Yangshuo is the kind of place you hate to love. It’s touristy as hell and doesn’t really even feel like it’s in China, but it’s beautiful, fun, packed with things to do and I’m finding it hard to tear myself away.
Plus I have a bit of a purpose here beyond just guzzling beer and checking out the sights. I’ve been working at an English school here in town. The deal is pretty sweet – free accommodation, food and beer in exchange for spending two hours a night chatting to groups of students about anything at all. The students are great! They’re so eager to learn it’s almost scary. Friday nights spent studying aren’t uncommon and they’re not shy about vying for your attention so they can practice what they learned in class that day. The best part for me is being able to find out about their lives and learn a lot about China in the process.
As if getting to interact with the students isn’t enough, Yangshuo itself has a lot on offer. There are karst mountains that stick up from the ground like shards of glass all around this area. They’re beautiful and bizarre and exploring the area around town by bike is a great way to spend a day. There are opportunities to go bamboo rafting, climbing, hiking, caving, or if you’re not feeling energetic, hanging out in the bars and cafes around town is a great way to spend some time.
This is the sort of place I could stick around for a long time. I was contemplating spending the whole month here and maybe taking a crash course in Chinese, but I think I should do a bit more exploring of the area so have reluctantly changed my mind. I’m heading off tomorrow with only vague plans of heading north towards Chengdu to see some friends. What happens in between is up for debate!
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