Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China
Travelogue from August 29-31, 2003We left Xi'an in a real hurry and I think it's sometimes better to leave a place quickly, because all the excitement of making your train in time keeps you from getting overly sad about leaving. It took about 31 hours on a train (with an 8 hour stop in Wuhan and a shower in a cheap hotel) to get here from Xi'an and we're now ready to relax.
Yangshuo is a western backpacker town. There are cafes serving hamburgers, English breakfasts and any type of movie or free internet option they can offer to get customers to come to their cafe instead of the 50 other cafes that line the street. There are also, surprisingly, few westerners here and the cafes would do better to try and lure the young and trendy Chinese city dwellers that are here for a late summer vacation.
The narrow cobblestone lanes lined with quaint white-washed houses and shops remind me of something european. The town is quite appealing and it makes me glad that so many chinese are here on holiday because most chinese tourist towns are quite unappealing. I have a real desire to like a place for what it is, it's genuine character, but Yangshuo has invented a new character charming enough to satisfy me.
