China: Our Final Destination: Yangshuo
Trip Start
May 07, 2008
1
28
90
Trip End
Jan 06, 2009
Yangshuo,
Guangxi Zhuang,
China
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Welcome to our China Trip part 8: Yangshuo. This was our final part of China. Boo hoo!
Our journey here involved getting a small cruise up the Lijiang River which is 437 kilometers. We only covered 80 kilometers of this though at 10mph! We passed hidden caves rice paddies, fishermen on bamboo rafts and water buffalos strolling belly-deep in muddy waters. Stunning. Yangshuo is popular with backpackers mainly, as it provides endless opportunities to climb, cave, ride, walk, raft etc. Its natural beauties are so breathtaking. The traditional Chinese landscape paintings also look just like Yangshuo too.
Our Hotel was really central and the reception adorned with wonkily-hung photos of Clinton and Bush Senior who had previously visited
Ourside our Hotel!
. Outside was the bustling street of bars, restaurants, shops and markets. Great fun - and like the rest of China, spotlessly clean. Yangshuo was the culmination of our China trip so I can definitely say it was the most perfect ending to a wonderful country we had visited. Be prepared for raucous laughing and amazement from now on!!Our first night we went to the theatre. Not just any old theatre though: an open air theatre where the stage is a section of the Li River and the backdrop is a horseshoe range of mountains. This show (called Impressions) is a Must-See for all visitors to Yangshuo and is performed nightly with a cast of a mere 600 people (yes, 600!) all performing on rafts, or amazing floating contraptions, magically lit from... well, who knows, it's like magic.
Impressions is directed by the world famous Zhang Yimou (Director, actor, producer, Writer) He's the same guy who designed and directed the Olympics opening ceremony. When the show's backdrop mountains are lit up they take on a ghostly grey hue against the coal-black sky and the reflective Li River. In fact they got a round of applause, since they looked exactly like the ink-wash landscape paintings, so evocative of ancient China. The performance is divided into 7 chapters with its own dominating colours, costumes, songs and sets
Impressions Show on the Li River
. It was a real lump-in-throat show for me. Rows and rows of yellow-clad fisherman - on their boats, as far as the eye could see - in an amazing synchronisation where they all raised and lowered lengths of blood red silk in contrasting time to the classical music. Another scene: about 300 of the cast all dressed in black but with white spotlights covering their whole body. Again, in perfect synchronisation, they all switched their lights on and off in perfect synchronisation to the music so it was like a flashing display of white light, like robots animated against the grey mountains and the black river. (David: Which was quite amazing, but even more amazing was how they managed to do all this by appearing to walk on the waters surface!) Another scene was of a giant yellow-lit crescent moon on a raft with a dancer slowly running up and down the moon so that it rocked back and forth: the silk ribbons of her dress floating behind her like petals wafting in the wind. Below, was a man singing up to her while she rocked on the cheesy moon and did some erotic stretching and pining for him!! The whole show was a visual intoxication of colours and textiles swishing about in the black night. Coupled with the exquisite classical Chinese music, I would be surprised if anyone left with a dry eye. It was the most stunning show I have ever seen and I am now in possession of both the CD and the DVD so will BORE you all to death with it when I see you. For more info I IMPLORE you to type into Google "Impressions, Yangshuo" where you will find a selection of youtube videos and accounts of the show
Yangshuo by night
. The Chinese are a hilarious lot. Throughout the whole performance, although we clapped occasionally, the Chinese have a habit of talking throughout. They did this at the acrobatic show we saw in Shanghai too! Although the show's cast all had microphones it was hard to hear their beautiful singing with the flaming Chinese gossiping amongst themselves!! Also, no sooner had the grand finale act come on then most of the 2000 Chinese audience were already standing up and leaving! You had to crane your neck past them to see the final showdown! I was so angry!!
The next day, David and I decided to hire a bike and go cycling around Yangshuo. I haven't cycled since I was knee high to a postbox and I always fall off!!! so riding a bike was about as alluring as sticking rocks in my precious Gin & Tonic. We hired an electric scooter instead with me at the back. This is a proper looking scooter, like a Vesper, but it's fully electric. The Chinese love them, they're absolutely everywhere. With a guide on another scooter (or e-ped), we sped (sped...! We only did 15mph!!) through winding muddy tracks of paddy fields, lotus ponds and locals ramshackle huts with a backdrop of ominously towering mountains. After the first 5 minutes of gripping David's shirt to pieces, I let go and flashed my camera at every single thing, not giving a fig about balancing!!
David cooking his own dinner!
