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Yangshuo - Faraway, So Close May, 2008 |
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I doubled back to the Chinese pharmacy on the off chance I might be able to replace our broken thermometer. Wandering up and down the aisles, I scanned the shelves that were stacked with mysterious jars of herbs, the air flavored with a grassy aroma like a freshly harvested field. Soon shadowed by a curious clerk, I attempted to verbalize what I was searching for – thermometer, fever, sleeping, sick – when I began to pantomime - touching my forehead with the back of my hand, fanning my face, sticking my finger in my mouth, then observing my knuckles as if they were numbers. Quickly my feeble acting attracted another inquisitive clerk. Met with vacant stares,
suddenly, from across the store, yet another clerk called something out
and smiles of
Finally, another clerk from
across the store walked over with an impish grin, grabbed one of the
thermometers, stuck it under her armpit, and shook Traveling independently in China for three months presents many challenges, with even the simplest tasks requiring inordinate amounts of patience and humor. Replacing a broken thermometer at the local drug store required a humorous skit of charades, while shopping at a local supermarket becomes a test of perceptive reasoning, as you speculate on the contents of the vacuum-sealed package based on the cover picture. Your pantomime skills will be tested daily and success for the day could be measured on something as simple as finding and buying a pack of band-aids. At a restaurant, brazenly choose from the local menu, point to something that looks interesting at an adjoining table, or safely choose rice and noodles - it’s all an adventure and a riotous one at that.
Yangshuo itself is friendly towards tourists, with English widely spoken and plenty of affordable accommodations and restaurants along the pedestrian road Xi Jie, commonly identified as ‘Foreigner Street’. It’s easy to find a comfortable place to stay, with most of the guesthouses offering the same basic look. We found the perfect guesthouse at a great rate with a balcony overlooking the street, only to come home after dinner to find rats on the stairwell. Yech! Needless to say, we moved to our second choice, the lovely Rosewood Inn, where we ended up staying for ten days. Activities include hiking,
rafting, rock climbing, bicycling, cave exploration, shopping and river
cruises, with many places in town offering day trips One of the premiere activities is the spectacular fourteen-mile daylong hike along the Li River that connects the villages of Yangdi and Xingping. Hop on the miniature local bus at the main bus station for the one-hour trip to Yangdi, pay a modest entrance fee ($2/each), cross the river by ferry, and follow the path as it winds down the river through the verdant rice paddies. You’ll pass by villages and occasional refreshment stands, with crooked old grandmas selling oranges and bags of peanuts. Merchants in souvenir stands offer polished river rocks while locals bargain for rides on bamboo rafts. Finally, wander around the village of Xingping before catching the bus back to Yangshuo. As we scrambled along the Li River, I pondered the rocky limestone crags and tried to reconcile the names on the map with the appropriate rock face. The mysterious ‘Eight Super Naturals Crossing the River’, the humorous ‘Tortoise Climbing Up the Hill’, the obvious ‘Fish Tail Peak’, the evocative ‘Nine Horse Fresco Hill’ and my favorite, the imaginative ‘Grandpa Watching Apple’, all fueled my imagination. The magical surroundings transformed me into another world, where I expected at any time to stumble across Frodo and the little Hobbits as they waddled out of the Middle Kingdom to greet us on the well-worn path.
There are other shorter routes
to the villages of Fuli and Puyi. Through brilliant green rice paddies,
the trail follows the Yulong River, with the first section a concrete
path - quite popular for shorter excursions. The people are friendly and
helpful, with refreshment stands and local stores scattered throughout.
If you come to an intersection or questionable fork in the trail and are
not sure which way to go, wait around for a local, point, and shrug –
trust me, they’ll understand. Getting around the countryside is easy; just arrive at the main bus station conveniently located in central Yangshuo, locate the sign for your destination, and hop on with the locals. Many of the routes leave at regularly scheduled times, while others will not leave until they have a full load. We jumped on a bus to the small and interesting village of Fulin for a couple of hours one day, and another time went to Moon Hill, where we scrambled to the top for spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Although many places will try to sell you day trips for these excursions, it’s easy enough to do independently.
Some of the coolest souvenirs are stone-carved stamps, where your last name is converted into Chinese characters and engraved into the rock. There are quite a few shops in town who offer this service, although we’d recommend spending a little more and going to the best – Huang Guan Hua Stone Engraving – where a master calligrapher will produce a memorable rendering of your name on a unique piece of stone for around $12-15. Around town, you’ll also find innumerable Chairman Mao paraphernalia - posters, playing cards, clocks, and bags stamped with his image – still a popular and respected figure in Chinese history. Getting to Yangshuo is easy; leaving is difficult. We both loved it and would have gladly stayed another week. To fully appreciate this intriguing area you should plan to spend more than a day and wander into the countryside, which is truly representative of rural China. After ten days, it was time for us to move on to other parts of China, although I would be quick to return, and enthusiastically give Yangshuo our highest recommendation. Having had such wonderful experiences in Yangshuo, one of my favorite U2 songs comes to mind – “Stay, Faraway, So Close.” So many memorable scenes and impressions will stay with us fondly, and long after we leave, though faraway, it will remain close in our hearts and minds for years to come, the memories certain to bring a warm smile to our faces.
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understanding
washed over their faces. Led around the corner, they pointed to two
stacks of thermometers, one pile red, and the other blue. “Two Yuan,
two Yuan,” (25 cents) they harmonized as I picked up one of each
color, held them out, and asked “same–same?” “Two Yuan, two
Yuan,” they both answered, and we began a singsong refrain of “two
Yuan, same-same” back and forth, like competing cheerleading squads
at a basketball game, neither of us able to break the communication
logjam. 
her head while repeating “no-no,” all the while her co-workers
continuing to provide a background chorus of “two Yuan, two Yuan”.
Of course, I realized. A rectal thermometer! Only then did I notice the
readout was in Centigrade, but wisely thought to leave that discussion
for another day. 
Fortunately,
we had arrived in Yangshuo, the premier attraction in the Hunan province
of Southern China, located one hour southeast of Guilin by bus, or five
hours by boat along the Li River. Throughout history, poets have written
about its mystical beauty, while artists continue to render the
surrounding countryside into unique and characteristic Chinese scroll
ink paintings. With hundreds of saw-toothed limestone pinnacles
haphazardly poking up through the flooded rice paddies, this area of
China will surely delight and inspire your imagination.
and
tours. Whether you wander through the local parks in town, browse the
delightful shops along Foreigner Street, or venture out into the
countryside, there’s enough to keep you occupied for quite a few days. 
During
the day, Yangshuo is alive with day-trippers from Guilin, who arrive on
the cavalcade of blaring boats around noon, and leave by bus in early
evening. Local merchants line the walkways into town, selling the usual
cache of t-shirts and cheap souvenirs to the tourists as they arrive at
the dock. At night, there are many places to dine, with a surprisingly
large selection of local establishments to choose from, many with
outdoor seating. Our favorite was the affordably priced ‘Noodle Bar’,
easily identified by the overflowing tables set in front, with huge
portions of local favorites served at a hectic yet organized pace. 
