather did not improve it wasnt going to be as good as we had anticipated.

Our third was much better though still cold, but at least it wasn't raining. We met a friendly guide in the street who offered us a bike tour so we headed off to get some breakfast and met up with her later for our 40km tour of the Yangshou rivers and countryside. We had an excellent time, proper cycle paths lead to muddy paddy fields to even muddier local villages and riverside paths. It was great to be out seeing the locals tending their crops, the bamboo rafters waiting for tourists on the river and in general to enjoy absolute peace and quiet. It was hard going in places especially on the really muddy tracks but you got to see so much more than sticking to the road. we stopped off at popular places to visit along the way but rather than do the whole tourist bus trail we were getting to enjoy it and move on to areas they would not get to see. Along the route our guide had told us there was a toll road being built which had really good scenery and was easier to ride on so we caught up with that and cycled along it's unfinished route. This road is to link with Guilin/Yangshou and a town further south and although the chinese are embracing all this change and development I was actually quite saddened by it as when it is finished it is going to be huge. At least three lanes each side and it is being built right next to some of the most beautiful natural countyside, fields and villages. I'm not sure the locals have thought about noise, pollution etc.... However, it was a really pretty ride and all the local workers we passed shouted hello and waved it was really good fun. By the time we turned off the road both our backsides were starting to feel numb! We stopped off at moon hill another interesting and famous scenic mountain and then decided rather than finish off the ride on the river we would take the roads which was quicker. We got back to yangshou town 3 and half hours after we had set off and feeling satisfied and nicely tired. We figured we had earn't ourselves a few beers and some time for reflection on the day!!

Outside the balcony of our hotel is small raised paved area. I have enjoyed watching the older chinese ladies on a couple of mornings performing Tai Chi. Whilst watching a DVD in bed on a Saturday night we heard loud music, upon inspection it was a group of locals dancing in the same square. It is really nice that they all get together to do such things and very different to home!! Can you imagine going to the local square and joining in ballroom dancing?

Whilst we had been wandering around the town we had noticed hostels advertising rates alot lower than we were paying at our hotel. We got talking to an Aussie guy who suggested his hotel at half the price and free internet in your room! We asked to see the rooms and they were warm and clean. Tim tried to re-negotiate our room rate back at our hotel but quite frankly little miss sulky was very disinterested that we wanted more for our money. The bar and restaurant were also very cold and unwelcoming so we bit the bullet and checked out. It has turned out to be the best thing as our new place is lovely and the internet in our room has been a godsend for the blog and photo downloading. All this for half the price we were paying!!!

With no rain in sight we caught the local bus to a town called Xingping we were told that rafts and smaller boats can cruise the river here at it is higher. The local nus journey costs a pittance and was an experience. We manged to get a seat on the way there but they get very packed with alot of people standing. We took a long walk through the village and down tot he river side with a local lady following us all the way gesturing that she could offer us a bamboo raft. It was a cold but dry day so we negotiated with the lady and set off for our raft tour. The scenery is truly beautiful and on the back of the 20 yuan note in China there is a picture of this area. Very popular with tourists taking pictures so we had a go matching the hills to the note. Not the best photo we have ever taken mind!!!! The river is very low in places sometime no more than maybe 2 foot. It was relaxing and fun but damn cold!!!! The cruise took us around and hour and a half but it was well worth it and was only 6 pounds. That done we set off back to the bus where one was just pulling out of the station. We jumped on it and found ourselves standing - not so bad until the bus kept stopping every so often to let people on - very very crouded and uncomfortable!!! We got back to Yangshou and the lady letting people on and off the bus started shouting and gesturing. We didnt have a clue what she was saying but then the bus pulled into a side street and we all got off just as a police car passed on the main road. We figured that they had too many people on the bus and would have been in trouble if they had been caught. Very funny though!!!

With new years eve approaching we decided to book for the local light show. Set in a lagoon with the hills as the backdrop it is all performed on water with over 600 people involved. We thought it would be a nice change to our normal new years eve ritual of getting very drunk so booked to go. It was well worth it. Very different to anything we have seen before. queueing to get in was a bit of a bind the show is very popular and the seating can hold around 2000 so there are an awful lot of people in a very small courtyard to get through to the lagoon. We had wrapped up well as it was very cold and even took some brandy with us just to be sure. We hired local army coats that were fantastic like being wrapped in a blanket. We were very snuggle throguhout the show.

Although it was all in chinese it was really good. We did not really understand the exact plot but the gist is a celebration of life in Yangshou. Traditional dress, fisherman on bamboo rafts, singing and dancing children it was quite a sight. The cliffs and hills are lit at different stages through the show and they look amazing. There are so many children performing too. One part had costumes that lit up and they could turn on and off themselves they danced to the music turning the lights on and off in time and looked fantastic. Apparently over half of the performers are local people and the show provides work for many more.

By the time we got back to Yangshou and got changed it was 10pm we had already decided to see the new year in at a local aussie bar that was having a party. we got there and it was packed with westerners and locals, we found seats at the end of the bar next to the fire and it was a really good atmosphere. Our seats were by the window and quite strangely we had a local chinese guy standing outside looking in. He kept blowing us kisses (yes me and Tim) and sticking his tongue out. He is even in the background of some of our photos. It was quite bazaar!!!! They did the midnight countdown and after that he disappeared. It is great to think what 2008 has in store for us and we had a really good evening.

We woke to bright sunshine and no hangover - now theres a first for new years day!!!!! We spent the day wondering through the town and sat by the river for a couple of hours soaking up the sun, it was the best new years day I have ever had.

We have a couple more days in China, we travel back to Guilin on the 3rd to catch the train to Vietnam on the 4th. China has been brilliant and we have both really fell in love with the place. we would like to come to Yangshou again in the summer but even the cold has not deterred us from the things we have wanted to do. The chinese people are friendly and welcoming they have a good sense of humour most of the time (the older ladies can be a bit forceful and scary!!). The country is changing at a massive rate and everyone we have spoken to is excited for China's future. Their history is vast and interesting and although Shanghai seems over developed there are still alot of places that the rat race has not yet hit. We will both be sad to leave.

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Photos

Dragon bridge
over 600 years old

The light show
The kids with their lit costumes

Chinese Allotment
Just for our Dave

The Li River New years day
See how low it is!!!!

Comments

[Glennys Barnett]

Yangshou
Hi Guys Just read your great blog and all i can say is you must try and get back there in September or around It is fab. We are going back there to teach English in Febuary for 6 months at the Omeida college.It looks like you had Annie as your bike guide.We were able to take the boat down the Li River what an amazing journey. Cheers and Happy travelling Daggy and Glenny from leopold Australia

[karen wilkinson]

awesome trip
you lucky people it all looks amazing,glad you still keeping up the alcohol intake xxx

[jack1887]

i suggest you go there in may ,. my hometown should be cold at this monument , even though i am not there .