Li River Cruise Guilin To Yangshuo Mountain Scenery And Tall Bamboo

The China photos of this Li River cruise bring back happy memories ! Our coach came quite early to pick us up at the hotel to take us to the cruise boat, part of the journey being along a new toll road, still under construction. Li River boat cruises from Guilin to Yangshuo are very popular, hence the new road, and from what we could see, almost all the work was being done manually. The coaches had to weave their way between completed parts of the road; parts which had been almost completed; large piles of foundation rubble; lorry loads of stones being delivered and of course the workers with their barrows and shovels. On the journey to the Li River we had the opportunity to see people at work, from a very good vantage point, without feeling intrusive.

There was hardly any evidence of heavy machinery in use on any part of the road. Four years later, on another visit to the Li River, I was in a minibus traveling on the same road, and it was as smooth a ride, as on any of the roads of the Western countries. The track leading from the coach park to the Li River boats was lined by open stalls with a dazzling selection of goods, many of which would have been made by local farmers during the winter months. We cautiously boarded our Li River boat up narrow gang planks, then watched coolies, their shoulder poles sagging with their loaded panniers, confidently stride up gang planks of other boats. Having left its moorings, the boat started its journey, joining a convoy ahead.

Water Buffalo Graze On Li River Banks

At each bend we were presented with spectacular Li River scenery. Many of the peaks had a legend associated with them, and some rock faces were said to represent figure heads, but I confess that the images were not apparent to me. On the Li River banks, clumps of tall bamboo, in shades of green, were a fitting backdrop to young buffalo grazing on areas nearer the river. Where banks had collapsed, people bathed.