阳朔 (Yangshuo) in southern China is perhaps one of the most beautiful places to which I have traveled, as rock karsts pierce the green paddy fields and flowing Li River. My friend 杨沫 met me in Guilin, and we were treated like royalty by her relatives in Yangshuo.
阳朔 (广西) [4-6 May 2008]
Yangshuo
Camel?
Monkey
MZ & 杨沫
Rainy clouds
Banyan tree
杨沫 & MZ
杨沫 & 叶子
Birdman
Waterwheel
Peacocks
Four people on a motorcycle?
Scenery
Scenery
Poling the raft
Raft poling
杨沫
Cool crevice
杨沫 & MZ
Riding in the rain
Chicken?
Snake?
Chinese medicine
Cards
Buying tobacco
投垃圾
Making fans
Fisherman
MZ
杨沫
Rooftops of a village
Water buffalo
Kids
Planting rice
Scenery
20 RMB back image
Foggy karsts
Driver
Gorge
Sailing back
MZ
7 May / 12:49 (Changyang Qiao, Guangxi) - Writing a few lines after a quick lunch of instant noodles at the guesthouse in Chengyang Qiao. This village is home to primarily Dong people, one of China's 56 ethnic minorities (which are only a sliver of the population considering the majority of the population is Han). The weather is wet and gray, but the green rice fields and the flowing brown river make the scenery amazing. In addition, the Dong structures (buildings, bridges, and drum towers) are simple in design but breathtaking in engineering achievements - they don't use any nails and are made entirely of wood (hence the predominant signs telling people to avoid fire in the village). I'm going to be working my way through Dong and Miao countryside to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, over the next two days.
Yangshuo and Guilin were amazing places to visit, and it was great to be down there with Yang Mo because her cousin's girlfriend was a local guide and took us around on the first day. We saw many of the local sites on the first day, including Moonlight Rock and some of the more famous rock karsts. We had lunch together with some locals who had me do a few toasts with erguotou and Red Bull. Had some chicken and duck, both very heavy on the suan. The afternoon also involved being poled around on a bamboo raft and riding three people on the back of a motorcycle. We got back into town and walked on XiJie, the requisite tourist street in most any Chinese tourist town. In the evening, Yang Mo and I went to Impressions of Three Cultures, a performance by the locals which involved lighting up some of the rock karsts, hundreds of people in dazzling costumes, and lots of singing and dancing. Got back to the hotel and crashed pretty late after walking through the park with Yang Mo.
Next day, Yang Mo and I rented bikes (Yezi had a family issue) and went through muddy, puddle-filled roads to Gongliu, a small town on the Li River. The scenery was amazing, with rocks and rice paddy fields. For lunch, we had the local specialty of "beer fish" (referring to the way the fish is cooked, rather than the fish itself). Biked back to Yangshuo afterwards, arriving back around 6PM. I ran off for a haircut and shave (which was a bit scary as the guy had never shaved a white person before!). Yang Mo and I grabbed some western food (not so good Italian) and then walked around for a bit. Crashed early so we could get up the next morning and go to Xingping.
Xingping, a small village further north along the Li River, is a small town at the end of a section of famous rock karsts. We took an overpriced bamboo raft up the river, seeing some karsts that wer supposed to resemble turtles and people, as well as the scene from the back of the 20RMB note. Came back and wandered around the town which was full of art students painting and drawing. Went through the local market (saw some nice puppies for sale, of course for eating rather than for making into pets). Caught the bus back to Yangshuo, had some lunch at a small Chinese place, and got on the bus for Guilin. At Guilin, Yang Mo and I parted, as she was headed for Changsha (Hunan) and I was going to northern Guangxi.
Alright, going to head off to the next village for the night. More later, if I can find another computer...