Travelogue
| Gateway
to the Silk Road | Guizhou
Landscape |
| Dream away
in Yangshuo |
Where memories linger |
| Grand Canal
at Hangzhou Ending | Curing
Cuisines | Tea Tour
|
| A Challenging
Trip | Expedition
to fairyland |
| Snacks at Kunming
| Lijiang Impression
|
| A Quiet Village
Tour | Splash
off Your Bad Luck |
| Summer
Escape to a Holy Island | Suzhou’s
History |
| In the Heart
of a Miao Village | No-frills
cruise along the Yangtze |
Dream
away in Yangshuo
Alesandra
Once, I read a travel magazine and found a story
about Yangshuo. The author writes that it is a
place that can make you forget yourself.
I don't want to forget myself, but I was still
touched and decided to visit the place.
Yangshuo is a sma ll
city near Guilin of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region. It is famous as a scenic spot. But these
days, it has become even more famous because the
director, Zhang Yimou, who found the actress Zhang
Ziyi, designed a large-scale
performance set on the Lijiang River near Yangshuo.
But, compared with the flamboyant performance,
I prefer the casual and comfortable street life
in Yangshuo. The place, which is only one hour's
drive from Guilin, has everything you can imagine:
cafes, bars, restaurants, sports places, small
stores selling strange but cute articles. Have
a cup of tea and sit in the sunshine for a whole
afternoon; you can chat with friends, with passers-by,
or just sit without thinking or talking and enjoy
a beautiful afternoon.
Xijie (West Street) is an ancient street in the
city and a must to see. The 517-meter long street,
paved with stone boards, accommodates many stores,
bars and cafes.
Most stores are ordinary, selling articles you
can see in most other tourism spots. But one,
selling batiks, is quite interesting to me. A
big piece of beautifully colored batik, which
can be taken as table cloth, is sold at 70 yuan
(US$9), not expensive.
Some CD stores have a wide selection of music
discs, all foreign singers' albums. You can always
find one or two of your favorite singers.
But what is most attractive in the street to
me, of course, is the dining places. There are
many cafes and restaurants providing Western food.
According to the large number of expat diners
there, the Western cuisine is quite classical
and tasty.
There is a restaurant named "Meiyou Fandian"
(literally meaning "Not Have Restaurant"),
which actually has almost everything from hotpot
to steaks, from coffee to ice cream.
Bicycle-riding is an economical way to travel
around Yangshuo, and many places in the West Street
provide bicycles for hire. The renting fee is
only 10 yuan (US$1.2) per day.
First, you can bike to Yueliang Shan (Moon Mountain).
It is a 9-kilometre distance, and a very pleasant
ride. Riding out of West Street, you can see a
wide road, then ride along the road. After about
one hour, you can see the Moon Mountain Park.
The mountain looks like a crescent-shaped moon,
hence the name. The beautiful villages, rivers,
bridges and fields along the road are really fresh
to a person who has been living in the concrete
jungle for too many years.
Another classical route is hiking along the Lijiang
River. The section of the river from Xingping
to Yangdi is very beautiful and appeared in many
paintings.
Bring some water, and start hiking. The route
is very simple - just along the Lijiang River.
Walk and walk; if there is no road in front of
you, and then you should cross the river. If you
are hungry, just sit down and take some snacks.
Some local villagers are very warm-hearted and
willing to provide hot water and fruit, for free.
But some bridges and villages have set toll gates,
which makes me a little upset.
No matter how slow you walk, you can finish the
route in a whole day.
For detailed information,
you can just drop in an email and you will get
a quick reply within 12 hours.
john@chinahuangshan.com
congzhang35@hotmail.com
Link Partners:
www.photoexplorertours.com/china.htm
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