Guilin part 3: Boat cruise to Yangshuo

May 28th, 2013
Chartres, France
Song of the Day: Ol' Man River by Kern and Hammerstein
Mood: Happy, healthy, and rested

Boat cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo

The most beautiful area of Guilin is viewed during a four hour boat cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. The hills and mountains have been immortalized in Chinese calligraphy and have formed many westerners perception of China. The topography is rare and is the result of the erosion of limestone deposits.

 

In China, words are very important. If someone like an emperor or a chairman goes to a place and inscribes a word or short phrase, it is a big deal. Likewise, people love to quote short poems and use a choice phrase to accentuate a situation. I remember too few of the phrases I heard, but one in Guilin was, “Rain or shine, Guilin is the best!” To a foreigner, this doesn’t seem particularly poetic. However, I could tell I didn’t fully appreciate it as my guide had so much pride when he shared the poem as well as many others like it. I experienced Guilin in a light drizzle. It hurt visibility, but that made the place seem more magical and added to the mystique of the hills.

 

 

Boat convoy

Thousands of other tourists and I rode in a boat convoy down the river.

 

The water police conducted checks to make sure boats weren't over capacity

In stark contrast to our fleet, we passed by local transportation including taxis and fishermen in little boats.

 



Cormorants resting before their night fishing

Nooks and crannies

If I were a pirate, I could hide my treasure in cave like this...

...but I'd probably pick a watery cave

20 yuan note site

Guilin’s natural wonder is captured on China’s 20 yuan note. We passed by the place that was the inspiration and I was impressed by how close the painting matched reality.

 

 

In my own little world

I decided to find a little place at the front of the ship and just stood for hours watching all the beautiful scenery go by. It is so hard to find time during normal life to pause and reflect and one of my favorite parts about nature is how conducive it is to contemplation. I also find that experience the beauty of the world like seeing these mountains or gazing at stars helps me connect with God and appreciate his creation.

I always thought that Ol' Man River was about a river.
It turns out Ol' Man River is actually a man that was on my boat.





Although Ol' Man River never left his post, you could go inside the boat
and warm up with a nice bottle of local snake wine

Nine horses mural hill

A famous geographic feature is the nine horses mural hill. I couldn't see most of them,
but you get bonus points if you can make them out.

 

Real animals

 

Is it possible to get more points for being an awesome boyfriend
than taking a girl out for a long horse ride on a beach?

Incentives
One of the reasons that I studied economics is that it does a great job understanding and predicting human nature. For instance, people notice that hundreds of thousands of tourists pass by the river each year. They have a lot of eyeballs and it wasn’t surprising that billboards have emerged in the least scenic spots.

 

They are still quite rare and I give the Chinese credit for doing a great job protecting the vast majority of the scenery and preserving the natural beauty.

Panorama shots: