This picture of roof-tops was taken from the third floor of a hotel in Yangshuo, a
stylish, resort town next to the Li River.
That's not where we started. After we landed in Guilin, we spent our first night there. It was noisy, and we didn't like the pollution or the food. Late into the early morning while we struggled to sleep, we heard someone singing in a Karaoke bar. The air-conditioning was stuck on freeze and blasted all night. We didn’t come to China to listen to singing drunks or freeze in our hotel room. We checked out the next morning.
Our second day in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, we took a cruise on the Li River. The cruise ended in Yangshuo where the boat docked and let off the tourists. Most of the tourists climbed back onto their buses and returned to Guilin. We booked a room in Yangshuo and stayed the night. It was worth it.
This page for the ‘2008 China Trip’ will focus on the Li River cruise. There will be two more pages for the Guangxi Zhang Autonomous Region.
The second page will be about ‘Sanjie Liu’, a musical extravaganza with hundreds in the cast. We saw ‘Sanjie Liu’ at night in an open air theater. The stage was the river and the mountains were the background. ‘Sanjie Liu was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, the same man that planned the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The third page will be from the Longji Terraces and Scenic Area.
Most of the tourists were from China's middle class. There were many tourist boats following each other like a chain. The boats were a few hundred yards apart as they steamed downriver.
This is a picture of the boat in front of ours. Look close and you will see the stern kitchen and the cooks preparing food to be served later.
Most of the tourists are on the top two decks taking pictures.
Inside the cabins are tables and chairs.
Find the sign for the 'Bamboo House Inn & Cafe'. This is a typical street in Yangshuo. Next time we visit the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, we
will be staying here.
American/Chinese food is available.
Call Rosie at (86) 773-8823222 to
make reservations
or send an E-mail: bamboohouse23@hotmail.com
or
I took this shot as we sailed past a cave alongside the river. As you can see, someone has left their small boat and is climbing around inside. If you want more of an adventure, you may rent a small boat to explore the Li River.
Water buffalo eating under water grass/plants.
Risking life and limb to make a living selling crafts to tourists. This small raft made of bamboo came alongside our tour boat. The tour boat never stopped.
There was some drama. One of the Chinese tourists had several beers. He didn't like the price for a jade carving and threw a tea cup at the river merchant.
Soon, it looked like there was going to be a fight.
Other river people arrived to support their friends and neighbors. There was angry yelling and threats.
That Chinese tourist was scared. The river people demanded respect, and the boat's captain negotiated an apology and a truce.
I wonder if the main character in My Splendid Concubine, Robert Hart, cruised along this river. After all, he spent more than five decades in China. He was Inspector General for China's Maritime Customs Service. He worked for the Emperor, and he traveled China on inspections and setting up offices for the Customs Service.
I took a thousand pictures during the river cruise. As you can see, the scenery was amazing .
This is but a sample.
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