Yangshuo Town
Yangshuo
has always been an interesting town.
Because of the beauty of its surrounding countryside, it found itself
part of a fascinating Chinese experiment in early tourism and benefited
from a relaxation of the control that existed elsewhere in China.
The rest of China has taken almost twenty years to receive the same
sense of freedom, but Yangshuo still has a different feel.
Most visitors to China feel more comfortable in the Yangshuo area than
in any other region of China.
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Yangshuo from Above
- Picture taken fron the Pagoda in Yangshuo Park
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The town itself has been tastefully developed to provide a more
beautiful ambience than the early Communist grey buildings, blending
the older wooden buildings with newer ones.
The Yangshuo Nightlife is Lively and Interesting.
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The town
is famous all over China for its 'West Street' which has had shops and
restaurants catering to Western tastes for thirty years.
Shopping has always been a major Yangshuo occupation for the foreign
visitors and there is a very wide range of craft goods available here,
mostly hand made in ethnic minority villages in Guangxi and Guizhou
Provinces.
Yangshuo is attracting high quality artists to itself and there are now
several galleries with high quality Chinese art for viewing and
purchase along with other shops displaying Chinese silver work, silk
weaving and many other goods.
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The
restaurants in Yangshuo are certainly different to the Chinese norm,
though there are also many high quality traditional Chinese restaurants
as well.
Menus are in English and Chinese. Chinese dishes have been adapted to
suit Western preferences. Western dishes and deserts are available
everywhere and the bars and restaurants are fitted out to provide an
ambience that is unusual still in China.
They often play Western music as well.
There has always been a wide variety of tea, coffee and alcohol
available here to cater for Western tourists as well as breakfast
favourites like orange juice, banana porridge, fried eggs and bacon and
maple syrup pancakes etc.
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There are Many Atmospheric Restaurants with Food to Suit the Western
Palate
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The quality of Western food is very high here with good steaks, oven
made pizzas and tasty pasta dishes and there is a famous French
restaurant Le Votre in the main square run by a Frenchman.
There are also high quality Chinese fish restaurants serving the local
delicacy of river fish cooked in beer along with a host of other
dishes. A real treat for special occasions.
Finally, the town now has an amazing Chinese
vegetarian restaurant which has really added to the diversity of choice
available in the town. Complete with traditional style furnishings, its
ideal for a unique dinner out.
Ironically West Street has now become a genuine tourist attraction in
its own right for Chinese tourists who come to savour the unique
atmosphere here. It has become famous all over China.
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The
Li River frontage at Yangshuo
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The
Li River frontage at Yangshuo
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Tasteful
development around the Paradise Hotel,
Yangshuo
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One
of the Original Yangshuo Restaurants from the 80's
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Yangshuo
is a Town Full of Personality
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Yangshuo West Street Night Life
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The Countryside around
Yangshuo
Most
visitors to Yangshuo come to see the surrounding countryside. Yangshuo
is situated next to the beautiful Li River (Lijjiang) in the
centre of the most stunning Karsk Limestone mountain area in
China.
It really has to be seen to be believed, an artist or photographers
paradise.
If you climb one of the hills the mountains go on and on into the
distance, but it is easy to reach exceptional places from Yangshuo
either by taxi or by bicycle which are easily rented in Yangshuo town.
Cycle trips out to Moon Hill are part of the Yangshuo experience.
The author recently completed a private boat trip along the Li River
from Xing Ping to Yangdi and after visiting this area for the last 14
years, I was completely blown away by the beauty of the scenery on this
stretch of the River. It truly is one of the special places on the
planet.
The pictures say enough...
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Along the Li River, Yangshuo
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Hills
around Yangshuo Park
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 Hills
around YangshuoPark
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Karsk
Limestone scenery around Yangshuo
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Karsk
Limestone scenery around Yangshuo
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The
Yulong River near Yangshuo
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A
Slideshow of the Surrounding Countryside
Yangshuo
Countryside
The Dragon Bone Rice Terraces at
Longsheng
Longsheng
is a mountain area approximately 3-4 hours North of Yangshuo and is
easily reached via tours from Yangshuo. Again this area is simply one
of those amazing places on Earth. The local minority Zhaung and Yao
tribes have carved the landscape here for over 800 years to make a
subsistance living in this mountainous area. This is a great place to
visit for a day or preferably a couple of days with time to walk among
the hills and enjoy this quiet place.
