China Pictures -- Guilin & Yangshuo
The scenery around Guilin is considered to be the most beautiful in China. The limestone, or karst, mountains are so unique and seem to be everywhere you look. China is doing its best to protect the area along the Li River from industrial pollution to maintain its beauty.
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Dragon Spine Rice Terraces
According to legend, there were originally two tribes living on the Huang He/Yellow River. The Han tribe won when the two fought a battle and the other tribe retreated to the mountainous Guilin area. Eventually this tribe broke up into several smaller groups, three of which created the Dragon Spine rice terraces by using baskets to haul topsoil up from the valley below. The Zhuang live at the bottom of the mountain, the Miao live in the middle, and the Yao live at the top. These people all have beautifully colored clothing and handicrafts for sale. The rice they grow is called dry rice because it doesn’t need as much moisture and is much heartier than regular “wet” rice. The rice paddies usually have six inches of water, which some farmers stock with grass carp.
The people live in bamboo houses on the side of the mountain and there are winding staircases to climb between the houses. Everything that goes up the mountain must be carried in baskets or on polls. There are several hotels and restaurants at the top of the mountain and it was amazing to see how the men carried supplies up the mountains.
The people live in bamboo houses on the side of the mountain and there are winding staircases to climb between the houses. Everything that goes up the mountain must be carried in baskets or on polls. There are several hotels and restaurants at the top of the mountain and it was amazing to see how the men carried supplies up the mountains.
Li River Cruise
We went on a 52-mile cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo, passing 50,000 limestone (karst) peaks along the way. Many classical Chinese paintings depict the beauty of this area. Water buffalo, bamboo groves, misty mountain peaks, and fishermen on small rafts create beautiful scenery. Apparently, the Li River is a popular place to spend Sunday afternoons and we saw lots of folks picnicking along the riverside and taking rides on small rafts.
Tuk Tuk Ride
Our cruise down the Li River ended at a small town called Yangshuo. We opted to go for a ride in a tuk tuk, which is a tiny open-air van that seats about six people comfortably and is named for the sound the diesel engine makes. Our driver was very informative and stopped at picturesque spots so that we could take pictures of the mountains and people working in the fields and rice paddies. We saw people harvesting peanuts, soy beans, squash, rice, corn, and these huge pear-looking things. We also had the opportunity to visit a farm house where the family welcomed us with homegrown pears and peanuts. They raised pigs as well as fruit trees and vegetables. The house was simple and they let us browse through each room. They did have a TV as well as pictures of Chairman Mao and Deng Xiao Ping. We definitely felt like we had an authentic experience visiting with local people and were super glad we went. On the way back we stopped on a bridge and were amazed to see about 100 rafts carrying tourists down the river. We bought some boba tea on the bridge, but instead of pearls, they put pudding in the bottom. I definitely prefer pearls to pudding!
Cormorant Fishing
Later that evening we went to watch a fisherman and his trained cormorant birds. The fisherman trains the birds and puts a ring around each of their necks so that they can only swallow the small fish. When they catch big fish, he hauls the birds onto the raft and takes the fish from them. Cormorant fishermen usually fish at night with a light on the front of their boats to attract the fish. They use rafts that are made of four or five large bamboo poles strapped together. After he was done fishing, the fisherman came to shore and we volunteered to have the birds hop on our arms so that we could take pictures with them (check out how excited Miss Robledo was to have a bird on her arm in the slide show).
Yangshuo City Pictures
After our cormorant jaunt, we shopped til we dropped in the village market. The markets in this area of China stay open until 11pm or 12am and we hung in there til the end enjoying the sights and sounds. When it got to be about 9pm a whole bunch of clubs opened up and the sleepy streets became loud with dancing music. Crazy! We tried some porridge called “Tea of Eight Treasures” that is made using a huge dragon pot. The main ingredient has the consistency of hot hair gel to which they add sugar, nuts, sesame seeds, and some other mystery items. Once you stir it together it becomes black. We didn’t like the taste very much, but it was very interesting to see the process.
