More Photos

After a China Southern flight from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (surprisingly good after some the reports I'd read about internal flights in China), we landed in Guilin. After the 20million plus population of Shanghai, Guilin was almost village-like with with only 700,000 populace.

It's a lively city though and a free afternoon was spent exploring the town centre, it's markets and shops. During our stay in Guilin we were taken to the South China Pearl 'Museum'. It is a selling opportunity but don't be put off otherwise you'll miss the surreal 'Cat-Walk' show with models displaying the pearls. This wouldn't be out of place...in 1968!!

From Guilin we caught the cruise boat along the Li River. It's a convoy of about 6 boats along the meandering Li River to Yangshou where we stayed overnight. The cruise takes between 4 to 5 hours. The scenery is spectacular and you can plot the important landmarks with the aid of the on board map.

The lush green clad limestone hills give an eerie feel to your progress along the Li. When I took the cruise the water level was so low that even though it was the flood season, the bottom of the boat could be heard scraping the riverbed.

The Chinese show their sense of imagination with descriptive names for various collections or faces of hills, such as 'Five Tigers catch a goat' and ‘Five Fingers Hill'. Although what they were thinking when they named one 'Nine horse' I can only guess at.

Water buffalo and shoreline wedding ceremonies appear natural riverside partners. Small tented settlements spring up on dry land within the river with all the essential of fire, stove and laptops. Look out for the local tradesmen who hook up to your cruise ship to sell their goods. The most popular being the fish boat.

After arriving into Yangshuo we were transferred by golf buggy to our hotel. The town has the usual hustle and bustle with markets and shops everywhere. Don't miss the Impressions Sanjie Lui Show. It will take your breath away, with over 600 performers using the natural backdrop of the peaks and the river. It is unique and the only comparison is the opening ceremony of the Olympics; but this happens most nights. For the equivalent of £25 you won’t be disappointed.

During the drive back through paddy fields, farms and rural China to Guilin, we stopped and were shown around a typical working farm. It's quite humbling to see how they live and how much they connect with the Mao era. Be prepared to pay for taking a photo with the cute water buffalo calf though.

From cute calf to warrior. Off to Xian for part 3 of the tour.