Backpackers’ Paradise: Yangshuo, China
As I am a Shanghai-based Kango, my fellow Kangos asked me to suggest places to visit in China for our readers who plan to travel to China for the Beijing Olympics Games in 2008.
I am sharing my trip to Yangshuo, a city in Guangxi province (in red circle on above map) made in 2003. Yangshuo is located in the northeast of Guangxi province and about 65 km away from Guilin City. Peter Van who has bicycled from Holland to China and lived in Yangshuo for some time claimed: “As a tourist destination, there are few places in Asia more popular then Yangshuo.” Yangshuo made its popularity in 1980s when many foreign backpackers were drawn there by an introduction in the Lonely Planet guidebook. After two decades, it is now an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life, a place for fresh countryside air, a place to taste the exotic flavors of China and a place for Chinese locals to glimpse a foreign lifestyle without crossing the border.
Indeed, Yangshuo attracts more younger Chinese travelers than nearby Guilin, as younger travelers consider Guilin a city spoiled by popularity, tourism and crowds. It is a fact that Guilin is much better known to baby-boomers and foreigners because of an old Chinese saying “Mountain and water (scenery) in Guilin is the most beautiful in the world”, found in many of our elementary school text books.
Our 3 day, 2 night trip began with an overnight train from Guangzhou to Guilin (around 120 RMB) followed by a van to Yangshuo. Our accommodations outside of town cost only 25 RMB/bed. On the way back, I took an overnight bus from Yangshuo to Shenzhen. Here are some of my favorite activities:
Rafting on Yulong River
Yulong River (translation: encounter a dragon) is known as “Little Li River”. Li River is famous for its extremely pure water and thousands of hills standing in different poses on the both sides of the river. You will see these amazingly shaped hills on both sides of Yulong River as well. Yulong River is even better because you can cruise on bamboo-made private rafts with
comfortable chairs and umbrellas. Rafting is a must-do in Yangshuo unless it is raining cats and dogs. The water is usually very calm and extremely safe for adults, however I don’t recommend you bring a toddler on board.
Cycling and exploring caves
The best way to see some of the spectacular landscape is by bicycle, where you can breathe fresh country air! There are many inexpensive bicycle rentals in the town and the road condition makes bicycling the best way to get around.
Cave exploring was an unforgettable experience. The guide we hired downtown led us by bike to the cave area, traveling about 30 minutes through villages on narrow and rough roads. The cave guide can communicate in English and Japanese, very smart. At one point, he made us believe that we must crawl though a extremely narrow cave in order to continue our journey. OMG! I have to say I almost hated the guide at that moment. On reflection, however, it was of a ton of fun! Wow! Take a look at the photo and you will know if you want to try or not, or at least you know how to “negotiate” with your guide.
People watching on West Street
West Street (Xi Jie) is the downtown of Yangshuo, which is called the “Global Village” by locals. You will meet people from all over the world, mostly backpackers and quite a few café, bars and hostels are run by foreigners who fall in love with Yangshuo. It is a great place to make friends.
I know Chinese travelers like to blog about the western style food offered on the street: coffee, cake, ice cream and even steaks. There is nothing else like it in China for the price. You might be able to have the same breakfast as at home for only 20RMB!
Hunting for Local Food
The best thing I like about Yangshuo is that I can have many delicious varieties of food at reasonable prices. You can go for western style food on West Street, or local food in the town. The most famous dish is Bear Fish and while my favorite, I hope tourism won’t negatively impact the fishes in local rivers. Guilin Rice Noodle is another local snack well-known in the country.
Still interested in Yangshuo? Here is more information about travel in Yangshuo. Also, let me know if you have any questions about traveling in China, I would love to hear about your plans!
- Travel to Yangshuo by air, train and bus
- Yangshuo, China (a travel journal)
- Guilin, Yangshuo and Guangzhou (more cave photos)
This blog is submitted to Carnival of Travel Guide hosted by Travelhacker.
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9 Responses
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptYangshuo made its popularity in 1980s when many foreign backpackers were drawn there by an introduction in the Lonely Planet guidebook. After two decades, it is now an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life, … [...]
Great post. I want to do it all except for the crawling through dark holes deep underground. I only went spelunking once and that was enough. This would be non-negotiable.
Nice post.
How come you have your comments button at the top of each post? It would be far easier for your readers who wish to comment if your “comments” button were at the bottom of each post. Then they wouldn’t have to scroll all the way back up to the top to make a comment.
As the esteemed architect Mies van der Rohe put it, “God is in the details.”
Best wishes to all the Kangoristas!
Norm, thanks for your comment about “the details”. We will improve it!
[...] presents Backpackers’ Paradise: Yangshuo, China posted at Kango Blog. Min shared her travel experience to a tourism destination in China: Yangshuo [...]
Thanks to Min Guo to quote me from my Yangshuo website. I fully agree with the story here. Yangshuo is a great place, even though it’s more and more touristic nowadays then in the early 80’s. The days when pizzas were made of pancakes and bread was as bad as half baked rubber are long gone.
Food is an experience in Yangshuo. It is especially great because it is so different from the rest of China, still! Don’t get me wrong, I love Chinese food, I can live without the toasts, apple crumble (China Cafe, Drifters) or pizzas. But hey… if I can get it, why not (I live in Malaysia and eat nothing but Asian!)
But the main reason, even after years of repeatedly visiting is still the scenery. There’s few places I have traveled, see my bicycle website for more about that, which are more spectacular then Yangshuo. In the two years I lived and cycled in China, I always came back to Yangshuo. Trust me, the story here is more then accurate. Excellent work!
Peter
[...] fairyland called “jiuzhaigou” is far less well known than Xi’an, Guilin or even Yangshuo. Besides, everyone with a most common camera is able to take pictures like [...]
Hope it’s OK for me to comment on this older post but I came back from Yangshuo not too long ago and had a similar experience in Yangshuo – love the little town even though it a tourist haven! And Yulong is fantastic.
That was really interesting, relevant and entertaining. Google search is so dominant that its landing page does not have to follow its own rules