Things To Do in Yangshuo
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Yangshuo Attractions
The majority of Yangshuo's treasures are located a bike ride out of town. Xi Jie (West Street), with its souvenir shops and travelers' cafes, has become a bona fide tourist attraction for Chinese visitors, who completely take over the street starting in the early afternoon when boats from Guilin pull in.
In the southeastern part of town along the western banks of the Li River, the Shanshui Yuan Park (¥21; 8:30am-6pm) is home to the impressive karst mountain Bilian Feng (Green Lotus Peak), which towers over the town and the harbor. In the western part of town next to the bus station, Yangshuo Gongyuan (Yangshuo Park; Diecui Lu 22) is now free to all, and can be a good place to escape the heat. You can hike to the top of Xilang Shan for some arresting views of the countryside.
Yangshuo Shopping
While much of the souvenir junk in Yangshuo can be found at much better prices elsewhere, the two chopsticks stores in town, Jiu Mu Tang Kuai Zi Fang, Xi Jie 63 (tel. 0773/886-3000), and Quan Yi Kuai Zi Fang, Xin Xi Jie (tel. 0773/298-1771), do deserve serious attention. Both shops have a fair selection of travel sticks that are a great investment for the environmentally conscious traveler who does not want to be responsible for even more deforestation through the daily use of disposable chopsticks. A selection of models is available from ¥10 to ¥100; they also make beautiful gifts for other ecologically minded friends, either at home or on the road.
Yangshuo Nightlife
Every night 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 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; insect repellent is also a good idea. At the bottom of West Street in Yangshuo is an endless succession of boat owners who will happily take you to an alternative viewing point on the river for just ¥30 to ¥60; 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 holiday romance or "yan yu" in Chinese, 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; Sunday is two-for-one happy hour all night long.
