Guilin: Li River Cruise & Baisha Old Town

Today was another early start but I knew it was going to be well worth it. We booked a tour to take a cruise down the Li River, which is famous for it's landscape as well as the fact that it's painted on their 20 Yuan note! It was going to be a 4.5 hour cruise down the river, ending up at a countryside town called Yangshuo. So this was something different from the rest of the trip we have had so far.

About half an hour into the cruise, they weren't kidding about the scenery. It was amazing! You could also tell the difference in the air here in Guilin. It was so fresh and I'm sure my nose was happy about that! The Chinese people have such an interesting imagination. Some of the mountains were named after things. For example, there's a Hello Kitty mountain, a Buddha mountain and a mountain with a horse carved into it. Not until someone spots it out, that you can see it. I think we're turning Chinese because we're starting to notice things and get so amazed even though you have to use your imagination! We then landed in Yangshuo, a small town but heavily aimed towards tourists and Foreigners. There's a whole street dedicated to tourists, and here you can see trinkets and of course fake stuff for everyone to buy, and of course you can haggle too!

Although the weather wasn't that good, the views were still amazing

This mountain is called the Emperors Hat. Can you see it?

The hello kitty mountain with me trying to pose with the ears. Hopefully you can see this on too!

Can you see the female buddha? This is what this mountain is called!

The 5 finger mountains

The famous scene as sene on the 20 Yuan bill (but minus the boats on the note!)

We then headed off to Baisha Old Town, an old fishing village as Yangshuo is known for it's beautiful scenery. And it was absolutely beautiful. The sun was hiding behind the mountains, popping out every now and then, the pictures explain it all. We got to ride on a bamboo raft as that is their form of transport on water, and got to watch a man doing old school fishing with the cormorants. We initially saw this on the Robson Green show (for all you fishing enthusiasts out there!) and to see it in the flesh was amazing! We saw a bird actually catch a fish. That was exciting for me and more exciting for my husband as he loves fishing! We then drifted down the river and went down a little waterfall, yes little I mean 50cm but when you're on a bamboo raft, it was fun and a little scary at the same time! Oh, and I forgot to say that I rode on a water buffalo. Hahah it was amazing!!

A man fishing with the cormorants

And one actually caught a fish!!

Me on a water buffalo. Was seriously the highlight for me!

Look at the gorgeous view of the sunset

Definitely known as one of the romantic places in China. There were so many couples taking wedding photos!

It was a long day, but definitely well worth it. After the long day, we headed off for dinner and headed back to the hotel as it was our last day in Guilin and were headed to Shanghai the next day. We will miss Guilin. It was a trip down south that was well worth it. Shanghai, here we come!

-V