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One
of the Long Ji Rice Terraces near Longsheng
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View
from an adjacent hill
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Wooden
Houses at Longsheng
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Building
and maintaining these things is not for the faint hearted!
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Things to do in and around
Yangshuo beyond seeing the Countryside
Yangshuo
has always been the place where travellers put down roots for a while
on their journey and this has made the town a very interesting place to
stay and do things. Tai Chi has always been one of the
activities but many others are also offered.
There's
No Excuse for Not
Mountain Biking in the Countryside around Yangshuo!
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Mountain
Biking is a major activity here obviously with all this scenery to
explore.
Chinese Language teaching is easily available and the School can help
you find a teacher if this is of interest.
Chinese Cookery is taught to a good standard by several cooking schools
in Yangshuo.
Caligraphy and Chinese Painting is everywhere. Yangshuo attracts many
Chinese artists because of the combination of the scenery and unique
atmosphere here, allowing them to sell their work.
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Rock
climbing though a relatively new sport in China, is a major scene in
Yangshuo because of the unlimited number of quality faces to climb in
the region. Many international climbers stay here for months.
There are shops here to buy gear and climbing tours are offered for
tourists.
Therapeutic Massage, acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine are
available in the area at a high standard but reasonable price.
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Yangshuo is World Famous among
International Climbers |
The Butterfly Cave is one of
many Dry and Wet Caves around Yangshuo
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Caving
is available in a tourist controlled way.
Obviously with the limestone this area has some of the most spectacular
caves in the World.
For the moment these can only be visited through controlled cave
experiences, though no doubt eventually caving will develop like the
climbing.
Visits to the 'Water Cave' or some of the dry caves form a part of most
people's visits to Yangshuo.
Finally hot air ballooning is now available for those who want to see
the Karsk landscape from the air. |
This
list is only a beginning...
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The Yangshuo Climate
The Yangshuo climate is
an interesting mix of the tropical weather which comes up from the
South and the cooler more temperate weather which comes down from the
North.
As such it is not easy to predict the weather pattern for a given year
as each year is different depending on larger scale weather patterns.
There are general trends which can be taken into account though :
January - Winter : Quite cold but snow and frost is very unlikely.
Temperatures will be 5-10°C probably, but sunshine is possible which makes
things more comfortable.
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February - Winter : Still quite cold and can be wet, not a
bad time to start an extended stay.
Some years have a dry sunny winter and so this period can be beautiful
and suprisingly warm at times.
March - Early Spring : Temperatures rise a bit 10-15
°
C. It can be quite wet.
April - Late Spring : Temperatures rise to 15-20°
C perhaps and there is a higher chance of 'perfect'
weather but it can also be a wet period some years. This is a very nice
time to stay in Yangshuo.
May - Early Summer : Temperatures are 20-30
°
increasing through the month as Yangshuo moves into
Summer. This is a beautiful time for most of China.
June - Early Summer : As May but slightly hotter.
July / August - Summer : Temperatures are often hot 30-34°C and
humidity is high. Many days will be sunny and beautiful and this is a
peak time for the Yangshuo tourism generally.
There can be heavy rain for short periods
during the Summer which cools the air.
September - Late Summer : Temperatures fall slightly and this can be a
very beautiful time in Yangshuo.
September is a good time all over China.
October - Early Autumn : Again this is a beautiful period in Yangshuo.
It can be hot still some years or ideal with temperatures 20-30°C and sunny.
November - Autumn : As with October it is generally an
amazing time to be in Yangshuo, but some years are less reliable and
the 2005 and 2006 seasons were quite wet and cloudy in November.
December : Early Winter : This is still a good time weatherwise though
air temperatures drop quickly through the month. It is not
unusual to have sunshine and clear blue skies right through to Xmas, in
which case temperatures later in the morning onwards are very
comfortable.
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