We rounded out our China adventure with a trip into the beautiful countryside around Guilin and Yangshuo. This area is located in south-central China, about a two hour flight west of Shanghai. It's famous for its dramatic karst mountain peaks, beautiful rivers and the wide variety of outdoor activities available to visitors.
Yangshuo's beautiful countryside
Getting There
You can't fly directly to Yangshuo. The fastest way to get there is to fly to Guilin and then take a 1.5 hour bus trip to Yangshuo. Our flight from Shanghai arrived late at night so we stayed in the city of Guilin for the evening and then took a mid-day bus the next day to the town of Yangshuo. We were a little worried about communicating with the folks at the bus station since we were in a smaller Chinese town. While they didn't speak English, they understood Yangshuo and Express. All signage at the bus station was in Chinese characters so we would show our ticket to the attendants at the terminals and they would point us in the right direction. The ride was on an older, beat up coach bus, but it got us there and it only cost us 22 yuan (about USD4).
The bus dropped us off in the middle of Yangshuo. We'd read a lot of reviews of this area, so we knew that the town of Yangshuo itself drew a lot of visitors and would be jammed packed with hawkers aggressively trying to sell everything under the sun. We purposely chose a hotel outside of town so we stepped off the bus and walked a few steps to the cab stand to get out of the madness that was downtown Yangshuo!
Phoenix Pagoda
We unknowingly scored huge with our choice of hotel here. We booked a room at an inn called the Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat, knowing only that it was located about 15 minutes outside of Yangshuo and had received some good reviews online. While the hotel room was very rustic, it was incredibly comfortable and peaceful. But the best part of this place was the service and the food. The people who work here are warm, friendly and really take care of you.
You can't fly directly to Yangshuo. The fastest way to get there is to fly to Guilin and then take a 1.5 hour bus trip to Yangshuo. Our flight from Shanghai arrived late at night so we stayed in the city of Guilin for the evening and then took a mid-day bus the next day to the town of Yangshuo. We were a little worried about communicating with the folks at the bus station since we were in a smaller Chinese town. While they didn't speak English, they understood Yangshuo and Express. All signage at the bus station was in Chinese characters so we would show our ticket to the attendants at the terminals and they would point us in the right direction. The ride was on an older, beat up coach bus, but it got us there and it only cost us 22 yuan (about USD4).
The bus dropped us off in the middle of Yangshuo. We'd read a lot of reviews of this area, so we knew that the town of Yangshuo itself drew a lot of visitors and would be jammed packed with hawkers aggressively trying to sell everything under the sun. We purposely chose a hotel outside of town so we stepped off the bus and walked a few steps to the cab stand to get out of the madness that was downtown Yangshuo!
Phoenix Pagoda
We unknowingly scored huge with our choice of hotel here. We booked a room at an inn called the Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat, knowing only that it was located about 15 minutes outside of Yangshuo and had received some good reviews online. While the hotel room was very rustic, it was incredibly comfortable and peaceful. But the best part of this place was the service and the food. The people who work here are warm, friendly and really take care of you.
Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat - a must if visiting Yangshuo!
View from our room
Our balcony
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View from the balcony - the inn's garden and the karst peaks.
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Upon arrival, we met the hotel's owner, a Taiwanese guy named Jerry who we got to know pretty well over the next few days. Jerry has a really interesting background, speaks perfect English (he lived in the US for a few years while in the military), and is very enthusiastic and active. He splits his time between overseeing the Asian arm of a global company, and running this hotel which he opened two years ago in his favorite spot in China - Yangshuo.
After checking in and meeting Jerry, we went on a quick bike ride to orient ourselves. The hotel has a variety of street bikes and mountain bikes guests can use. We chose mountain bikes most of the time as there are some amazing off-road trails that you can explore, which take you through the countryside and small villages. After our ride, we headed back to the hotel for an incredible meal of the local specialty - beer fish - as well as an amazing pumpkin dish and a side of spicy fried tofu. Dinner is served on the hotel's beautiful roof deck. After this home-cooked meal, we knew we'd be doing most of our eating at the hotel - this was the best food we'd had so far in China! The chef loved us because we cleaned our plates at every meal. Here are some of the things we had over the next couple of days.
After checking in and meeting Jerry, we went on a quick bike ride to orient ourselves. The hotel has a variety of street bikes and mountain bikes guests can use. We chose mountain bikes most of the time as there are some amazing off-road trails that you can explore, which take you through the countryside and small villages. After our ride, we headed back to the hotel for an incredible meal of the local specialty - beer fish - as well as an amazing pumpkin dish and a side of spicy fried tofu. Dinner is served on the hotel's beautiful roof deck. After this home-cooked meal, we knew we'd be doing most of our eating at the hotel - this was the best food we'd had so far in China! The chef loved us because we cleaned our plates at every meal. Here are some of the things we had over the next couple of days.
