Day 8 – Yangshuo

Today was an incredible day in China. It was my favorite day that we’ve had here so far. Eric liked our day at the Great Wall the best, but I love Guilin and Yangshuo. Mountains and water help me to feel grounded, and Guilin has both, so I’m in love.

We had a somewhat early start because we had to catch our river cruise at 9:10. The river cruise goes from Guilin to Yangshuo and it takes 4 hours through beautiful countryside. Eric and I were blown away.  As soon as the cruise started, we left our very comfortable seats and went upstairs where we stood and stared at the beautiful scenery for 2 hours. Lele would come to find us occasionally to tell us interesting things. For example, the Japanese used caves around the river during WWII as their military base. At one point we even saw a cave that they had built a bridge on and had a bucket to collect water. Lele also told us that he had done the river cruise over 800 times with tour groups. He’s an excellent guide and we are glad to have him!

Our boat. It was a 4-star boat and much nicer than we expected 

Our seats on the boat

The river was so beautiful – every twist and turn of the river revealed something even more amazing. These mountains are truly just incredible and they go for over 50 miles. After 2 hours, Lele came and told us to eat lunch, which we scarfed down quickly so we could get back up to the top of the boat and see all the amazing scenery. Our boat was really luxurious with an air-conditioned cabin, cushioned seats, and a private table for the two of us, but we didn’t care. We just wanted to be at the top. At one point we were the only people up there, which was a little funny. One of the highlights of our journey was seeing the area that is featured on the back of the 20 Yuan note. Eric has been holding onto a 20 since we arrived so he could get his magical shot.

Our lunch on the boat. It was not really anything special, but we did not really care. We scarfed it down so we could get back up on top of the boat to soak in the views.  

The backside of the area depicted on the back of the 20 Yuan note

A front view of the area on the 20 Yuan note. The picture depicted on the note was taken from a nearby peak. We are actually right in the middle of the picture. 

What we expected our boat experience would be like. Our experience was much better. 

After 4 hours on the boat, we arrived in Yangshuo. It’s 90+ degrees here with humidity, so to call it hot would be an understatement. We had to walk through the market to find our driver and there were restaurants with some interesting food like grasshoppers and stuffed snail shells. Once we found our driver he brought us to our hotel where they greeted us with orange juice and cookies. Everyone in China drinks tea, so we’ve learned to tell our guides very early that we don’t drink tea. Lele told the hotel so they brought us fresh orange juice instead. It was delicious! Our hotel is amazing. It’s right on the Dragon River with amazing views of the mountains. We had about an hour to relax. We opened the blinds so we could enjoy the view with air conditioning.

A picture of the shuttle we used to get to our hotel. Yangshuo limits the traffic during the day so you have to take a shuttle in and out. 

Our hotel

The view from the window in our room

After an hour we went on a 14-kilometer bike ride through the countryside. This was a highlight of the trip for me. Riding the bikes in this beautiful place was unreal – I was just trying to soak in the sights and sounds of Yangshou. It sounds like a jungle with birds and insects, and you can hear the river flowing. We passed through farms where they grow rice, passion fruit, and cumquats. Although the ride was hot, it was well worth it.

After our ride, we came back to the hotel and ate dinner there. We had milkshakes, spring rolls, curry fried rice, and pineapple chicken. We really enjoyed the food in Guilin, and this was no exception. The spring rolls were unlike anything we’ve had in the United States, and the curry-fried rice was delicious. The milkshakes were also great, but they are much thinner than in the states. However, they were cold and we thoroughly enjoyed them.

After dinner, we came back to the room and showered and freshened up. Guilin and Yangshuo are 2 showers a day kinds of places. Eric worked on organizing pictures while I sat on our balcony and read the news. Around sunset, we wandered out and got more pictures of the countryside. We love the location of this hotel because we just have to look outside to see beautiful scenery. I felt so overcome with gratitude on our little walk – this place is so amazing and I’m grateful we had the opportunity to come here and enjoy it.

After sunset, we met back up with Lele to go to the Impressions Sanjie Liu show. The same person who directed the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics created this show. The production quality was excellent, although the story was a little boring. The performance takes place at the confluence of the Li and Dragon Rivers, with the typical Yangshou Mountains as the backdrop. The show uses water, boats, and lights to tell the story of some of the traditional minority villages in the area. There are hundreds of performers in the show, most of which are students at a local school for minority children. They come from very humble backgrounds, so they can attend school for free. Half of the ticket sales go to help fund the school. They wear traditional costumes for much of the show, which was really interesting.  The show is broken down into 4 scenes:

1.     Festival: This is where young men and young women interact to find someone to marry.

2.     Marriage

3.     Country Living

4.     Celebrating Chinese New Year

After the show, we came back to the hotel to go to bed. It was a perfect day in the Chinese Countryside!