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[bob8888]

Five years ago I made my first trip to China. Since then I have returned each year for 2 or 3 months. The first year I was here I came as a teacher of business English. It was going to be in the Province of Guangxi. Which is in the southeast of China. It borders Vietnam. The school in Guilin I was to teach at was over booked and I was sent to a small town called Yangshuo.
Yangshuo, a small town by the Li River, is well-known for its super natural landscape. With comfortable climate, ever green vegetation, abundant rivers and jade-like hills, it is reputed as the fairyland under heaven. Thus goes the famous saying: Guilin's Landscape tops those elsewhere, while Yangshuo's landscape tops that of Guilin. The best known scenic spots include the Green Lotus Peak, Yangshuo Park, Silver Cave, Old Banyan Tree and Moon Hill. Each scene differs from another with its characteristics. Even the same scene varies with the change of the seasons and in different temperatures within the same day.
Yangshuo is famous not only for its green hills and clear water, but also for its cultural atmosphere, which is symbolized by the West Street-a street of western flavor. The 600-meter long street is lined with small shops and restaurants, selling souvenirs, serving local dishes to the visitors. Many foreigners inhabit this street, hence its other name is Foreigner Street. Here the waiters in bars, restaurants, internet cafes and handcraft shops, ordinary residents and even the granny selling the fruits can speak English fluently.
The rest of the Province of Guangxi is also full of sites and surprises from it sandy beaches of Beihai to the rich banana field alone the Vietnam border to the terraced rice fields of Longji.
I have visited at least 7 other provinces of China but I keep coming back to Guangxi to discover more.
Airport: There is an international airport in Guilin. I generally take a flight from San Francisco with one stop in either Seoul, Korea or in Hong Kong. If you watch you internet carefully you should be able to get a flight for around $1000 round trip. From Guilin to Yangshuo, about a 2 hour drive, bus is about $2 or $3 dollars or you can hire a car and driver for about $25.
Hotels: In all my travels of China so far I have found that you get the most for your money in Yangshuo. A nice clean no star hotel, with TV, AC, internet, western toilets, are around $10 a night. If you want to go a little more local you can easily cut that price in half. If you are going to stay around for a month or more then you can get a room for about $40 or $50 a month.

Food: Guangxi and Yangshuo in particular are famous for there local foods. Once again go a little local and you get a breakfast of Guilin noodle (a bit spicy) for about 30 cents.

I hope this has wet your appetite and senses to find out more. The other province that I have traveled extensively in is Yunan. I would like to represent both of those if you need me.

[starlagurl]

Thanks Bob, as long as you write up a quality starter kit for Yunan, you can also be the Local Expert for that province.