China Guide
Guangxi and Guizhou
Yangshuo
Nestled 70km south of Guilin on the Li River, in the thick of China's most spectacular karst scenery, YANGSHUO, meaning Bright Moon, has become a rowdy draw for domestic tourists, with the majority of its bars, restaurants and shops catering to their tastes. It remains, however, an easy place to spend a few days: hills surround everything, village lanes swarm with activity, and there are restaurants and accommodation everywhere. You can rent a bike and spend a day zipping between hamlets, take a cruise along the Li River, or hike around or go rock climbing on nearby peaks, or study cooking or martial arts.
Yangshuo has few formal attractions but there's plenty to explore. The produce market is an interesting place to hang out, with a good selection of game, fruit, nuts and mushrooms, laid out on sheets in the street here – look out for rats and pheasants, fresh straw and needle mushrooms, and spiky water caltrops, which contain a kernel similar to a Brazil nut. West off Diecui Jie is Yangshuo Park (¥6), a pleasant place in summer with its colourful formal garden and breezy vantages of town from pavilions lodged on the main rise. Squeezed between the highway and the river is Green Lotus Peak, the largest in the immediate area – there's a track to the top off the highway east of the post office, but it involves some scrambling. An easier path (leading to better views) ascends Pantao Shan from behind the market. Otherwise, just walk upstream from Yangshuo for a kilometre or two and take your pick of the rough trails that scale many other slopes.
Cormorant fishing
Opening time: Evenings: 90min trip
Price: ¥50 per person
Address: Book through any hotel
When you've had enough scenery for one day, do something unusual and spend an evening watching cormorant fishing. This involves heading out in a punt at dusk, closely following a tiny wooden fishing boat or bamboo raft from which a group of cormorants fish for their owner. Despite being turned into a tourist activity at Yangshuo, people still make their living from this age-old practice throughout central and southern China, raising young birds to dive into the water and swim back to the boat with full beaks. The birds are prevented from swallowing by rings or ties around their necks, but it's usual practice for the fisherman to slacken these off and let them eat every seventh fish – apparently, the cormorants refuse to work otherwise.
Rock-climbing Yangshuo's peaks
Yangshuo is one of Asia's fastest-growing rock-climbing centres, with an estimated 70,000 pinnacles of up to 200m in height in the area. However, there are only about fifty established climbing routes, many of them under 30m in length – though those at Moon Hill are rated among the toughest in China.
The main climbing season lasts from October through to February, as the rest of the year can be uncomfortably hot or wet. There are several sources of local information along Xian Qian Jie in Yangshou, which can also organize equipment, instruction and guides: China Climb ( 
0773/8811033, 
www.ChinaClimb.com ), the Karst Café ( 0773/8828482, www.karstclimber.com ), and Spiderman Climbing ( 0773/8812339, www.s-climbing.com ).
Read more ▼
- Practical Information ▼
- Sports and Outdoor ▼