Side Trips

River Trips

There are plenty of opportunities to take shorter and significantly less expensive river trips from the Yangshuo area -- check with the travel agencies and backpackers' cafes on Xi Jie for your options. The Li River patrol authorities have a stranglehold on all river traffic, and there are strict laws about the kinds of boats foreigners can ride on (boat licenses can cost up to a million yuan), so stick with the legitimate outfits rather than with the random touts who approach you, no matter how friendly they are.

One of the more popular trips is downriver to the umbrella and fan town of Fuli , but boats only ply this route during the summer and early fall. Another trip is to the town of Xingping, about 3 hours upstream from Yangshuo. Official boats make the run in summer for about ¥60 to ¥80 ($7.80-$10/£3.90-£5.20) per person. Rather than sail upstream, some tourists prefer to cycle or take a bus to Xingping and catch a boat downstream back to Yangshuo. Some tour operators come up with creative combinations of hiking/river-trip tours, which involve traveling to Xingping by bus or bike, then hiking along the river for part of the way before hopping onto a boat for the rest of the journey.

Moon Mountain (Yueliang Shan) Area

A bike trip out along the main highway with endless trucks and coaches involves riding 8km (5 miles) out to Moon Mountain (Yueliang Shan) in the direction of Gaotian. Follow Pantao Lu in the opposite direction from Guilin until the traffic circle, and bear right onto Kangzhan Lu. Once you leave town, you'll be greeted around each bend with unbelievably scenic vistas of karst pinnacles stretching as far as your eyes can see. (It's just a shame that the authorities have not spent any of their profits on road maintenance!)

Along the road to Moon Mountain are several recently built attractions geared strictly toward Chinese tour groups that can be safely missed. About 6km (4 miles) from Yangshuo, the Gurong Gongyuan (¥18/$2.35/£1.15; open 6am-sunset) has an intriguing 17m-tall (56-ft.), over 1,500-year-old banyan tree that looks like a collection of entwined snakes up close and like a giant umbrella from afar. Unlike most alleged antiquities that tourists see, this is the real deal, easily as old as any American redwood. The whole area is now a bit of a circus so it is better to view the tree just as easily from atop Moon Hill, 1km (2/3 mile) away (¥15/$1.95/£1; open 7am-6pm), so named because of the large moon-shaped arch under its peak. A series of steep steps winds through thick bamboo brush all the way to the top, where there are some marvelous views. Unfortunately, you will be trailed from top to bottom by persistent vendors who employ high-pressure sales tactics and quickly get abusive if you do not buy anything.

If there's an adventurous spelunker in you waiting to break free, there are several interesting caves around here worth exploring. However, some of these are suitable only for the fit, as none have paved paths and all will require you to get down-and-dirty by crawling through holes and climbing rickety ladders. Buddha Cave, where entry now costs a whopping (¥128/$17/£8.50; open 8am-6pm summer, 9am-5pm winter), and the Water Cave (Shuiyan) both have underground pools and rivers on which you can paddle and get that mud bath you've always wanted.

A more civilized alternative is 90 minutes south at the magnificent Silver Cave (Yinzi Yan; www.glyinzicave.com) situated in spectacular parkland about 20km (13 miles) south of Yangshuo. Any local agency will arrange tickets and transportation for around ¥80 ($10/£5) per person, which is perhaps a safer option than public transport. We missed the last bus back to town and had to flag down an archaic vehicle (half-tractor, half-tricycle), whose maximum speed turned out to be about half my normal walking pace. After a painfully slow half-hour, we asked how long it would take to get back to Yangshuo. The young peasant girl at the wheel simply shrugged her shoulders; she had never been that far from her village before!

Fuli

Located along the Li River downstream from Yangshuo, the village of Fuli, first established over 1,300 years ago during the Tang dynasty, is a popular excursion either by boat or bike. Most travelers seem to prefer the latter for the gorgeous scenery along the 6km (4-mile) ride, especially now that the Pavilion has opened at Liu Gong. Fuli holds a market every 3 days, and while there's not much to buy for tourists there's enough local color here to take an hour or so of your time. Just before the market is a lane that winds past traditional stone houses down to the river. To cycle to Fuli, head east on Pantao Lu past the traffic circle and follow the road across the bridge. You can also take a bus from the station on Pantao Lu.

