Skip to main content

.Yangshuo - China part 2.




First of all a small warning: this blog entry contains many photos of mountains, so don't get bored ;)

We spent a couple of days of our China holiday in Yangshuo, which is in the Guanxi region  in the southwest part of China. We stayed at The Green Lotus Hotel which is situated near the main attractions of the city: shopping streets and restaurants as well as the beautiful Li river. Yangshuo and the nearby areas have been popular among Chinese tourist for years but the westerners have found the location only a few years back. This means that the tourism hasn't really developed to its full potential yet, which is both a good and a bad thing. In Yangshuo city centre you can find a lot of little shops selling souvenirs and other trinkets, as well as many restaurants and bars. It was a really busy area especially in the evenings.




If you go a bit outside the city centre you can see authentic Chinese life and housing and undisturbed landscapes, but the downside is that it's hard to get the full potential of your traveling experience when there aren't many good guided tours or signs in English. (The locals can't speak English so learning a few phrases in Chinese is quite essential!) Also the distances are quite long and there is no public transportation from one sight to another. Our hotel had bikes you could lend for free, but they only had handbrakes and at least for me who is not accustomed to bikes without foot brakes it felt a bit too unsafe and borderline hazardous to try to ride the bike along the hilly roads amongst the Chinese driving culture.





The best things about the Yangshuo are in our opinion were the amazing mountains and the green rice fields. The nature is unlike anywhere else, and if you have ever wondered about the weird mountains and rivers in traditional Chinese paintings, you know the almost fantasy or sci-fi like pictures that don't resemble real-life mountains, the scenery in Yangshuo is exactly like that. Just take a look at the pictures below and compare them with the photos I took on our trip.

The pictures above have been borrowed from here and here.





We had a bit of misfortune with the weather front; the first day was rainy and foggy, but it got gradually better. On our last day there was even some sunshine, but the rain that had continued for over a week made the air really humid. The most popular tourist pastime in Yangshuo is sailing along the Li river with small bamboo rafts, but the water level was too high due to the rainfall and the currents too dangerous for the rafts to make the voyage, so we moved around by an auto rickshaw or just walking.  

If you are planning a trip to China the Yangshuo region is definitely something to take under consideration. Magnus even thought the days we spent there were better than the visit to Beijing and the Great Wall. The locals said that the best time to visit would be late summer and early fall, August to November, when the rice is ready for harvest and the monsoon rains have ceased.





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Salut Chéri! Beret Pattern.

Here is the pattern for the berets I've knitted. The name for the beret is from the t-shirt I was wearing when I took the project photos of the first beret for Ravelry. I thought the name suited the beret, since it's quite classical take on the hat that has become the icon of everything French. Happy knitting! Salut Chéri! You need:  yarn: 105-125 m (114 - 137 yards) worsted weight yarn. The sample was knitted with Novita Joki ( 104 m or 114 yard per 50g) needles : 3.5 mm and 4.0 mm (US size 4 and 6) circular needles (40 cm or 16 inches) size 4.0 mm (US size 6) DPNs 6 stitch markers , one of a different color to indicate the beginning of the round Gauge : 10 sts and 16 rounds = 5 cm (2 inches) in straight Stockinette stitch with 4.0 mm needles Cast on 88 sts on 3.5mm circular needle. Join in round, careful not to twist the stitches. Place a marker to indicate the beginning of the round. Knit in straight Stockinette stitch (knit all...
15 comments
Read more

Cloud Mittens - the Pattern part 1.

This is so long overdue, but I have now finally managed to write down the pattern for the Cloud mittens. Here it is, my Christmas present to all you guys! Enjoy! CLOUD MITTENS ( Here is the link to the pattern on Ravelry ) You need: 125 m or 135 yards of DK weight yarn (blue sample knit with Novita Wool, 100% wool, 135 m/ 50g) 125 m or 135 yards of sport weight yarn for the lining (blue sample: Garnstudio Drops Baby Alpaca Silk, 70% alpaca, 30% silk, 167 m/ 50 g)  Needles : a set of 2.5 mm (US 1 1/2) DPNs or circular needles if you prefer Magic Loop method like me Gauge: 16 stitches and 22 rows = 5 cm (2 inches) To fit an average woman hand Intermediate knitting skills required LEFT MITTEN Cast on 54 stitches loosely on size 2.5 mm double pointed needles or a circular needle if you like knitting with magic loop method like me. I used the long-tail method to cast on. You can place a marker (beginning of the round) if you want, ...
8 comments
Read more

(By Far) The Easiest Way to K4Tog.

I have published earlier a post on an easy way to k4tog - knit 4 stitches together - which is an essential stitch in my Cloud mitten pattern. As you might already know it is a bit challenging especially with 2.5 mm bamboo needles that not only have sharp tips but are bendy and especially prone to snapping. Stubborn as I am, I wasn't going to give up and change the design just to make it easier to knit. So I came up with the idea of using a tiny crochet hook to pull the working stitch through other three.  I was planning to use this same method when knitting the second pair of Cloud mittens, but alas, I couldn't find the hook anywhere. I seem to have misplaced it and I just can't remember where I put it... And as you know I don't crochet often so the second smallest hook I had was size 3.5 mm which didn't work for this purpose for obvious reasons.  So I was back to square one trying to figure out how to do the k4tog in an easy way when I got the idea of rev...
3 comments
Read more