Our typical dining room view
Beer fish and pumpkin dish - the spicy tofu was still on the way!
What's left of our spicy peppers with pork
Eat first, take pictures later. This was the local variation of veggie fried noodles.
While we didn't really go for pizza in China, Jerry insisted we try his pizza at least once, which we did on our last night there. He claims it's the best in China. He may well be right - it was awesome.
My daily breakfast - omelette, French toast and fresh fruit
Chris went with the local breakfast of hot noodle, veggie and meat soup topped with two fried eggs.
Jerry gave us a sample of the local spirits made from osmanthus flowers.
Pieces of flowers left in the drink
Exploring Beautiful Yangshuo
For our first couple of days here, we were some of the only guests at the hotel. We were incredibly lucky, because Jerry took us on different hikes and bike rides each morning to view the stunning scenery, and to explore the town and meet some of the local people. Here are some of the things we saw over the next few days, both on our morning hikes with Jerry and while out exploring on our own.
For our first couple of days here, we were some of the only guests at the hotel. We were incredibly lucky, because Jerry took us on different hikes and bike rides each morning to view the stunning scenery, and to explore the town and meet some of the local people. Here are some of the things we saw over the next few days, both on our morning hikes with Jerry and while out exploring on our own.
On our first afternoon, we biked over to a lookout point where you could see Moon Hill (in the background). The next morning we'd hike up to Moon Hill with Jerry.
Getting closer on our hike up to Moon Hill the next morning
Jerry and Chris taking a break from our hike. It was incredibly humid and we were all drenched after only a few minutes of hiking up the mountain.
We made it to the top! Standing on top of Moon Hill around 8am - still very foggy out, but we thought it added to the mystique of the mountains.
We went for a bike ride all around the area later that day. This is a river near our hotel at sunset.
Karst peaks at sunset
Exploring a mountain road
One day we were on a bike ride and came across a photo shoot. One of the models saw us too and decided to pose!
We stumbled upon a lot of wedding photo shoots. This one was by far our favorite.
On our second morning, Jerry brought us up to another viewpoint to look out over the river. It looks like it was raining, but this is just the morning mist.
We found a cave where we could look out over Fonglou village (Fonglou means Phoenix Tower). This is Jerry and me taking in the view.
On the way back we checked out the old part of the village. Some of these houses, made of clay bricks, have been here for hundreds of years.
We found this little old lady wandering around and she agreed to let us check out her digs. She didn't actually live in this house. It's an old family home that she uses for storage, growing food in the garden and as a place to keep her chickens.
The first room of the house is for the chickens.
Behind the old house, looking over the garden. While she didn't smile much she kept putting her arm around my waist, giving me an encouraging one armed hug common among grandmas. Later, while we were biking in the fields, we saw her again walking with a sickle to harvest her crops. Her face lit up when she saw us waving and we finally saw her smile!
The locals wash clothes, bathe, and farm fish all in the same area of the river. It's a good thing our fish was cooked in beer.
Jerry also brought us to see the local school in Fonglou. This once vibrant school now has only 40 students as many families with children - who can afford to - move into the city to have access to the better school. Jerry has many dreams and one of them is to open a school here for children from poor communities whose families can't afford to pay school fees. He would make it a boarding school so the kids wouldn't have to travel hours through the mountains to get to school and there would be a focus on art and local craftsmanship. We hope his dream comes true!
One afternoon we took a ride down the river on a bamboo raft. Here are a bunch of rafts awaiting customers.
Some confused rafters
Trying her hand at rowing. Shortly thereafter she decided it was not as much fun as it looked.
Every so often you'd need to go down little ledges of varying height. Sometimes the driver needs to help the raft along.
Rafting
One afternoon we rode our bikes to town. Despite its gruff exterior, Yangshuo has a really cute central area with lots of neat little shops and bars.
One of the quieter streets in Yangshuo
Yangshuo
Yangshuo
Testing out the public exercise equipment
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Old school eliptical
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Another magical sunset in Yangshuo
After four nights in Yangshuo, we decided we could have easily spent more time here. We highly recommend this area to anyone planning a trip to China, and above all, recommend the Phoenix Pagoda Fonglou Retreat and the incredible staff, food and hospitality there.
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