Being late on the case with the ticket purchase, we only had the option of a top bunk each which had very little headroom and given the previously mentioned absence of air-con, conditions were pretty sticky. Thankfully there was no chance of falling out of bed for as soon as any piece of bare skin touched the vinyl mattress of our bunk bed, you became glued to the bed, much like a fly to shit.
The train trip to Guilin was incredibly beautiful as we saw the historical heart of China’s economic base float past our window, one rice paddy or market crop at a time. Every other minute of the train trip was a postcard moment, with farmer’s tending their crops in what little or large a space between the railway line and whatever other natural barrier, be it a river or a rocky outcrop, that could be cultivated. Where people weren’t tending their crops, you could see them through the open doors of their homes crouched on the floor round a meal. It was great to get a sense for life amongst what was until only recently, the rural majority, even if it was only from the window of a train chugging along at 40 km ph.
Our train terminated in Guilin, a relatively small city (only 740,000) in the south-west Chinese country side. The only way we can describe Guilin is to say that it has sister-city relations with Hastings in New Zealand and this seems a very appropriate choice of like-minded places. Guilin was a means to an end, with the Longji rice terraces to the north and the karst landscape to the south our targets. We slipped back into travellers mode and decided to take the local buses to access the Longji rice terraces, saving ourselves the 40% premium of tour services.
The trip to Longji didn’t go exactly to plan, but the local bus driver probably realised we were well behind schedule so dumped us on the side of the road well before arriving in Longscheng to change buses. From here, a local quickly packed us into his car and carted us the final 20 km on a more direct, off piste route at a faster pace (for a pretty reasonable price too). So we found ourselves in Ping’an and started out on the 16 km ramble across the valleys to Dalzhai, passing through some of China’s highest and most picturesque rice terraces which climb over 1,000 metres in altitude across the valley slopes.
Looking back to the village of Ping'an at the start of the walk.
Caroline heading along the path round the valley.
Along the way we were accompanied by some local ladies from the village of Zhongliu, which is located half way along the route through the mountains. These ladies are famed for their long locks which once married, will never be cut and are twirled and folded to form a decent hat and barrier to the sun. These ladies are also known for giving their hair the hard-out ‘Timotei’ treatment a few times a week in the local river while tourists watch on. We only saw one of these ladies un-furl her top mop which was long enough to touch the ground and drag along behind her like a veil, all silky smooth, just like a ‘Wella Woman’.
Caroline blazing a trail with two Team Zhongliu walkers.
After our foray to the north from Guilin, we moved southwest to Yangshuo which is a small city based near the confluence of three rivers amongst an amazing backdrop of lime-stone mountains and rice paddys. As our last stop in China, it may be a little melodramatic to say that this was the highlight, but it really did tick all the boxes and give us a great chance of experiencing a bit of China at a more leisurely pace. The more relaxed approach became immediately evident when we arrived at our accommodation that included an amazing view over the landscape we were about to spend 3 day’s exploring and an honesty box at the self serve rooftop bar.
The view from the rooftop of our hostel in Yangshuo.
Travel planning can be tiresome at times...
Our first day exploring was spent on push bike, as we travelled 30 km on a 20 km route following the Yulong River (we took more than a few wrong turns amongst the rice paddys). Our bikes were well designed for the off road treatment we gave them, featuring skinny road tyres, the couple of missing spokes, loose chains and dodgy derailleur gears with 10% of the range they had when coming off the factory floor. At £2 for the day’s hire, it was probably a little too much to expect anything more and they certainly fitted in with the scenery nicely.
The heat was intense and once again swearing like a trooper at it did not dent nor diminish it. The landscape more than made up for the hardship on our 2 wheel hogs, as did the opportunity to get up and close with local farmers tending to their crops. As we made our way along the river, we actively monitored for swimming spots. When a suitable one was found, the anticipation of a refreshing dip was destroyed by the reality of a slow moving river in the tropics which was warmer than a cask poured ale in the midlands. 2 degrees lower than the ambient temperature, it provided a brief respite from the heat, though had to be shared with the local bovine.
We opted for a more sedate option on the next day, heading up the Yi River where we grabbed a bamboo raft and motored back towards Yangshuo with the Chinese masses on the day tour from Guilin. This day was certainly easier on the gluteus maximus and took us past the landscape that is imprinted on the back of every 20 Yuan bank note.
On our final day in Yanshuo, we mounted our trusty steads of the first day and biked out along the Jinbao River towards Moon Hill, a limestone peak with a bullet hole through the heart. Just over an hour into the ride we arrived back at an intersection that resembled an intersection where an hour earlier we’d flipped a coin on whether to go straight or to go left. This time we decided to go straight and soon found ourselves making actual progress towards the destination of choice. Bikes parked, we started up the steep path to Moon Hill which was a killer. Lead legs from the cycle out and ye olde nemesis the sun in full flame left us both totally poked by the time we reached the top.
Haven't sweated this much since the Makos lead Wellington by 4 with 6 mins left in a Shield Match.
As our last entry from China, its probably worth reflecting on our short visit. One thing we haven’t noted previously is the prevalence of ‘Chinglish’, which is a funny language found in tourist sites and is used by the Chinese to convey useful information to visitors. Chinglish is a language that requires a little interpretation, so where we might say ‘Keep off the Grass, in Chinglish it reads ‘The green grass is afraid of your foot’.
On the whole, we’ve found China to only just be coming to terms with itself as a tourist destination, and it has been pleasant generally feeling like we’re not being treated the same of the locals. People have been very helpful, best demonstrated when trying to locate the local bus from Xi’an to the Terracotta Warriors. Caroline enlisted the help of the local constabulary which made things a little easier as we were invited into the police car and driven on the footpath the few hundred metres to our waiting bus
Good after-bul Consta-noon - Always blow on the dumpling!
Our next stop is Vietnam where Kate, Caroline’s sister’ will be joining us. Keep an eye on Facebook for a few more photos from our time in China.
Great photos guys. The green rice paddies look great in the panos. Have enjoyed reading about your adventures through China and looking forward to more of the same in Nam.
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