YANGSHUO

October 21, 2014

October 21st, Part 2

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We arose to a dull day in Yangshuo. We'd barely seen our hotel and surroundings earlier and now found ourselves in a nice hotel in a town situated among mountain peaks. I think we were too tired to notice that it would definitely rain and we should take our umbrellas - lack of sleep was getting to us! More...



Our guide, Ricky, took us to a shopping street in the middle of town and by then it was raining. It was a strong rain, not a drizzle and the first order of business was to either buy a poncho or an umbrella. For those of us who chose to buy ponchos, we bargained the sellers down to 4 yuan but for those who chose to bargain for an umbrella, the competition to get the best deal drove the price down around 20. Either way, I'm sure the weather conditions were conducive to a better profit making margin than with other goods at the market. The market contained all the usual souvenir wares as well as a few unique items such a lady who silk screened funny messages (translated into Chinese) on T-shirts - "Let's have a beer" and "No water? Some beer is OK". There was a knock-off store (I guess) where you had to go to a back room (or two) to check the wares. I didn't shop there myself but that was the "intel" some of the more adventurous gave after venturing there. After our shopping expedition, we walked to lunch. Along the way we met up with scooters which were rain ready and one scooter which was ?!? I have no idea how to describe a salad on wheels and for what purpose I'll admit to being perplexed. After lunch, several people went for a massage (either foot or total body) while the rest of us went back to the hotel to relax for awhile.
When that group returned, we were taken to a rural farm. Ricky explained that the half finished houses got completed as needed and as money allowed. There were fields of rice, some immature, but some ready to harvest (yellow). We also saw water chestnuts growing and some vines which we were uncertain would yield. Animals roaming this small village included chickens, cows, and water buffalo. There was also an entire family of dogs... mother, pups, sire... all seen along our walk. As we walked out of the village, back to the bus, there were things we hadn't noticed on our way in... a basketball court, a cemetery and a beautiful stone marking the entrance to the village. From the village, we went to another village where we boarded a boat to cruise the Li River. Along the banks of the river, we saw people gathering water grass to feed their animals and we saw fish traps (?). Small craft were docked along the shores of the river. Along one shore of the river, farmers were leading their water buffalo to the shore to drink. Along the opposite shore, there was an entire herd of those animals. The shoreline was probably more like the Yangtze and Shannu USED to be before they were flooded by the Three Gorges Dam.
We returned to Yangshuo to have dinner and then we were treated to an AWESOME light show called Impression Liu San Jie or Impression Sanjie Liu according to Travel China. The Liu Sanjie show was created by Zhang Yimao, who also created and choreographed the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and directed such famous Chinese movies as Raise the Red Lantern. This man has an outstanding understanding of spectacle. The lights dancing everywhere on the people, on the water, and on the mountains were wondrous.
Again, I must apologize for the quality of some of the pictures on this day. Rain kept wetting my lens in the morning and things moved so quickly during the light show that it was difficult to get clear pictures.