yangshuo

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toursky

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Joined: Feb 02, 2007
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Posted: Feb 02, 2007 - 09:00 AM
Post subject: yangshuo

Backpacker central (West Street) in YangShuo.
YangShuo(阳朔)is a very scenic,small tourist town surrounded by Karst limestone mountains,down the Li River from Guilin in Guangxi, China.

There are many places to stay - from Y20/night for a dorm room, through to US$100/night for a luxury bungalow. Hotel touts are to be found around the main bus station.
◇Budget
• Youth Hostel next to Green Lotus, 102 West Street
• Backpackers' Hostel, just off West Street
• Morning breeze inn, just off West Street, phone +86-773-8815959 ,Clean and just far away from West Street to be quiet. Staff are friendly. Twin/Double cost RMB 80-120/night off season. Rooms with western toilet and hot water shower.
◇Mid range
• Fawlty Towers, on the main street opposite the bus station, 50 RMB/night for private room with shower in off season
• Blue Lotus, near middle of West Street, 60 RMB/night for single with shower, TV, western toilet
• Friend Hotel No. 2 Chenzhong Lu, just off West Street (coming down West Street from Pantao Lu, turn left into Chenzhong Lu and cross the bridge over the creek. The hotel is the second establishment on the right).
• Karst Hotel
• Li River View
• Outside Inn, restored farmhouse 5 km from town, 80-120 RMB/night
• Linyun Hotel, near West Street
◇Splurge
• Magnolia Hotel, 7 Die Cui Lu (a block from the river and west street), very clean with nice big rooms, tastfully decorated.
• Regency Holiday Hotel, at the inland end of West Street, Satellite TV and air conditioning.
• Li River Retreat, Best views of any hotel in Yangshuo.

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toursky

Newbie

Joined: Feb 02, 2007
Posts: 5

Status: Offline

Posted: Feb 02, 2007 - 09:00 AM

By plane
There is no airport in Yangshuo. After you arrive at the Guilin Liang Jiang International Airport, you can choose to take a bus to Guilin, then ride another bus to Yangshuo or ride a river tour boat from Guilin to Yangshuo. Our hostel can provide airport pick-up service if needed (an additional charge will be required).

By train
YangShuo is not served by train and the nearest railway station is Guilin. Minibuses to YangShuo conveniently depart from the square in front of Guilin railway station. For bus connections, see below.

By bus
• From Guilin to Yangshuo: There are frequent minibuses and Express buses that travel to Yangshuo from Guilin. All buses terminate the route at the Yangshuo Bus Terminal. The bus fare for the minibuses is RMB 15.00 (paid on the bus). These minibuses depart from the square in front of the Guilin (South) Railway Station. The journey could take up to 1½ to 2 hours because the minibuses will stop frequently along the way to pick up and let off passengers (beware of pick-pockets). The Express buses depart every half hour from the Guilin Bus Terminal off Zhongshan Zhong Road. Express bus tickets (RMB 15.00) can be purchased at the ticket counters inside the Guilin Bus Terminal and the journey usually lasts up to an hour and 10 minutes.
• From Yangshuo to Guilin: In Yangshuo, the minibuses can be caught at the exit of the Yangshuo Bus Terminal on Die Cui Road. The minibus that will be departing at any given time will be the one at the head of the bus queue. The Express buses depart every half hour from their designated bay in the Yangshuo Bus Terminal. Express Bus Tickets can be purchased at the main ticket counter.
• From Elsewhere: Overnight sleeper buses run direct to Yangshuo from Shenzhen (near the Hong Kong border), from Zhuhai (near the Macao border), and from Guangzhou. The bus fares for these buses range from RMB 100-250 depending on which city the bus departs from and the quality of the bus. The bus fares from Shenzhen are the most expensive. Express buses to Nanning from Yangshuo leave daily at 8 AM and 9 AM (just two buses). The buses will go to Guilin first for a short stopover to pick up passengers. The bus fare is RMB 110. In Nanning, the 8 AM bus stops at the Langdong Bus Terminal, while the 9 AM bus stops at the Nanjiang Bus Terminal.

By boat
The tour boats that go down the Li River to Yangshuo are slower and more expensive (RMB 400+). However, the journey will be a very scenic one (approx. 5 hours).

toursky

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Joined: Feb 02, 2007
Posts: 5

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Posted: Feb 02, 2007 - 09:01 AM

