"Yangshuo (阳朔)" Yangshuo by cal6060

We accidentally visited Yangshuo in 2003 on a long-distant bus from Shenzhen to Guilin. It was an overnight bus, very uncomfortable ride but fun. In the bus, there were many Hong Kong students traveled on the same bus. As I can understand Cantonese, I heard them saying how excited they were going to see Yangshuo soon. We never heard of the place "Yangshuo" , only Guilin in our lonely planet guide. In fact, the bus stopped at Yangshuo first, then continued to Guilin.

When we arrived in Yangshuo, most people got out from the bus. So, out of curiosity, we also did the same. There were many locals offering cheap accommodations or guesthouses. So, we followed one of the guys to see his guesthouse. It turned out we stayed in a guesthouse named Fawlty Tower Hotel, next to "Hard Rock Cafe" in Yangshuo. It was not bad, very clean, big room for only Y70 to Y80 per night.

There were not many foreign tourists at that time, mostly Chinese tourists. Today, Yangshuo is one of the famous tourist destinations due to its spectacular views of karst landscape, Li river, Chinese Villages, rice field and the laid back lifestyle. We walked up to Billian Peak to see the views of Yangshuo with mountains, rented a bike to see local villages, attractions, rock formation, and etc, joined a Li River cruise in the early morning, rented a paddle bamboo boat cruised on Yulong River, and visited and ride on a local cormorant fishing boat.

You can't leave China without seeing Yangshuo!!

Can you believe there is a Hard Rock Cafe in Yangshuo? In fact, this is not the real Hard Rock Cafe brunch from the U.S. But it served delicious Chinese and Western foods. Many backpackers stayed here. You can rent a bike in here!!

Yangshuo is a small town with few main streets of guesthouses, hotels, cafes, restaurants and etc. It is small enough to wonder around on foot. If you wish to explore other villages, other attractions like the Butterfly cave, or more off the beaten paths, you can rent a bicycle as low as Y10 per day. Yangshuo is a perfect place to do cycling, fresh air and many beautiful spots are worth stopping by.