2. 2009

Yangshuo, China

Leaving the city behind with another two day's travel, we visit the tourist town of Yangshuo.
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A passing freight train blurs by as we wait our turn on a siding somewhere between Chengdu and Guilin.
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A passing freight train blurs by as we wait our turn on a siding somewhere between Chengdu and Guilin.

YangshuoChina2009

  • A passing freight train blurs by as we wait our turn on a siding somewhere between Chengdu and Guilin.
  • Leaning out the train's window offers an external view of our somewhat worn and weathered ride.
  • A fellow passenger leans out of the train to view the cause of a sudden screeching and violent halt. Just ahead of our train is what appears to be a dump truck loaded with bricks stalled on the tracks. The value of a good engineer is made quite evident.
  • Tracy interacts in a limited fashion with enthusiastic locals using our handy translation book.
  • After arriving in Guilin and spending a night in a hostel there, we traveled by bus to Yangshuo, an area populated by incredible Karst towers dotting the landscape from horizon to horizon.
  • A local vendor carries her wares through an intensely tourist-oriented alleyway in the money-sucking district of Yangshuo.
  • The Li River drifts by with waters evidently hugely diminished from summer's wet seasons, while locals still offer raft rides to check out the magnificent scenery.
  • A few local carabou feed in a field across the Li River, with massive Karst towers looming overhead.
  • A local weaver works a loom to produce some brightly colored fabric, soon to add to the shelves of her shop in the tourist area of Yangshuo.
  • Dinner on an elevated balcony gives us a view overlooking West Street in Yangshuo, an intensely almost overbearing tourist district selling every Chinese souvenir imaginable at prices that inspire quick development of bargaining skills.
  • Yangshuo is a small tourist town contained in a beautiful part of southern China between massive looming Karst towers and beside the peaceful Li River.
  • An intricately decorated lantern hangs on a restaurant balcony overlooking the rooftops and cliffsides of Yangshuo.
  • A tiny bird perches on a discarded bit of bamboo at the river's edge, waiting for a catch to come along.
  • Dinner is delicious and fills both of us for a fraction of the price of food back home.
  • Yangshuo's night life is a bit disappointing for a quiet-loving couple from rural Alaska. With lights and loud music all around it's comparable to Las Vegas, and not quite the Chinese culture we had looked forward to.
  • The small tourist town of Yangshuo is nestled cozily between the massive towers of the surrounding karst topography.
  • A small karst tower in downtown Yangshuo is topped by a pagoda, thoroughly trashed and polluted by the many visitors who make their way to the top. The views offered from the small balcony are quite worth the walk though, if one can ignore the trash and graffiti.
  • Yangshuo's bus station stays busy all day, bringing tourists from everywhere in the world to spend their money on the town's souvenir industry.
  • After climbing the small tower in downtown yangshuo, Tracy and I moved on to follow a vague path up a much taller tower, this one mostly undeveloped.
  • Looking down on the tourist trail up a nearby karst tower presents a nice view of this pagoda part-way up.
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