! Other tourist cyclists, locals on e-peds and farmers on tractors passed us. And we watched tourists rafting down the fast-flowing river laughing at the girls screaming!!Our guide asked us if we wanted to go to Buddha Cave. We haggled hard and fast for the entrance fee until we got it for some ridiculous price! We weren't that keen on going into this cave actually - we were just going for a nice quiet ride in the country but our guide, who was so sweet and lovely told us it really was worth a visit. We rode up into the mountains, into this tiny village, around winding little alleys with chickens wandering around and women sitting outside feeding their babies. After parking up and dismounting, she guided us on foot into the labyrinth of more alleyways and then to the entrance of the cave.
David and I were both fully expecting a cave much like any other cave or the Flute Reed cave we visited in Guilin: a walking tour. Inside, we were told to take our shoes off and put the plastic flip flops on. There were a couple of other tourists who had just emerged towel-clad from the makeshift showers as if they were in a Gym! We asked this one girl what the cave was like. "oh fabulous. Soo good. You will love the mud baths". She was German and beamed from ear to ear. Mud baths??! What the.....? Bemused we asked the flip flop man, "do we need swimming costumes?" Yes, but we could buy them from the counter. For a million Yuan. If not, just roll our trousers up and be prepared to get dirty. For pity's sakes!!! we only wanted a wander around a cave, not a flaming pot-holing exploration underground! Our e-ped guide didn't mention any of this to us did she?!
All clad in hard hats and wearing plastic beach flip flops, we were guided through a cave with three other German tourists and the cave photographer who whistled Chinese songs throughout the whole hour long exploration
Us on an e-ped
. Although the cave was called Buddha Cave we soon nicknamed it Titty Cave as the guide kept pointing out stalagtites that looked like breasts with nipples and asking "go on, touch if you want..who wants to touch?" Apparently it's called Buddha cave because one of the formations looks like Buddha... or a pile of manure, it was hard to make out - maybe from the right angle. I guess Manure cave or Titty cave wouldn't have quite the same appeal. Then what followed was a trip through the cave involving a major feat of climbing, ascending, descending, crawling, wading through knee-high muddy cave water and gripping on for dear life. The most absurd thing were the frigging flip flops!! David and I, and the Germans had all left our good climbing shoes at the entrance to wear these lethal flip flops that when walking over ragged slippery cave paths was like walking over ice. At one point, my foot slipped inside and the whole flip flop turned upside down on my foot!! The flip flops had a comedy side though - because they squeaked as you walked, making it sound like we were walking through cave of excited bats.Thankfully, one of the German girls joined me in my vocal cave anxiety, as we all attempted to descend down a rickety ladder and then while gripping thick wet rope, yoga-yank your legs up to your ears to ascend a rocky ledge! The worst part that came, I chickened out of. It was just ridiculous. (See the photo of David crawling on his stomach). Everyone went first and the scared German, me and David were at the back. You had to crawl on your stomach through this small hole into a marginally larger area that enabled you to at least crouch up. Then you had to get on your stomach again and crawl like a snake through this hole that was about the size of a tampax. This German Girl said "Oh my god!" a dozen times but went for it but I chickened out I'm afraid
Stunning Yangshuo
. I absolutely did not like the idea of trying to squeeze my squidgey arse cheeks through a miniscule crevice. What if I got stuck?? So I headed around the way we had just come with the guide which was better and within 5 minutes I was with the group again. The German girl did it and said it was 'not good' and David did it and said it was 'difficult'. Call me names, take the Mickey, I don't care. That hole looked about as much fun as sucking on a piece of barbed wire (David: more like razor wire, actually). After this were the mud baths. The Germans went in and got covered in mud. David went in up to his knees and said it was nothing special - just like wading through the muddy pools we've just passed through, really. Afterwards, we returned to the entrance scaling down slippery paths and crawling on all fours through small labyrinthal passageways. At the entrance, David and I were covered in dirt and grime. But, it was actually good fun. Although completely unexpected, we had a great time. And we got the photos to prove it!
That night was the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. This was utterly memorable!!! So funny!! We found a nearby restaurant and sat outside in the warm summer night with a great view of the massive plasma screen inside. It was about five minutes to 'kick off' and everywhere started to get rammed
Me in Titty Cave!
