Yangshuo, China: Part 1

We just wrapped up our final Spring Break in China (where does the time go?!), and spent the first five days of our holiday exploring the enchanting countryside of Yangshuo (pronounced Yong- shwoh). Yangshuo is a county of Guilin City in Guangxi, a region of southern China. It is becoming increasingly well-known for its breathtaking karst limestone peaks- the same peaks featured on the back of the 20RMB notes. The Li River snakes peacefully through these mountains, further enhancing the beauty of the area. Really, “beauty” does not even begin to describe this place. Oh my goodness, it was gorgeous!!! I seriously can not stop thinking (or raving) about the wondrous landscapes we saw. The verdant domed mountains rising through the pearly clouds of mist was hauntingly beautiful! Yangshuo may be one of my all-time favorite places. It was absolutely magical! Much of our time in Yangshuo was spent on bikes. It was an ideal way to admire the landscape at our own pace, and experience the local culture. We cycled past the towering peaks, through charming villages, and along the Li River, completely in awe of everything around us.

I have so many pictures to share, that I thought I would break them into two posts. This post covers our first two days in Yangshuo. Our friends, Jamie and Megan, joined us for this portion of our holiday and we had such a fantastic time with them!

We all caught a 6:00pm flight from Shanghai to Guilin on Friday night, and arrived just after 8:30pm. Our guest house, The Outside Inn, helped arrange for a driver to pick us up at the airport and transport us another 1.5 hours to Yangshuo. Isla did really well on the flight (hooray for all that extra wiggle room space in bulkhead seating!) and was still full of spunk when we reached Guilin, despite it being well past her bedtime!It was dark when we arrived, although we could just faintly make out the shadows of the mountains towering around us. We stayed in a “mountain view” room, and this stunning landscape greeted us in the morning.

The mountain view rooms are located in a newer multi-story building, which offered unobstructed views of the peaks. It was about a 5 minute walk from the main guesthouse. So, in the morning we made our way over to the guesthouse for breakfast and to plan for our day.The Outside Inn is located about 4km outside of the town of Yangshuo, in a peaceful little farming village. It was such an amazing location, as we were surrounded by nature, and just a short commute to town. Charming brick farmhouses speckled the landscape, and new construction was filling in many of the open spaces. It was clear that many developers had also discovered the beauty of this location, and new hotels and guest houses were rapidly going up.Isla was completely fascinated with the chickens that roamed the grounds outside the guesthouse. She watched them intently, and quickly learned that none were willing to hang around for a hug, despite her most loving efforts. So, our little animal lover observed her feathered friends from afar. She cock-a-doodle-doo’d along with the roosters and danced whenever the hens erupted into a chorus of clucking.

The Outside Inn was a lovely place to stay and we would recommend it to anyone. The guesthouse consists of a group of old farmhouses, lovingly restored and converted into individual rooms. Situated at the base of several towering limestone peaks, the grounds are surrounded by lush gardens. The staff knew much about the area and were very attentive and helpful. Ronald, the owner, even took the time to stop by to visit with his guests and offer suggestions for sightseeing. He was very helpful in mapping out the most peaceful scenic bike ride route along the Li River for us. Due to the location of, and foliage surrounding, the main guesthouse, the views of the peaks are obstructed (however, you have the gorgeous gardens to admire). The building we stayed in just down the road offered the mountain views. It was more modern looking than the charming farmhouse rooms, but well-kept and comfortable. We loved the views, but I think next time we would be inclined to try one of the main guesthouse rooms, as the surrounding common spaces and courtyards were so pleasant.This kiddo is obsessed with picking up pebbles, pits and seeds everywhere we go.We enjoyed our breakfast on this beautiful covered patio each morning. Many scrumptious banana pancakes were devoured here!