Xingping

Surrounded by a jungle of karst pinnacles, the charming, as yet unspoiled village of Xingping about 25km (15 miles) upstream of Yangshuo is being touted by some as the next Yangshuo, meaning the next backpackers' haven, now that Yangshuo has become more of a commercialized circus. Cobblestone streets wend their ways through this quaint village of stone houses that's refreshingly free of souvenir stores, and residents go about their daily business with nary a glance spared for the visitor. The most scenic area is the riverfront; on market days you'll see villagers from the surrounding areas boarding boats laden with everything from live chickens to new aluminum woks. A few cafes and backpackers' hostels have sprung up here, but accommodations and dining are still fairly basic. There are regular buses to Xingping from the Yangshuo bus station, or you can ride your bike here in 3 to 4 hours.

An interesting side trip from Xingping is to Yucun (literally "Fishing Village"), a tiny, picturesque Ming dynasty village (1506-21) 20 minutes downstream along the Li River, whose more famous visitors have included Sun Yat-sen in 1921 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Full of traditional Ming and Qing dynasty houses with white walls and gray-tiled roofs with upturned eaves, as well as the occasional ancestral hall, the village requires a ¥5 (65¢/35p) entrance fee which includes a tour by a Chinese-speaking local. Daily boats make the 20-minute trip to Yucun for ¥250 ($32/£16) per boat round-trip -- 20 times the original price. They depart Xingping's waterfront between 8am and 5:30pm (the ticket booth is to the right at the end of the main street), but boats only depart with a quorum of 10, which sometimes can mean a wait of hours in low season. The gorgeous boat ride between Xingping and Yucun, however, is generally worth the bit of hassle in getting there.

Yulong He (Jade ragon River

One of the loveliest trips outside Yangshuo, this river, sometimes dubbed Xiao Li Jiang (Lesser Li River), is, if anything, even more beautiful and certainly quieter than the Li. The river's more famous landmarks may be its bridges, in particular the 59m-long (194-ft.) Ming dynasty Yulong Qiao (Jade Dragon Bridge) found in the town of Baisha, but it's the scenery of small villages nestled at the foot of karst hills surrounded by rice paddies and a lazy winding river that most visitors remember long after they've left. Many of the travelers' cafes offer full-day tours of the river and surrounding sights, but it's entirely possible to visit on your own. Just pack a picnic, plenty of film, and rain gear, check your bike's tire pressure, and you're off.

There are several routes by which to explore the river. From Yangshuo, head out toward Moon Hill. Before the bridge crossing the Yulong He, head right on the dirt trail which can, with several deviations, take you all the way up to Baisha and the Jade Dragon Bridge. You can return along these back paths, or head back from Baisha on the main Guilin-Yangshuo highway. Or reverse the order and take the highway to Baisha (9km/6 miles of noisy main raid from Yangshuo), then cycle back down through the villages. Chances are you'll get lost on some of these paths, which can narrow to the width of your bicycle (so get off and walk carefully or you may end up face first in a rice paddy!), but that's half the fun. Not to worry, the villagers around here are more than happy to set you right, and there are enough paths between the river and the highway that you won't be lost for long.

The full journey to Yulong Qiao may be a bit much for some, especially in the summer when heat stroke and sunburn are serious threats on a journey as long as this. A less exhausting alternative is to stop off at Mountain Retreat for some lunch and then explore the bridges and side roads from there.

Alternately, some travelers have sailed back down the Yulong He on narrow bamboo rafts. This used to be very pleasant when the boatmen would ask for ¥100 to ¥200 ($13-$26/£6.50-£13). These days the raft operators have learned to squeeze every last yuan from international tourist; one Englishman we met this year was charged more than ¥600 ($78/£39) for a brief 450m (1,500 ft.) and refused to accept this kind of extortion. Some travelers have settled for sailing down a very short, relatively smooth stretch of the river from Baisha, but even this involves having to get off the raft occasionally so it can be poled down the bigger bumps.

Li Jiang After Dark

Every night from July through September, 2,000 spectators are herded into the purpose-built riverside amphitheater for acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's waterborne spectacular, "Impression, Sanjie Liu." The celebrity connection is tenuous but it helps bring in the crowds, while the show itself is on such a grand scale with over 200 bamboo rafts in the water at once and a total production crew of 600 that it can hardly fail to impress. In fact, with such a spectacular backdrop as the Li River and the mix of floodlights, singing, and minority processions it would be difficult to execute anything less than magical, but the acclaimed director gets all the credit all the same. Tickets start at ¥180 ($23/£12) and can be arranged through most hotels, although very little of that actually goes to the local performers. The show starts at 8pm but best to get there half-hour early, leaving time to wander Liu San Jie Park. Bring binoculars or rent them for ¥5 (65¢/35p); insect repellent is also a good idea. At the bottom of West Street in Yangshuo, there is an endless succession of boat owners who will happily take you to an alternative viewing point on the river for just ¥20 to ¥30 ($2.60-$3.90/£1.30-£1.95); but at this price you will be paying mostly for the mosquitoes. For more info, visit www.yxlsj.com.

