One of the highlights of any visit to Yangshuo is supposed to be a cruise on the Li river, on who’s banks the town sits. There are several ways of doing this cruise, the most common being to take a large flat bottomed boat from Guilin to Yangshuo. However, I was advised that this was not the best option in March as the water levels are still too low after the dry season to permit the boat to travel the full length of this stretch of river. Apparently my best optional to travel to a village called Xingping a bit further up-river from Yangshou, and pick up a small bamboo boat that would take me from Xingping on a two hour cruise up river past the most spectacular bits of scenery on the Li River. The trip form Yangshuo to Xingping involved a one hour journey on a local bus, which was quite an experience in itself. Now at last I was able to se rural China close up. The bus filled up with farmers returning from market carrying all sorts of purchases, including live chickens. We passed though a countryside of paddy fields, grazing buffalo, and sugar cane. Most of the rural population were dressed in blue tunics and even wearing the stereotypical conical Chinese hats. Many had their front teeth rotted away, presumably from the sugar cane which they all seemed to carry around and munch as a sweet snack.
Xingping is a relatively untouched rural village, with its main street containing wooden house-workshops over 300 years old. Passing though this village, we got to our bamboo boat and set off up river. The bamboo boat was not quite what it seemed at first sight. The bamboo had been replaced by plastic drain pipes bent and painted to resemble bamboo. Apparently more durable than the real thing.
I have to say that the cruise was slightly undewhelming. The scenery was spectacular enough, but the effect was diminished by the poor visibility, which meant that the Karst hills appear rather grey. The photos of this countryside are therefore rather disappointing. Apparently on a clear day (do they ever have these in China?) it is much more spectacular.
More pictures of Li River at: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rajbooth/LiRiver?authkey=lvcH11DaZKg
I the evening, back in Yangshuo, I went to a spectacular show called Impressions (of the Li River), which was held on a massive lake in Yangshuo park. I didn’t really understand much of the story line, but it seemed to involve a princess, local fishermen, and hordes of sprites. The lighting and choreography were indeed stunning. Apparently the director and choreographer of this show are part of the same team that will be producing the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic Games. On the basis of this performance, I can predict that this will be the most impressive opening to date.
More pictures of Impressions at:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rajbooth/Impressions?authkey=DV-aQ6fw38k
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