The Sudden Mountains of Yangshuo

AFTER the clogged roads of Beijing that I’d left behind three hours previously, the hour’s drive speeding along 66 km of road from Guilin in northeastern Guangxi to the picturesque county of Yangshuo was a dream.

The strange Karst topography of the area is made up of distinctive upright mountains that rise suddenly from flat-bottomed valleys. Already breathtaking in Guilin, the views grew stranger and more stunning as we rushed towards Yangshuo. Only when we arrived in the county did I truly understand the truth behind the pervasive Chinese saying, “Guilin has the best rivers and mountains, but those of Yangshuo eclipse them all.”

The Lijiang River: Painted in Mist and Rain

Yangshuo in the northeastern part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region boasts more than 1,400 years of history, going back to the Sui Dynasty, and is home to more than 13 ethnic groups. It sits on the banks of the Lijiang River that connects it to downtown Guilin. Tourists often choose to travel from Guilin to Yangshuo along this five-hour water route, whose banks are bursting with history and dramatic scenery.

I planned to go rafting on the Lijiang River, but my spirits were almost quashed by the drizzle that pervaded all morning. Nevertheless, I determined to continue with my plan. I took a bus to Yangdi, a town upstream of Yangshuo, where I would drift on a bamboo raft to Xingping. I had been told that this 40-km route was the most beautiful stretch of the Lijiang River.

Far from the busy life in modern cities, I found myself enchanted by the tranquil atmosphere. The scene was especially devoid of people. Being wintertime, it was the slack season for tourism, and that day’s rain had discouraged many of the few tourists from stepping out.

I found a raft piloted by a weatherbeaten middle-aged boatman. He signaled for me to put on a life vest as I prepared to take my place on the ancient-looking bamboo chair that sat onboard. The craft much resembled traditional rafts, except for the modifications of a modern engine and a shelter to protect passengers from the frequent rain.

We drifted along the quiet river at a leisurely pace. A heavy mist enveloped the mountains along the banks and the rain played a soft melody on the river surface. The climate of Yangshuo is wet all year long, and it is this rain and mist that gradually dissolved the soluble limestone bedrock to form the area’s dramatic scenery. One of the most fascinating mountains is Jiuma Huashan, known in English as Nine-Horse Fresco Hill. Its sheer cliffs, on which, if you use your imagination, you can make out a herd of nine horses, fall to the banks below. Not far away is a strangely familiar scene of Karsts huddled around the river. You can find out why by merely taking out a RMB 20 banknote, and holding it up against the view before you these are the same collection of peaks that adorn its obverse side.

Drifting along the river, I felt like I was traveling through a Chinese ink painting. Bamboo with green and golden leaves danced in the breeze or hung still in a moment of calm, while flocks of birds called to each other as they flew overhead.The water was as blue and transparent as a perfect piece of jade. We passed several other rafts carrying tourists, and waved to each other, feeling lucky to meet on that rainy winter’s day on the Lijiang River.

An Old Place

Xingping is located some 25 km northeast of the seat of Yangshuo County. It has been long cherished as one of the most beautiful old towns along the Lijiang River, with its simple, unadorned buildings and flagstone alleyways. It enjoys a history that stretches back even further than Yangshuo’s, going back some 1,700 years. As a lover of old towns and their timeless atmosphere, I put this town at the top of my itinerary for my trip to Yangshuo County.

When we arrived in Xingping, it was lunchtime. To my surprise, at the entrance there was an elaborate gate emblazoned with the couplet “a town of antiquity and a life of chastity.”

We disembarked and found a little restaurant decorated with Peking Opera masks and hung all around with paintings for sale. It turned out that the owners were two young artists who made ends meet by serving food on the side. We ordered some chicken soup and several other piping hot dishes. After devouring the food, I felt regenerated.

Wandering around the town, I came across very few tourists. I slowed my pace to appreciate the flagstones along the street that have witnessed centuries of history and been treaded by millions over the dynasties. Some are worn smooth from so many feet passing over their surfaces. The rain gave them a slick, shiny gleam in the daylight.

With so few people around, the shops along the street seemed to be standing idle. Looking into the open door of one shop, I saw an old man wearing a checker hat dozing. A couplet on the door proclaimed, “Everyday getting by on humble fare, reading and painting in twilight years.” From what I could see, that may well have been a description of his daily life. This room, too, was full of paintings, but it seemed that the painter wasn’t concerned about selling or showing his

pieces. Next door, there were four senior citizens playing cards. They frowned when I took a photo of them and so interrupted their game.

