The Mountains of Yangshuo

After living in China for 2 months, I finally decided to take a long weekend and do some exploring outside of the city. Yangshuo, located 3 hours northwest of Guangzhou was the perfect place to start. Located in Guangxi, Yangshuo has become a tourist hotspot for the new Chinese middle class who want to spend a weekend away from the stresses of city living. I was travelling with Natalie, a friend from Guangzhou. I also met some new friends like Mike, the owner of a local taxi company who also happened to be a budding photographer himself. He was very helpful in pointing me to the best spots in the area to take pictures.

Having lived in Yangshuo his whole life, Mike was in a perfect position to witness the transformation of a sleepy village into a town that attracts people from across the globe. Before running his taxi company, Mike was a taxi driver himself. Prior to 2005, most of his business was driving foreigners staying in Yangshuo to the famous rice terraces that are located a few hours away. However, since then, a boom in in Chinese tourism has turned this village into a tourism center. According to Mike, this has both pros and cons; more people means more business but this comes at the expense of the local traditions.

German themed restaurant in downtown Yangshuo. There was even a white guy standing outside serving Bratwürste. German beer is surprisingly accessible all over China.

Hiding from the rain.

The rain during the first morning was ruthless. Seems like the locals are used to it, as seen above. Emergency Evacuation Route sign reminds us that this village tends to flood once or twice a year.

Houses squeezed between two mountains. As seen from the pagoda.

Heavy rains are part of life in South East China.

This bottle was purchased by my mom while we still lived in Hong Kong. Over ten years later and its back in Asia and ready for more adventures.

This place is especially cool during the rainy season. Clouds seem to cling to the mountain tops. Note the aforementioned pagoda perched on top of the lowest of the mountains.

Stairs leading up to the pagoda.

Again, wherever there is no mountain, theres a building.

Mike, the local photo expert, recommended we climb to the top of tv tower where we would have a great view of the "village" as well as the Li River as it snakes through the landscape. Amazingly, there is actually an elderly couple that lives atop the mountain to take care of various equipment.

This is the famous West Street of Yangshuo at night. Crammed full of the newly minted Chinese middle class, as well as a few climbing bums and some international backpackers, this sleepy village has seen an incredible transformation over the past ten years. Now you can dine on international cuisine, singe KTV at a range of bars and enjoy beers from around the world.

This was the last evening in Yangshuo. All the photographers that were lined up on the bridge thought that the heavy clouds that rolled in had ruined the sunset. But all of a sudden, as the sun set below the horizon, a tiny sliver of light snuck through and illuminated the entire valley. It only lasted a minute or two but it was amazing!