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We rent our bicycles from a shop near our hostel so that we don’t have to walk too far after returning the bikes. We avoided those poor-condition bikes in case of any trouble on the road.
A famous biking route in Yangshuo is called “Shi Li Hua Lang” (literally ten kilometers’ beautiful scenery). It charges entrance fee for about 130 yuan per person. We ride our way to Shi li hua lang. The landscape along the way was already quite beautiful. On the way we saw scenic spots like the Hu die quan (the Butterfly Fountain) and Yue liang shan (the Moon Mountain). These scenic spots are not free anymore. The Moon Mountain got its name by a round-shape hole on the mountain top. From a car on the highway, you can see the hole goes from round to half shape. It is like a moon changing its shape. I don’t think it is necessary to pay to get to the mountain foot to see this. Plus, it hurts your neck to do so. About the Butterfly Fountain, we also just passed by.
Li River (Lijiang)
We stopped at will along the way for the sceneries that we like. At last, by the time we get to Shi li hua lang, it was close to noon. So we headed back to town without getting inside. The round trip was about 12 kilometers.
We let the local travel agency arrange our Li River bamboo raft tour. They had a car picked us up at 1 pm. Due to road reconstruction, it took over an hour to get to a small village near the side of the Li River. There was a dot made by the local villagers docking several bamboo rafts. I had to say the spot was quite nice for Li River. Babao Hill was right in front of us which is the scenery on the Chinese 20 yuan bank note. It cost us 100 yuan p/p which, I think, was of high value for the great views we saw.
Babao Hill
Back to Yangshuo from Li River, we toured around the town by bike. There was some great scenery on Binjiang Road and Fuqian Road. As we kept riding, we found a nice lane to the hill. It was a pleasant experience riding along it.
Li River
It was dinner time again. We went to another restaurant called “Huang Si Fa Fan Guan” (Huang si fa restaurant) recommended by the girl in the travel agency from yesterday. The specialty in that restaurant is the fresh fish from Li River. We ordered fried eel and beer fish. The tastes were quite good. We three people spent about 60 yuan each.
After dinner, we rambled at Xijie (West Street). I considered it a disappointment. It was over-crowded, and full of the so-call local handicrafts. However, for others, they might find it interesting.
Tour services provided by China Tour Advisors:
http://www.chinatouradvisors.com/chinatour/Guilins-Fascinating-Neighbours-Tour-4-Days-Tour-109.html
http://www.chinatouradvisors.com/chinatour/China-Dreams-11-Days-Tour-110.html