The buildings of Xingping have black tile roofs and mottled peeling white walls. Every detail of the houses, from their carved window frames and timeworn wooden doors to the lush grass sprouting on their roofs, spoke to me of ancient days. The unadorned alleys, the welcoming environment, the splashes of greenery in every corner and the locals’ unhurried way of life would have filled me with envy if I had not felt so at ease. This was what I had been searching for.

Down the street I came across a bar called “Old Place.” Its English menu displayed outside, sofa and chairs inside, and the wall scrawled with messages from past travelers were all modern and in stark contrast to the surrounding environment. The Old Place is an obvious indication that the couplet at the village’s entrance doesn’t ring entirely true: Xingping is a mix of the ancient and the modern.

The only customer inside was an elderly Japanese man. He asked me in broken English: “Are you Japanese?” I replied: “No, I’m Chinese.” Then he was filled with patriotic pride as he caught sight of my Canon camera, and we took a picture together.

Wind and Water on the Yulong River

My final jaunt on the water took me upstream along the Yulong (“Meeting Dragon”) River from Jinlong (“Golden Dragon”) Bridge to Jiuxian Village. What attracted me most were the nine dams along the route. The Yulong River starts from Guli River in Lingui County, and most of it runs through Yangshuo. It flows through several towns and villages and eventually meets with the Lijiang River. The Yulong River used to be known as “Anle Shui,” meaning water of permanent happiness. Later it took the present name after the Yulong Bridge that crosses it.

When I embarked, it was still overcast but the rain had stopped. I much preferred the manpowered raft I found, with less fumes and noise, to the engine driven ones. The young boatman was full of information about local customs and culture. He told us proudly how many Chinese and foreign celebrities had been his passengers, and how he had even been mentioned in tourist magazines.

As the only raft on the river, all we could hear was the sound of the wind and the water. Whenever the wind fell, the surface of the river calmed and became like an enormous mirror holding the reflections of the mountains, bamboo and trees. But as soon as the wind resumed, the reflections were twisted and distorted and disappeared almost instantaneously, leaving nothing but spindrift and waves.

As we approached a stone bridge the boatman told me it was the river’s eponymous Yulong Bridge, built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Looking up at it I felt I was paying my respects to a venerable scholar. Dotted with weeds sprouting from cracks in the stonework, the bridge has stood there for hundreds of years and is likely to be there for many years to come. The Yulong Bridge is just one of many that attracts photographers to this stretch of river. I could understand what draws them there, but could only imagine how more beautiful still it will be in a few months time, when the surrounding willow trees are green and the peach trees blossom.

The Many Enticements of Xijie

I stayed near the harbor in a hotel on Xijie, or West Street, Yangshuo’s most famous road. This little cobbled street is just a few minutes’ walk from end to end, and has been there almost as long as Yangshuo itself. It was built just a stone’s throw from the river, with the Gaoze and Bilian peaks rising up to its west.

I headed for the Liping Bar, which I had been told had the best view of the street, and sat down at an alfresco table on the second floor. As I sipped my hot ginger tea, I found myself able to enjoy a few moments of leisure in comfort and get a good look at the happenings in the street. Down at street level were all kinds of stalls and shops selling crafts, souvenirs and other stuff, bars and restaurants with menus in English and Chinese and a handful of family taverns in contrast to my idyllic experience on the river, the commercial atmosphere you can find in Lijiang in Yunnan Province or Nanluoguxiang in Beijing pervaded the Liping bar.

Many of the names of the stores and restaurants on the street are inventive and raise a smile, like the No Food Restaurant, the Dimple Club, the Oops Chain Store, and Shanghai Old Stories. You could tell that storeowners have put a lot of work into their businesses and feel their passion and the uniqueness they bring to the premises. I was attracted to a draper shop named Cloth Whispers by the rhythmic clicking and clacking of the wooden loom by its door as a local woman sat weaving a length of cloth. Not far from this store were T-shirts with designs printed on them, and further down, handwarmers of homespun blue and white fabric were on display.

When night fell the rain stopped and Xijie seemed to waken from its drowsiness. Big red lanterns lit the way for passers-by. The bars were ready to welcome guests, offering an odd international mix of fresh corn juice, hot ginger tea, sesame paste, Italian ice cream and coffee to cheer them up after a long day of exploring the surrounding countryside.

Like Xingping, Xijie is full of contrasting modernity and antiquity, and every visitor can find something to their taste among its charms. Somehow offering both intimacy and a bustling atmosphere, it can make you feel at home, but at times also seems careless and cold. Such diverse qualities are what attract and enchant so many different kinds of people.