Yangshou, Riverboating, and a Night on the Town

Our next port of call, so to speak, was the city–well, tourist trap–of Yangshou. We flew into the Guilin airport, located even further south of China. This felt more like the tropics, or at least southeast asia: humid, perpetual rain, and lush green plants, trees, and mountains surrounding us. As I have explained many a time, if one thinks of the traditional Chinese paintings featuring a winding river, green steep and squat mountains surrounding the river, and fog hanging over an old Chinese fisherman, that image came from right here in Yangshou.

Yangshou, after an informal poll, was voted the “most fun” city of the trip–at least by the guys. I am getting ahead of myself. Initially, after seeing a large sign reading “Western PIZZA” hanging from a building, a cheer went up inside the bus. Our hopes were bolstered seeing the words “western food, western breakfast” hanging from the wall of seemingly every other store. Our hotel likewise was very modern, a wood floor, square beds and a theme, and well cooled with personal air conditioners–perfect for the sweaty days that lay ahead of us.

During the next day, we spent a wonderful time on the river. As mentioned, these rivers are the inspiration for many of the classic Chinese paintings, and we would take a pleasant cruise down the river. I wasn’t sure what to expect–motorboats? Kayaks? Canoes? Wrong on all three, as I strapped on a life vest and shimmied onto a . . . well . . . bamboo raft, lashed together with rope. There was a single large chair, and on the raft behind us jumped a local Chinese worker, with bamboo pole in hand, and pushed us off.

The trip down the river went smoothly, for the most part. As befitting the humidity and the fog, it did rain, and the weight of our craft going over small (two to three feet) waterfalls along the way meant our pants got soaked in the process. It was a very relaxing afternoon, though, and an extremely beautiful look at a quiet part of Southeast Asia. After the boat trip, many of us went on a caving trip combined with an underground “mud pit,” although for obvious reasons, no cameras went with us! A photo of a group emerging from the cave is on the left.

Yangshou was voted the best city by the guys, I am sure, for its overwhelming and wild nightlife. During the day, the tourist and motel section of Yangshou looks very much like a southern Chinese city, with buildings lining a small brick street one to two stories high, with tourist shops, hotels, and restaurants. Once the sun set, however, the shopkeepers became more aggressive, the hotels turned into bars, and the restaurants likewise brought out their neon signs, disco balls, and flowing alcohol. Literally, every third or fourth business was a bar, with a gaudy tourist shop in between, or the entrance to a hotel. It was overwhelming, glitzy, and fun.