Yangshuo, Guangxi province..views, fishing and fun

This was the view which greeted us from the rooftop patio of our hotel in Yangshuo...and I instantly knew we had done well to come here...thanks Deborah and Kate for the recommendation!
Yangshuo is just about 60 km south of the more famous (and popular) Guilin along the Li River. With only two days to tray and experience the wonders this area has to offer, we decided to stay on the river itself, which necessitated over an hour ride from the Guilin airport. But let me give this Aussie owned place some free advertising...great room, clean and spacious with a patio overlooking the river where you can order anything off an enormous menu from 8 am to 9pm. The western food tasted western and the Chinese food terrific.


It about a 20 minute walk outside of the town of Yangshuo, with a very rural feel. By contrast, Yangshuo offers all the trekker ambiance you could hope for (lots of cafes and bars), plus plenty of Chinese bric a brac for the tourists. So we had a relaxing dinner on the patio...


With Sophia in high photo taking mode..."Mama its sooo booogifal (beautiful).


Here is a child who has been living in China too long?!?!? That's pizza she's eating with kuaizi (chopsticks).

Th owner of the inn also owns this bar, which is where we met our guide for the evening fishing trip...think we'll remember the name of the place?!?! But are there Buffalo wings?!?The waitresses were amused when I told them it was the name of our city..but pointed out that it is water buffalo which is the symbol here, and we sure saw those on the way to Yangshuo from the airport, Mostly wandering around grazing I think, as the rice seemed to be already planted for the most part.

I know many of the blog readers are familiar with this book, its quite popular in the Asian adoption community. Its a children's story which we just love, about a little girl who raises chickens, and it is set right here, on the banks of the Li River. In this story a cormorant fisherman find one of Mei Mei's hens floating down the river in a basket while he is cormorant fishing. So our kids are actually aware of this quite ancient method of catching fish.

We paid 50 kuai apiece ($7 per adult) to "watch" the fisherman. We didn't realize just how close we would be, or how exciting. They fish at night and attract the fish with a light out over the water.

Then the cormorants get involved. They are sleek and powerful birds, larger than I expected. They are able to hold up to 5 fish n their mouths at one once without swallowing. The fisherman ties a string snugly around their neck so they can't swallow the fish. Then he uses his pole to scoop them up and bring them to him, and gets them to cough up the fish they are storing. They dove again and again while we skimmed along side his boat in the water. It was really quite exciting. It was a good long ride, and then we beached and talked to him, and took some fun photos of Helen and Thomas befriending the birds...


A closeup of the boat...


This one was a show-off!

The fisherman e showed us how he gets the fish out of the mouth, and did assure us that he lets them eat when they are done working..all that effort for a few fish!
My camera actually shoots better video than photos at night..so I hope you can open these videos and watch the whole thing...to use a Chinese expression...it was tai bang (too great!)





Michael and I loved coming back to our hotel and being able to order drinks and sit outside while the children slept, but now it is late and I am still blogging!
Tomorrow we will have a leisurely morning and then take a bus upriver to meet a boat for a daytime river cruise of the most legendary part of the river..the part where all the Chinese paintings are set..I just learned the type this week in my painting class-- water, mountain, tree. These "karst" mountains are quite stunning and you can see why they draw so much attention. We are hoping the 30% chance of rain in the forecast holds off.

Sunday we will pay for all this fun by spending a good part of the day on the bus, getting to Yongzhou, Hunan. Its about 3.5 hours away by bus, but we'll have to change in Guilin. I do feel great about visiting this area as part of our "return to hometown tour.." Its making a very positive impression on all of us.

Please continue to pray for victims of the recent earthquake, where the death toll has continued to rise. There are lots of efforts at fundraising everywhere we go.