Our first full day in Yangshuo was quite drizzly, but we did not let the weather slow us down. After a leisurely morning, we decided to walk through the villages and do a little exploring.These tractor-trucks were a common sight on the roads, often hauling building supplies or stacks of bamboo rafts.Milkshakes were advertised at a number of roadside stops… definitely catering to tourists!We wandered down to another darling guesthouse called the Giggling Tree for lunch. Many of our co-workers have stayed here and raved about the place. The grounds were absolutely beautiful, and filled with rustic farmhouse charm. The food was delicious and the service was excellent, so we ventured back to the Giggling Tree for several more meals during our stay.Isla loves eating “nood-ohs.”That afternoon we went on a bamboo raft cruise down the Li River. Our guesthouse made all our arrangements, and a driver took us about 12 km up the road to a rafting drop off point (there are numerous drop off points along the river). Here we watched rafts being skillfully unloaded from trucks and dropped into the water. Chairs were then tied to the rafts for us to sit on, which was both amusing and awesome.Our trip down the river lasted about an hour and a half, and it was a really enjoyable experience, despite the hundreds of other bamboo rafts floating along with us. Certain stretches of the river were filled with tourists, but there were also calm and peaceful moments where we had the water to ourselves and could fully enjoy the beauty of the surrounding landscapes.While there were not any rapids, we were surprised that there were a few little waterfalls we had to go down throughout the rafting trip. They were really quite fun, and not scary at all.Can you imagine having your wedding photos taken in such an incredibly scenic place?! We would LOVE to shoot a wedding in Yangshuo- just had to put that out there!Isla sharing her ooh ooh with Monkey, a stuffed animal she borrowed from our guesthouse for the duration of our stay. Also, the soggy weather made for some sweet baby curls. Cheerios. Yum.At one point it began to rain, and these backyard umbrellas were quickly raised. Problem solved.As we neared the ending point of our trip we began to notice little makeshift food stall rafts equipped with BBQ’s. Some even had tables and chairs for dining.After our rafting trip, we had the taxi drop us off downtown so that we could explore West Street, a popular pedestrian street. We were amazed that the bustling city was encircled by the gorgeous limestone peaks, and despite the rush of traffic and flurry of people on the street, you still somehow felt close(ish) to nature.With over 1400 years of history, West Street is the oldest street in Yangshuo. More recently converted to a busy pedestrian street, it now caters to locals and tourists alike. The road is flanked with lively restaurants and shops, and by the time the sun set, West Street was jam-packed with people. There were the usual touristy shops, selling trinkets, jewelry, local snacks, clothes and antiques, but still with a pretty interesting selection of goods. Despite all of the intriguing sights, Isla was clearly one of the main attractions of West Street. If we stopped walking for more than about 15 seconds, people swarmed around us so they could see her. They talked to her, squeezed her and took countless photos. She was a pretty good sport about all of the attention, and even waved and blew kisses to a few. During our second full day we rented bikes from our guesthouse and set out to do some exploring. This was Isla’s first time on a bike, and given how much she detested wearing her helmet, I was not sure how she would respond to a ride. However, within seconds of our test ride, she was beaming and her frustration with her helmet vanished. So, with our girl happily strapped into her helmet and seat, we cycled about 12 km through the countryside to Moon Hill.Much like car rides, the motion of the cycling lulled Isla into total relaxation.She eventually even fell asleep!The hike to Moon Hill was fairly easy and took about 30 minutes. We knew little about the hike and were surprised that it led us up to the hole in the mountain pictured above. We had assumed that it would lead to a lookout point for better viewing of Moon Mountain. We met some fellow travelers who said there was a second path that branched off early on in the hike that did lead to a fabulous view point. We learned this, however, after we finished the 12km bike ride to Moon Mountain, the hike up, and knowing we still had a 12km return bike trip, so we decided to forgo venturing back up the trail to see the view point- something to look forward to on our next trip!  The path was well-maintained and constructed mostly of stone paths and steps. We were shaded by trees and tall clusters of bamboo. Isla was busy pointing and shouting, “Bamboo!”Nearly at the top!

We discovered that Isla had adoring fans, eager to take her picture, even at the top of Moon Mountain!After our Moon Hill hike we returned to our guesthouse for a bite of lunch and to put Isla down for her nap. While she slept, we played cards in Megan and Jamie’s room, and rested our tired muscles.After Isla woke up, Auntie Mangy (as Isla calls Megan) gave her this darling flower head wreath. Colorful bouquets and floral hair pieces (made with both real and synthetic flowers) were being sold all along the roadsides. We saw countless groups of flower-topped tourists cycling past, and so now seeing floral hair decor feels synonymous with Yangshuo. Isla’s flower head wreath is such a beautiful little reminder of our lovely time in this mountainous slice of heaven! Thank you, Auntie Mangy!