The River Li

Guilin, located in south west China, was the next stop on my China travels. Guilin is one of the most picturesque cities in China. It isn't a large city, with a population of only about 670,000. The Lijiang River ( Li River) runs through the city and is a popular tourist attraction. We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel and could look out our hotel window and watch the river directly across the street. After checking in we walked along the river. Young men were swimming but the current was so fast they made little progress. Guilin is a tourist city with a night market and walking streets. It was fun to explore.

Tuesday we took a river cruise down the Li to Yangshou. The river is surrounded by sharply rising limestone towers that are rounded on top. They are often portrayed in Chinese artworks. We saw water buffalo wandering alongside the river near the many villages as well as men fishing on narrow bamboo rafts. There had been recent flooding and we could see the debris left by the high water.

Yangshuo lies in the northeast of Guangxi Province and to the southeast of Guilin. It seems that all the river boats end up there so it was packed with tourists and shops. The diverse ethnic minority groups were represented there including Hui, Zhuang, and Yao. We were glad to get out of town.

Wednesday was rainy but we explored Guilin on foot. I managed to find a lovely white silk brocade jacket with a mandarin color, typical chinese style, that I planned to wear at the Nanjing festivities.

Next stop - Chengdu.