◇Around town
YangShuo is a small place - the town can easily be covered on foot. There is an electric minibus network consisting 5 routes covering most parts of town. RMB 1 per ride.
The main tourist area is laid out roughly like a ladder. The two main tourist streets run more-or-less parallel up from the river to end at one of the town's larger streets. There are assorted smaller streets (rungs) crossing between the two larger streets. The street (ladder vertical) on the left seen from the River is West Street (西街 Xijie) and is the older more established tourist street, the real center of things. The other long tourist street is Diecuilu (畳翠路).
There's a small creek that runs down the center of the "ladder"; some of the prettiest bars and restaurants in town are on balconies near it. At the "foot of the ladder" by the river is an open area with a large number of vendors hawking all sorts of tourist stuff, both from shops and from handcarts. Also a number of rather nice riverside hotels.
Across the "top of the ladder" is a major street (Pantao Lu) with many hotels. The town's main bus station is at the corner where that main street meets Die Cui Lu. The intersection has a large open area that becomes very busy at night, with dozens of restaurants and hundreds of diners. Do not expect English menus or non-Chinese dishes.
Near the top of West Street are three banks with ATMs — Bank of China, Agricultural Bank and ICBC — and there is a China Construction Bank on Die Cui Lu. Service in the Bank of China can be awful, but it has the only ATM that accepts foreign cards.
The post office is on Pantao Lu, opposite the top end of West Street. It's open from 8am until 9pm.

◇Into the countryside
If you're planning on walking around the many streets and caves around YangShuo, a map is recommended. Artistic tourist maps are available for sale for around RMB 5-10 at tourist shops all over town, but the free maps are better for finding your way.
For those who want to wander a little further afield, or to check the attractions in the area, there are several options.
• The most popular is bike rental - there are several places around the main street catering for short-term rentals charging from RMB 5 upwards.
• There are boat tours up or down the river.
• Local buses serve some locations. From YangShuo's bus terminal, minibuses (xiao mian bao or "little bread loaves") go to Gaotian (for Yueliang Shan/Moon Hill), Jinbao via Baisha (for Yulong Qiao/Dragon Bridge), Shazhi (for Fuli village), Xingping (for the Xingping-Yangdi scenic area) and further afield.
• It is possible to hire private cars for others.

You can mix these modes of travel, for example taking a boat out of town and biking back or taking a bus upriver a ways to catch a boat tour.
Most hostels or hotels can arrange transport and a guide if you want one. Alternately, you can choose your own tourist guide; just work out a deal with one of the ones who will accost you on the street. One guide is Kellen +86 13977331919, a pleasant lass with reasonable English. A guide may be very helpful for things like cycling tours.

toursky

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Joined: Feb 02, 2007
Posts: 5

Status: Offline

Posted: Feb 02, 2007 - 09:01 AM

Karst landscape
The area around YangShuo is renowned throughout China, and probably the world, for its Karst landscape where the are hundreds of thousands of limestone hills dotting the countryside. The beautiful scenery here is usually the subject of Chinese paintings as well as the inspiration for poetry. There are several popular areas for Karst landscape sight-seeing which can be covered by river cruises, bamboo-raft cruises, cycling, trekking and combinations of the various modes.
• Yangdi-Xingping scenic area:
This stretch along the Li River is probably the most renowned and popular. There are river cruises available and in fact, the Guilin-YangShuo boat ride passes through this area. There is also a 24km (5 to 6 hours) track for easy hiking along the Li river. The walk is a far more peaceful way to enjoy the Li river and mountain scenery than the loud noisy boat down the river. It takes you along the pebbly shores of the river, through many small villages, fields and bamboo forests. If you get tired, you can always rent a bamboo raft to float down the river. Getting there: There are various ways of reaching this stretch of the Li River. You can of course catch a direct river cruise from YangShuo town. You can also get to Xingping by minibus (called xiao mian bao or "little bread loaves") from YangShuo bus terminal, or cycle out there and then take boats or bamboo rafts to reach the scenic area. Again, combinations of the various modes are possible.
• Yulong River valley:
The pretty Yulong River valley is said to rival the Yangdi-Xingping stretch in terms of beauty. Besides rafting down the river on bamboo rafts, another popular way of seeing the valley is by cycling along riverside tracks. The journey will bring you through many farming villages and past several stone bridges across the river such as the Yulong Qiao and Fuli Qiao. Getting there: From YangShuo town, you can access the Yulong River valley by turning west into a small road from the main YangShuo bypass road just south of the Sinopec petrol station at the junction of Pantao Lu (there are road signs in Chinese). You can also access it by using the road to Jinbao from Baisha town 9km north of YangShuo on the main road to Guilin. Minibuses from YangShuo bus terminal to Jinbao go near Yulong village.
• Moonlight Hill:
Another popular scenic spot south of town. The main attraction is a hill with a huge hole in the shape of a moon. The hills here can be climbed for spectacular vistas from the top. Getting there: Take a Gaotian minibus YangShuo bus terminal. If you plan to cycle, Moon Hill is located about 8km south of YangShuo on the road to Wuzhou.

YangShuo town
Many people come to YangShuo are so preoccupied with the surrounding karst landscape that they do not spend much time in YangShuo town itself.

Shows
Impression Liu Sanjie runs nightly during the high season. Set to the music from the movie of the same name (which in turn was based on an old Chinese story), it features a cast of 500 wearing traditional Zhuang, Miao and Yao dress, and a highly impressive light show. By far the best view is from the official seating area. Tickets are available from most travel agents or hotels in town for around 188 RMB. Expensive by YangShuo standards, but well worth it. You can see it more cheaply from a boat on the river, or even from across the river, but the view is not as good.