Guilin - Yangshuo

The Guilin area is famous for the strange and beautiful mountain shapes - pictures of these have always struck me as "Chinese mountains". The standard way to enjoy the scenery is to take a boat cruise down the River Li from near Guilin to Yangshuo. There are "Chinese boats" which are single storey and "western boats" which are double storey, less crowded, and a lot more expensive. Our hosts had booked us on a western boat. The river turns into a procession of these boats, initially with much horn blowing and jockeying for position.


Western Boats


Chinese Boats


Boat Procession
Along the way salesman skillfully manoeuvre their rafts alongside the boats to sell their wares.


Raft Salesmen

The scenery of river, villages, and the mountains is quite beautiful. The day was cloudy, with light rain at times, making the mountains fade into a misty background.






River Li and Mountains
Yangshuo is a busy little tourist town. West Street - a street of coffee bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. - is where the western tourists go. I don't know what happened to all the Chinese tourists.


West Street, Yangshuo
Guangxi province is a fertile farming region. The area near Yangshuo is green rice paddies in the valleys between the rocky outcrops.




Rice Paddies and Karst Mountains


Farming Village


Rice Field


Irrigation Channel


Old House Interior