. Outside all bars and shops had tv's blaring out with Olympic excitement. Our drinks and David's chicken curry had just arrived when a slight breeze started to pick up. Tablecloth corners got excitable and then suddenly, dramatically, plastic chairs started rolling down the street which resulted in a hyperactive panic of bodies surging indoors as the rain began to spit and then from nowhere it came hammering down like sheets of lethal hail. Waiters gymnastically piled outdoor tables and chairs up against the restaurant windows in milliseconds and I left David to rush indoors to find a table while he grabbed the drinks. (David: I felt moving slightly further under the eaves and continuing to eat my curry the more appropriate course of action.) The restaurant was heaving with dripping people who had no seats. I squeezed myself through the soggy masses to go and find David. I eventually spotted his little head. Trapped. He had been cornered by the towering pile of tables and chairs outside. And as the rain thrashed down the streets, there was David, like a proper Englishman, finishing his chicken curry... with chopsticks. It was hysterical. I couldn't reach him because from the entrance meant going out into the thrashing storm and then navigating around the tower of tables and chairs. And David couldn't get to me because he had been cornered by them all!!! On the other side of the window, the table of Chinese were laughing at him. Until the ceiling started leaking rain onto them!! Then I laughed at them as they scrambled and whined at the waitress
This was what I chickened out of! Thank god!
. (David: I was perfectly dry...until the wind picked up even more: every now and then a gust of wind would deposit a cupful of fresh rainwater into my curry... and my lap. Which made it easier to pick up the food with my chopsticks.)Eventually, David torpedoed himself out of the Chair maze and into the restaurant, sopping wet (David: Well, I'd finished my curry and returned the laugh to the sopping Chinese inside - what else was there to hang around for? Unfortunately, the 5 foot dash around the tables took me out under the full pelt of the downpour. Which was as effective at getting me wet as when I was thrown in the pool in Cyprus). I was glad to see him but my first words to him were, "did you get my handbag?!" He ordered me to leave it there as the rain was bucketing it down. I said "I'm not leaving my bag outside under a table!! You'll have to get it David!" and god love him, he went back out and returned with my bag and looking like a drowned rat. Ooops! I was a bit mean, I think! (David: No point both of us getting drenched) Finally we found a table upstairs which involved a minor interior design feat of logistics with tables, other customers and waitresses. We had to turn the tv's up even louder as the rain was crashing down onto the windows. The weather was absolutely incredible for the opening Beijing ceremony. What a memory! The night was fantastic. Lots of cheering, lots of drinking
Food market: you should see the other photos!
. Great fun. An hour later and the rain had stopped but the streets were like a river. Such a contrast to earlier on. The next day, we had to leave to get our flight to Bangkok. On the way to the airport, our guide Eddie found us a local food market to visit. I won't go into too much detail here but just remember, "the Chinese eat everything with a pulse" so in this market, everything was 'stored', 'prepared' and chopped. If you get my drift. Quite a gruesome spectacle but surprisingly I was quite stoney-faced by it all. Perhaps it was just the rational cold-blooded fact that life is a food chain. It's all about survival. We all had to live off of worms and snails and mice centuries ago. There was no tofu or sweet and sour chicken back them. It was mouse stew or worms in leaves. Yes, it wasn't nice the animals I saw and their circumstances but I don't know...it just seemed like a natural cycle of evolution. If you complain about this, don't eat chicken sandwiches. Don't wear leather shoes, don't stamp on a spider, don't trap a mouse in a spring-loaded trap. Everything lives, everything dies. And we all have to survive. If we were stranded in the jungle, I'd fry your ears without a second thought!!! (David: Nice)
David:
This was the end of our experience of China. At the end of our India blog I made a few 'tongue in cheek' observations and some myth busting comments about how I found India, so I thought I'd have a go at China too, I think I've already mentioned my theory of a link between food consumption and street cleanliness, but here some more thoughts:
It might be a Communist state, but that doesn't mean a police state.
Everyone we met was very happy.
It was very clean, even out in the sticks - people have immense pride in their environment.
It was very modern - everywhere. There isn't as much of a disparity from the big cities and rural communities as people make out.
The news didn't appear to be censored - but then, how would we know if it was. The BBC is not banned, we had no trouble getting on to the websites or even watching it on TV. In fact I watched a report (by the BBC on the BBC) about how it was banned and it was impossible to watch. Odd. We saw Bush's speech in Thailand, news of earthquakes. Even Tibet protests... so I'm not sure if it is censored. Certainly, the things you would think would be censored don't seem to be. So, I don't know what's going on there. There are several state channels, and none of those seemed censored either. One is in English and one thing I did notice was that every news item ended on an upbeat positive note. I liked that.
Although things didn't appear to be censored, there was a certain viewpoint put forward - but we're no less guilty of this. So, for example, they'll present a situation (which will be the accepted position) and then they'll present the 'alternate view'. Which they'll argue against. Some western people I spoke to seemed to think this was a form of brainwashing or censorship - but my opinion is that at least the subject is being addressed - and the propaganda view is blatantly obvious - unlike the sneaky, underhand way its done in the West.
