Holidays in China: Yangshuo

It's hard to believe just how beautiful Minxi's part of China really is.  It's like being on holiday all year round.

Who's That sexy bandit?

Hanging out at the Lijong River.  Check out that background!

These photos were taken on the hiking trails around Yangshou, a tourist town about an hour outside of Guilin.   Here's the Google Map:

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Minxi and my's original travel plans included a day trip to Yangshou and we got pretty close. Colonial Sanders saved our life at the KFC in Hezhou just at the bottom right of the screen.  Read the Story of the KFC in Hezhou here.

Yangshou is a local tourist destination for Chinese folks.  Nestled between two of the spectacular mountains and alongside the river, its the sort of out of the way place that really brings tourists in.  Sort of like Yellowstone I suppose.  It's famous for hiking, biking, and boat rides of the river.  It does cater to westerners though. Minxi reports that West street is full of coffee shops and small guest houses where English is spoken.  There are also tons of both local and upscale shops in town.

As you can see, it's some of the most beautiful sightseeing in the world.  There's a regular bus that runs from Guilin or, if you are just wanting to relax, catch a boat and float down in style.

Like everywhere else in China, Yangshuo had its own specialty dishes.  Minxi's favorite recipe from Yangshou is Beer Fish.  We put the beer fish recipe here.

The weather in Yangshou is sort of Portland like, with days and days of rain in the spring.  It's mid-March right now and Minxi reports rain every day since Mid February.  It's never really cold, snow is very rare, but summer or fall are the preferred travel times for a holiday there.

Be aware that Yangshou is very popular with Chinese tourists as well.  Expect it to be packed with vacationers on local holidays.  I spent an hour on the cell phone with Minxi one Saturday while she and some friends rode around town looking for parking.  Remember, China has 1.4 billion people, when they go on holiday, it's a big deal.

Good luck and have fun on your holiday in Yangshou!