The Beautiful Guilin and Yangshuo

After our few days in Beijing, we hopped on a plane and flew to Guilin, China.  This is a place Cody and Paul had both been wanting to see for a very long time.  It is in southern China and is about an hour-ish flight northwest of Hong Kong.  Guilin is known for its breathtaking scenery of the karst mountains and the Li River.  They even have their own saying, “East or west, Guilin scenery is the best.”

We were told the city center itself isn’t much to look at, but we were impressed from the moment we started driving away from the airport. 

Because the city draws a lot of tourists, the “small” China town of 4.7 million has done a lot of work to amp up its various attractions.  One of those being a night cruise of the Four Lakes.

 

The lakes were surrounded by beautiful plants, pagodas and other buildings, and even performers. 

 

The highlight of the tour though was the cormorant bird fishing.  The birds are trained to catch fish and bring them back to their owners.  A string is tied around their neck so they can’t actually swallow the birds. It is fascinating!The pictures below aren’t that great since it was dark, but you can watch a video here if you want to see what I’m talking about:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxTXdO8i_k.

 

The next day we toured around Guilin starting with Jiangtou Village in Jiuwu Town.

The village shows how most people probably lived about 50 years ago.  The town now seems to be populated by the very old, and some of the very young.  Our guide told us the younger generation has moved away.

  

  

Next up was Elephant Trunk Hill.  The hill was so named because it looks like a giant elephant dipping its trunk into the river.

Costumes could be rented to take pictures in.  Instead of paying the money, we were smart and simply took pictures with someone else who did.  ;)

We continued to walk along the bridges and waterfront to view some of the surrounding area. (The gal on the right is our guide, Jessica.  She was very attentive and great with the kids.)

 

Reed Flute Cave was our final destination for the day.  The cave is full of various stalactites and stalagmites, limestone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition.  This place was incredible, but the pictures taken in the dark don’t even come close to giving it justice!

This is the beauty we entered as we came out of the cave.

Grandpa getting some cuddle time at the end of another big day. 

 

The most anticipated event on our tour of Guilin was the four hour boat ride down the Li River. 

Four hours might sound like a long time, but viewing the stunning landscape of the karst hills the entire way never got old.

Again, pictures definitely don’t do it justice, but here is a video to give you a glimpse of the beauty.

It is said, “The 83-kilometer-long waterway from Guilin City to Yangshuo County is like an artist's masterpiece.”

I was skeptical of how incredible I’d heard this place to be and that it is supposed to look exactly like a Chinese painting.  Now I’m a believer.  The place is absolutely stunning and is certainly reminiscent of a Chinese painting.   

Cody and I both think the ride down the river was probably our favorite part of the entire China trip.  It was that amazing.

Just before the end of the river cruise, our guide told us to come look behind us to see the scene that is on the 20 Yuan. 

Lunch had just started and Cody had the sleeping Ridge in his arms, so Paul and I went to the top of the boat to get pictures. 

We got off the boat in Yangshuo and immediately found ourselves in the heart of the market. 

 

 

Simply couldn’t resist the darling hat Jade spotted.  It suits her so perfectly. 

Even inside the town, we were surrounded by picturesque scenery. 

Our hotel was a quaint place, with brown water on tap but amazing views off the balcony. 

Ridge needed a nap and I wasn’t against joining him for one, so the other three set off to explore the neighborhood. 

 

 

That night we saw an outdoor show called Impression Liu Sanjie Show.  “This is the world’s largest natural theater which utilizes the waters of the Li River as its stage, with twelve mist shrouded hills and the heavens as its backdrop. Mist, rain, moonlight, the hills and their inverted reflections in the river all become the ever-changing natural background.” -http://www.visitguilin.org   

Here’s a tidbit of this amazing show:

Our final day in China, we took a countryside tour from Yangshuo to Yima in an open-air mini bus.

 

We stopped at a village house where the residents were quite accustom to and welcoming of tourists.  They must like the tips they receive. 

 

This guy was quite the ham showing off how strong he is with his ancient Chinese weight.

 

This lady gave us a fashion show with her rain hat and coat for use when picking rice. 

 

Another lady showed Jade how to make fresh soymilk. 

  

Inside they gave us a taste of their homegrown pomelos and peanuts, but we stayed away from the snake and centipede wine. 

 

In what kind of looked like a garage, was actually the kitchen on one wall and this lady’s and her husband’s future coffins on the other.  She was quite proud to show them off.   

After the countryside tour, we had a few last looks at the river and in the market and then we headed to the airport to get back to Hong Kong.