桂林山水甲天下 - "The landscape of Guilin is the finest under heaven."
- popular Chinese saying
Departing
from The Assembly Dragon Cave by noon, we stopped by a restaurant near
Moon Hill where I had the chance to taste the famous Yangshuo signature
dish, The Beer-braised Fish 啤酒魚. The main course came with a plate of
vegetables which I slurped all by myself since my Moslem friends were
not able to share the meal with me. While I had a feast of my own, my
friends were busy getting dressed in Chinese red costumes, and had a
snapshots or two with the Moon Hill as the backdrop. Not bad for
souvenirs, girls :)
The next stop of the day was Xingping Fishing
Village 興坪漁村. Cruising along the Li River, we enjoyed the picturesque
and poetic scenery of the fishing village. Fishermen floating by on
bamboo raft driving the cormorants to help them catch fishes, buffalos
grazing along the river bank... surely not the kind of view I found very
often, so I just sat down... enjoying the soft breeze caressed my face.
Fishing Village is one of many scenic spots in Xingping Old
Town 興坪古鎮, 4 kilometers from the centre of town (There are many stunning
views: Nine-horse Mural Cliff 九馬畫山, Yellow-cloth Reflection 黄布倒影, Monk
and Nun's Tryst, Ancient Stockaded Village's New Looks, Secluded
Qianyuan, Ancient Wusheng Site, Fishing Village 漁村, Lotus-flower Cave
蓮花岩, Flying-dragon Nunnery and others). Lying on the east bank of the Li
River upstream from Yangshuo, Xingping Fishing Village has a history
dating back more than 500 years. The Chinese call it a 'village' because
of the fact that nowadays it is inhabited by villagers. Actually, it is
an age-old castle complex survived from over 500 years ago. Although
some courtyard buildings have weathered through ages, the simple but
elegant flying-eaves, roofs with colorful paintings, lattice windows and
unique timber structures present the folk residence from the Ming
(1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). The villagers have the same
surname of Zhao, so it is rumored that they are descendants of the
imperial family in the Song Dynasty. (
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river.htm)
How
I wish I could spend more time exploring Xingping Old Town... cycling
along Xingping Old Street 興坪古街 which might make me feel like I had
stepped back about 100 years in time. Xingping used to be the largest
town along Li River and is 63 km from Guilin and 25 km (15.5 miles) from
Yangshuo, on the east bank of the river. Xingping Town is the oldest
town in Yangshuo, a lovely village which has the potential to be the
next backpacker haven as Yangshuo keeps growing. It was set up in 265,
Three Kingdoms (220-280 A.D.), and used to be Xingping County. It was
the center of Yangshuo County until Yangshuo Town was setup in 590.
Now
I regretted my decision to stay overnight at Yangshuo instead of
Xingping, but I had no choice but to step into our bus and heading for
Yangshuo since we had booked tickets to Impression Liu Sanjie Light
Show.
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| Moon Hill |
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Moon Hill 陽朔月亮山, located eight kilometers (five miles) south of the town
of Yangshuo, is the most well-known attraction in Yangshuo. It is a
popular to rent a bike in town and then ride out for a pleasant morning
hike up the hill. A strange geological formation at the top is a massive
arch with a hole in its peak through which the sky can be seen like a
full moon, hence the name.
http://www.chinatourguide.com/guilin/moon_hill.html
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| Road to Fishing Village |
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| The Serene Wharf |
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| The View |
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| Fisherman and The Cormorants |
Fisherman uses the cormorants to catch the fish and return them to the
boat. The fisherman drives the birds into the water where they dive
below the surface in search of fish. When the birds catch a fish they
return to the boat and the fisherman removes the fish from their throat
and places it in the basket.
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| Bamboo Raft Floating By |
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| Fisherman and The Cormorants |
Their fishing techniques are unlike anything you've ever seen. They use
bamboo rafts instead of wooden boats and they use cormorants to catch
the fish. They do this by tying a noose around a bird's long neck to
prevent it from swallowing its catch.
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| Cormorant 魚鷹 |
Cormorants are good sized birds who enjoy diving underwater in search of fish.
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| Cormorant | |
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| Travelmates |
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| The View |
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| The Small Island |
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| Stop-over | |
The boat anchored a while at a small island to let us gazing at the
scenery and took pictures. We could find souvenirs at cheap price from
local vendors.
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| Local Vendors |
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| The Picturesque Scenery | |
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| The View |
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| Water Buffalos Graze Along the Fields | |
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| This Old Place |
This Old Place International Youth Hostel
No.5, Rongtan Rd., Xingping, Yangshuo, Guilin, Guangxi.
Postcode: 541906
Tel: 86-773-8702887
Fax: 86-773-8702887
Email: topxingping@gmail.com
http://www.topxingping.com陽朔興坪老地方國際青年旅舍
銷售熱線: 86-773-8702887
地址: 廣西桂林陽朔縣興坪鎮榕潭街5号
郵編: 541906
www.topxingping.com
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| Local Resto |
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