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I don’t intend to post many travel articles, but since I wrote this for my good friend Ruth for her China travel site, I decided to revise it slightly to make it more personal and share it here. The full article with costs and contact details can be found here and should you ever go to China, be sure to explore Ruth’s site – she’s been writing about the best way to travel in China since the ‘70s!

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Yangshuo has something for everyone.

For a first time visitor to China, this small town in subtropical Guangxi is a soft landing into an ancient Chinese setting with many of the comforts of home.

For the veteran Asia traveler or resident, Yangshuo, with its proximity to Hong Kong (a mere one-hour flight) and other large urban Asian centers, is a spectacular place just to hang out and unwind for a few days. And that is exactly what we did last Easter weekend, we being Lily and Dorothy from Hong Kong and the two of us.

This popular backpackers’ destination since the ‘80’s has more recently been discovered by tourists both domestic and foreign, yet the crowds still fail to detract from the town’s architectural charms and its serene location amongst green rice fields, gently flowing rivers and mystical karst peaks.

The old part of town is blissfully free of vehicles of any kind, a rarity in China. That gives the pedestrian unfettered access to the scores of commercial concerns that line the streets from one end of town to the other. A surprising number of locals serving in the businesses speak passable English; it’s no wonder the place is called “a global village.” Perfect for those who can’t leave their shopping cravings at home!

Shoppers can find souvenirs of minority crafts and antiques (some real, some not); exquisite embroidered tablecloths; popular Western (often fake but good quality) branded clothes or very chic Chinese apparel and accessories; hand painted T-shirts or fans; art and calligraphy… and much more, all for still reasonable prices compared to other tourist centers in China.

But we had to bargain. Pretty, although phony, “pashmina” shawls in a rainbow of colors were initially offered to me for ¥60 a piece; I walked away with ten shawls for ¥150. Although I am not really fond of quibbling, it helps to know the cost of things, and so we even haggled for the fresh fruit sold by the local farmers on the streets.

I was pleasantly struck by the upscale modern designs of so many of the store interiors — such a contrast to the restored ancient white and black exteriors; more what I’d expect to find in fashionable urban centers than in a far-flung hick town like this.

Even the non-shopper can take pleasure in just a relaxing stroll along the marble stoned streets past the 1400-year-old buildings and stop to enjoy a great cup of coffee (really!) or a cold pijiu (beer) and a pizza in one of the many Western-style bars, coffee shops and restaurants, many managed by foreigners.

After checking out a dozen or so different tempting menus, four of us ate a decent Western meal of Mexican spicy chicken, french fries, spaghetti bolognese and more with a cheap bottle of Great Wall wine at a popular spot called the Red Star Express.

To cater to the masses of local tourists and the more adventurous foreigners, there is a wide variety of Chinese eateries with dishes from every region of this vast country. One evening we considered eating at the outdoor night marketplace near the bus station, but it was packed full, so we opted for a popular restaurant with Chinese vacationers, Big Sister Xie (Xie Dajie). Unfortunately for us the local specialty beer fish was sold out for the night already, yet we were not disappointed with our meal.

While I enjoy Chinese cuisine enormously, I have never quite adapted to the Chinese breakfast. It was a blessing for me then to be offered a choice of a standard continental or American breakfast with fresh-squeezed orange juice and freshly brewed coffee in many of the old town restaurants. Global Café & Bar and Café China, both on the corner of West Street and Xianqian Jie and just a few paces from our guesthouse, had full breakfast menus, including the standard egg and meat options, muesli, yoghurt, pancakes, along with friendly service and even free Internet access for their customers. Prefer cappuccino or latte? Sure, yours for the asking.

Lily and Dorothy were happier to breakfast on congee, salted eggs and soya milk, which is just as readily available, but at other restaurants along West Street.

Being a town that principally caters to tourism, a very broad array of accommodations is available, from beds in hostels to rooms in guesthouses to four-star hotels at very reasonable rates. If you want to experience the peace of the countryside, away from the nightlife of Yangshuo, with a little more digging you can find even cheaper, yet clean, rooms not far out of town.

Beyond the good food and shopping is the focal attraction to Yangshuo: its extraordinary location, what generations of poets and painters have called “the finest scenery under heaven.”

During his visit to the area in 1979, Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State commented:

Before l came here l thought the Chinese landscape paintings were but the romantic creation of painters, but now having seen the landscape…l realize they are realistic genuine portrayals.

I can’t rave enough about the bliss of softly floating down the Yulong (Meeting the Dragon) River on a bamboo raft… “merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.” Surrounded by magnificent limestone pinnacles veiled in a gentle mist and flawlessly mirrored in the clear water, lively ducks and their keepers, and water buffalo in verdant rice paddies, we went with the flow through a stunning slice of timeless rural life. And to top it all off, by being a lazy bunch and late to our morning appointment with our boat guide (arranged through our guesthouse), we had the immense good fortune of missing the earlier crowds and hence having the entire river to ourselves! How rare is that!

We drifted under the 600-year-old stone-arch of Dragon Bridge past Baishan Village, where we glimpsed chickens being defeathered and washed in the river in preparation for lunch. Our peace and quiet was only disturbed when our boatman answered his cell phone in a bellowing voice that seemed to echo through the valley!

We cut the usual two-hour trip downstream short by about twenty minutes in order to have lunch at a farmer’s house. That was an excellent choice! From the river we walked through rice paddies for a comfortable fifteen minutes to another charming ancient village where one of the farmers had set up an eatery. If you tend to be squeamish, you may not want to watch the neck-wringing of your live chicken, but I can guarantee the meal will be fresh and tasty! We had a yummy meal of four main dishes – tarot root with green vegetable, scrambled egg with tomato, stuffed snails, and the chicken– with tomato and tofu (bean curd) soup and a big bowl of steamed rice.

The next day we hired bicycles to explore more of the countryside. We opted for tandems so as to keep the event within the comfort zones of our less-experienced urbanite friends. For anyone who’s ever learned to ride a bike and is in average shape, pedaling the fairly flat area around town is not overly challenging. We just took it easy and slow and savored the fresh air and the magnificent landscape, stopping for a tasty bowl of local spicy noodles as well as to take a closer look at the orange groves.

We took the road past the 1500-year-old banyan tree to another popular destination about 8 km from town, Moon Hill, which more ambitious hikers will trek for an awesome panoramic view of the area.

Two days in Yangshuo may not be enough to explore all the activities on offer. There’s always a chance I will go back one day soon and try a cooking course, or improve my Chinese with a language class, or test my strength and courage rock climbing, or even take an introductory session of Tai Chi or Kung Fu; who knows? But honestly, what really will get me to return to this ancient town is the sheer magic of the distinctive and tranquil natural beauty around it.

The poets and painters of old had it right; this place is at least one of the finest under heaven.

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PS. Click on the thumbnails above to see enlarged photos. And if you’d like to see more, our photos of this trip are in our photo album online.