From the evidence of 5 and 6 above, I'd say that the press are pushing its limits to see how far it can go. I suspect it will get full freedom of press fairly soon, the government seems to be encouraging criticism from it's citizens (I know, hard to believe! But I'll explain in point 8) - I hope though that they don't lose the way they put a positive slant on even the most negative of news.
The government does appear to be encouraging criticism from its citizens. Anonymous feedback devises are everywhere. The best one is at immigration and customs control at all the airports - a little box with 5 buttons, and you can if you wish comment on how well you feel the service is being run... from a :) to a :(. Whether anything is done with all this information is difficult to tell.
The reports of pollution and not caring about the environment are grossly exaggerated. Xi-an did appear to be polluted badly when we were there, but then so did Guilin at one point. But Guilin is nowhere near any industrialisation - what it was in the case of Guilin was humidity haze - but unlike any kind of humidity haze I'm familiar with. But I'm pretty sure that's what it was. So, maybe the reports aren't as bad as it appears. On another note - China appears to be a heck of a lot on the environmental side of things. They are closing down all their small coal burning power stations and building bigger clean ones with zero emissions. They are also investing heavily in renewable energies. I didn't get a full picture of any environmental damage due to the Yangtze river dam - but on a human level the people that live there like it. Especially if they were lucky enough to live below the flood level, since they've been relocated and given houses 10 times the size of the one they've lost, as well as a small fortune. I don't know enough to comment on the environmental impact - but it didn't seem bad. And bearing in mind that a natural rock slide blocked the river at one of the gorges and caused a natural reservoir of the same sort of level as the man made one in the past, I don't think it is that bad. Certainly no worse than the reservoir behind Bolder Dam in Colorado. Maybe the Chinese should be criticised for removing the natural dam...?
Cars are being replaced by electric vehicles at an amazing rate. There are e-peds everywhere and they are very, very funky, I want one. Apparently (according to New Scientist) the sale of e-peds last year in China accounted for three-quarters of worldwide sales of all electric vehicles.
There are over 50 minority groups in China. It's an incredibly diverse country and they are very proud of their heritage.
Faced with an overpopulation issue I've always thought the one child policy a very brave thing to do, but probably a necessary thing while China has been going through its industrialisation. But, contrary to what the Western media will imply, the Chinese are allowed to have more than one child. In fact they are free to have as many children as they want. There won't be any 'child-police' round the take their second or third away from them - or forced abortions. However, the parents do face a fine for each child after their first to encourage them not have more than one. It's a subtle difference, but an important one. There are also exceptions, farming families are not fined for a second child if their first is a girl (I suspect this policy may be because in the past girls were seen as of less worth on a farm than boys and may have been murdered. But I can't imagine that happening today... but maybe. Also, oddly, as a knock on effect it is actually encouraging city dwellers who have made their money to settle back into the country - taking their wealth with them). Also, minorities are not fined until their third child - ensuring that the ethnic group doesn't die out. In fact over time, their percentage will increase as the main group decreases. Not the sort of policy you'd expect perhaps from an evil Chinese we're led to believe is hell bent on ignoring human rights and persecuting minorities!
Lois and I had a discussion about what Britain would do if it was faced with an overpopulation issue - we concluded that it wouldn't be a fine for more children, maybe it would be a stop to child support after the first. It amounts to the same thing as the Chinese policy, but somehow doesn't seem as harsh.
Religion didn't seem to be illegal, banned or anything like that. The majority can't be doing with religion and in my opinion are nicer for it - but there were plenty practicing in the temples and not being frogmarched off to jail.
Unlike India, the food IS completely different. I have no idea what half of the stuff was that I ate... probably scorpions and frogs. One meal was great: a big pan of boiling water sitting on a hotplate and then plate upon plate of raw meat and veg for me to cook myself. A bit like those hot stone things - but better somehow. Perhaps the chopsticks add a certain something. It was called Hotpot. Not what I was expecting, but a pretty accurate description I guess.
Oh look, I've rambled on and on... the best beer is Tsing Tao, and everyone is great. I'd highly recommend going to China: it's probably the best country in the World. Hey, they have a Monkey god - you don't get better than that!
Both David and I were very very sad to leave China. China really is the most beautiful, happy, friendly, free country we have seen. And we can't wait to return. And we will. If you want a stunning culturally fascinating holiday, go to China. You will not be disappointed at all. You will be safe. You will be clean. You will be mesmerised.
Next Bangkok. The land of lady-boys and fanny ping-pong!! Read it for more tales of hilarity!
Love us xxx
