  Huangyao
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| Page Views: 1,752 Last Visit to Huangyao: October, 2005 | Dust, dogs, flies and straw hats....WONDERFUL! by sugarpuff - last update: Nov 11, 2005 |
| Fabulous scenery in Yizhou |
OK well, I seem to be the first VTer to write about Huangyao, but this does not necessarily mean that I am the FIRST VTer to have visited it! I know for a fact that VTer BEAVERK certainly went there before me, but I just happen to have more time on my hands to write about it first! So where to begin, because this surely was an adventure and extremely off the beaten track. In fact, if i hadn't had to have gone due to work, I would never have known about this place, which is funny really seeing as it's becoming a well known tourist spot. Not sure the foreign travellers are coming here in bulk though, but I've heard that it's fairly famous within the Chinese community. Why so? Well let me tell you.....
If you enter 'Huangyao' into GOOGLE, up come countless pages. Many are repetitive, but others intrigued me somewhat. I've included one web address for you to peruse if you so wish! Also what I saw was an interview with Edward Norton about The Painted Veil, which is a film currently being shot in China and our only reason for being in Guangxi! Again, I have included that in the chapter below with photo.
So what do I think about this place? Well in a small town which claims to be only 200km from Guilin but which takes five hours to get to, you are faced with happy smiley people but in a rather destitute situation. The more 'modern' part of town is one long dusty road where dogs roam, children run and adults repair broken down trucks or sell fruit on the side of the road. In fact not a lot happens here. The elderly sit on their doorsteps all day watching people go by, the children, who at the time of me being there all seemed to be around a year and a half old, walk around in the dirt, and the flies which congregate around the rubbish were unstoppable. But through all this mayhem and haze, there seemed to be some kind of serenity. The people there dont ask for much and are certainly not being given much, but instead get on with their daily lives oblivious to the fact that '200km' away from them, expensive cars zoom down the highways, money is being blown on huge banquets and life is happening on a far bigger scale...and thats just Guilin...can you imagine if they went to Shanghai?!!!!! |
| Edward Norton and HK actor Anthony Wong |
|  | So back to the long dusty road.... Littering the side of the road are chickens wandering around rummaging in the sand looking for a comfy place to sit down, dogs sniffing the recently left piles of rubbish trying to find their meal for the day, and people of all ages saying 'hi' to us as we pass. You see we are the only foreigners that could have passed that way in a long long time. They must be somewhat overwhelmed as the crew for this film have just rocked up and now we have become part of the town attraction so to speak. We are just as interested in them as they are in us however because I for one although having travelled around China extensively, am still fascinated by different people's faces from different regions of the country. The weathered look these people have amidst their smiles is extraordinary. The years of toll and sweat shows at a very early age. And of course, in this part of town....they all wear the chinese straw hats that are depicted so often in the west! It truely was an adventure for me.
Taking a river 'cruise' was one of the highlights definitely. No photos of that as of yet, but will get some soon from friends. A local man on a make shift wooden raft got us down the river smoothly in a Venice style way with a long bamboo stick to push the water away. One of our crew tried to do the same at the back of the raft but failed miserably, so we had a one man boat. And what a tough job it looked too, especially when the wind was against us. Anyway, very relaxing, watching the locals come down to the river bed to collect water in their buckets which were balanced on their shoulders. I felt like I was on a movie set! The funny thing was that technically i WAS on a movie set, but just not at that point in time! In the background the magnificent karst mountain ranges special to that region tower above everything else and of course provide spectacular photo opportunities galore! EDWARD'S WORDS HUANGYAO OVERVIEW |
| Guangxi mountains at 7am! |
| | Yizhou...the next part of our trip... Yizhou is not categorised on VT as being in this province in the south, they only have one being in the north of the country, so I am having to incorporate it with my Huangyao page. Both these cities/towns can be found in the Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu Province in the south of China. Situated about 5-6 hours away from eachother on an extremely long and winding bumpy road it doesnt make for the most pleasant of journeys. Fortunately, I had had to come back to Beijing for a few days and so when I flew back into that province, I flew into Gulin, and then just needed to take the highway for three hours and I was in Yizhou. I really had no idea what was awaiting me. I had just come from Huangyao where things really couldnt have been more basic if they tried and yet I was told that if you could survive Huangyao, then Yizhou would be a doddle! So I was expecting I guess a city that was a little more advanced and maybe a toilet in my bathroom that wasn't a squatter!!! That's how i categorise my places, based on their toilets!!!! Ha ha...no I dont really! But it does make sense though!!!
So going back to Yizhou. I arrived at around 6pm, the day was still light and I was amazed as we passed through what seemed to be a normal city with shops and restaurants and banks etc. No dusty long road as had been the case in Huangyao, no old men and women peering out of their doors watching your every move. But there were of course the children playing in the street oblivious to the traffic whizzing past. That seems to be a pastime of ALL children in China, no matter their level of education! I suddenly in a very strange way felt like I was back at home..I had missed this region tremendously when I had gone back to Beijing, the beautiful scenery, the simplicity of it all...and I was so glad to be in the midst of it all once again! So through my photos and tips I hope to be able to capture all of this for you and bring you to a place of complete serenity, confusion and laughter. |
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 Comments for sugarpuff about Huangyao | | | | |
Hopkid Sun Jan 21, 2007 19:54 UTC
Huangyao and Yizhou sound wonderful. Thanks for your photos and words about these two places! | j-san Sun Jun 18, 2006 20:26 UTC
stunning pictures and the baby at the end of the Local Customs is gorgeous! | BlaTboy Wed May 24, 2006 07:11 UTC
ANYTHING for you lah!!!!!!! =) B-out }i{ | Confucius Tue Jan 24, 2006 08:13 UTC
Sheng Ri Kuai Le! |
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