While many of the bars on Xianqian Jie seem to be full of Chinese youngsters looking for a bit of vacation romance "yan yu," an interesting alternative might be Monkey Janes' Guest House Rooftop Bar (tel. 0773/882-1603), where there is a quiet pool table and the barman Finnegan makes awesome tequila sunrises for only ¥20 ($2.60/£1.30), especially on Sundays, when it is two-for-one happy hour all night long.

Three Secret Spots

While much of Yangshuo is now overcrowded year-round, here are three of my own secret locations, where you can get away from the endless busloads of tourists.

Rent a bike and head out of Yangshuo on the Guilin road until you come to end of the residential development and the last large electric pylon on the left-hand side. Look for a sign that directs you to the rheumatism clinic and follow this path down through the village and out past the two disused quarries that are on either side of the track as you ride farther into the countryside. Just after the large fish farm on the left, cross the stone bridge and follow the path that goes along the left-hand bank of the stream, until you come to another even smaller stone bridge that recrosses the water. On the far side, haul your bikes up over the small stone wall that surrounds the copse on the left, lock them up around a tree and continue from here on foot. Look for a natural stone staircase that rises up from the woods. It is only a 10-minute climb, but pay attention to the steps themselves as some of them are fragments of an old temple that was torn down here by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

As you emerge into the first of a series of hidden valleys, you will probably hear the bleating of goats. The pint-size Mr. Jiang keeps a herd of around 200 goats up here that sleep in a barn about three times the size of his own shack, which he shares with a couple of scaredy-cat dogs. To the right of the valley are some beautiful stone outcroppings, but if you continue to the left and then skirt around to the right of a sunken forest, it will lead you down through an area of pomelo trees and sinkholes. Continue up the hill until you reach a clump of pine trees that form a natural canopy from which a variety of local birds sing. To the right, the wary can venture into a depression of mold-covered thorn trees, an ideal location for a slasher movie, but up to the left is a charming boulder-strewn paddock, surrounded on all sides by wonderfully symmetrical shaped karsts. Although the grass is cropped tight like a super-exclusive fairway, this natural pasture has a very urgent sense of growth with nature pushing out in all directions. After a while, despite the beauty, the noise of so many different kinds of insects can become a little oppressive and I like to head back to the shade of pine trees for lunch.

Once you are back down with your bicycles, recross the stone bridge and continue along the bank path to the Yangshuo-to-Baisha back road. Take a right onto the tarmac and ride until the road takes a sharp right with a fork off to the left. Follow the fork through two villages and past the Giggling Tree Farm Guest House on the left. By now you should be able to see that you are on the bank of the Yulong River somewhere away to the right. It takes another 15 or 20 minutes to Mountain Retreat where you can stop for a rest and a cold drink, and then continue down the hill and around the bend. The road forks off to the right and fords the river. The recklessly brave can pedal across at any time of year but the more timid might want to remove their shoes and wheel their bikes across. Zigzag quickly through the village on the other side, and then once you are past the large karst on the left, take a sharp right into the grounds of the secondary school. Exit at the left and follow the path, watching out for the cobbles, all the way through the village until you reach the water's edge. This is the Jin Bao River, and the weir at the edge of Feng Huang (Phoenix) Village is my favorite swimming spot in the area. While 20 bamboo rafts a minute now squeeze down the Yulong River, you'll be luck if you see more than half a dozen all afternoon here. There are a few sharp stones at the bottom of the weir but after that, the water drops to about 3m (9ft)and is ideal for cooling off. Directly below the falls, the current is strong enough that it'll feel like you have your own personal swimming trainer, something which millionaires fork out thousands of dollars to re-create in their expensive personal gyms. Best of all, the view upstream is fantastic and apart from a few local farmers and their water buffalo crossing the weir, you'll probably remain undisturbed all afternoon.

If you are looking for a quick dip closer to town, then head up Long Tou Shan Mat Tou to where the boats from Guilin dock in the afternoon. Some choose to take the plunge here but they do not realize that the city garbage dump is in a valley just to the left of the river and that all kinds of unpleasant chemicals are seeping into the Li Jiang here. My advice is to continue on upstream, and once you pass the first bend after the Buffalo Guest House, make you way back down to the river's edge. Depending on the time of year there is usually a small beach down here, with a gentle slope that makes it ideal for even beginning swimmers. The more confident can go right across to the other side to explore the cave, but be warned that the rocks there are sharp and jagged. The best time of day to come here is about 3pm, when all the boats have passed by and the water is still nice and warm.