Yangshuo

Yangshuo, outside of Guilin and home of the famous jutting karst formations, is by far the most touristy place we have been in our travels outside of Beijing. It is all honking buses, bodies, touts offering "bargain" local tours or bamboo boat rides, cheap trinkets, and expensive drinks.

Upon our arrival we took a whole day to rest and recover from the shock of the crowds. But all it took was renting a few bicycles. We paid for two days and rode out of town among light mists and fellow cyclists. We were transported into a fairy land where green dominated the scene. In quaint houses lived quiet folk who tended sturdy garden plots in fertile valleys between the unreal mammoth karst cliffs.

After bumping along the narrow dirt and stone paths between rice fields, peanut, orchards, and more, we reached a tranquil, deep green river, the Yulong (Dragon River). Though raining slightly, we jumped in and wallowed in the current and quiet. We have one week remaining in China, and I will look back fondly at this glimpse paradise.