What can I say about Yangshuo that has not already been said? Chinese writers and artists have been inspired by this place for thousands of years and after one second here you can see exactly why. Not too far south of Guilin, Yangshuo is definitely the place to visit in this area. I do not want to knock Guilin too much, but I will make a comparision to help you understand the difference between visiting these two areas; Considering they are so close and sit along the same river, they are very similar to each other both in terms of weather and geographical features. The main difference I see reminds me of the difference between Waikiki or Honolulu, Hawaii and say Kuaui or Maui.

Guilin is what happens to a place when it is too popular for too long and you put a city in the middle of it. It is definitely worth a stopover (almost a must considering the train station, the airport and major bus lines leave from there), but I think you can easily see what you need to in Guilin in a well-planned day. Then get to Yangshuo as quickly as you can.

Although I will definitely post more pictures and videos of Yanghsuo, including some video of the ferry-style boat ride down the Li River (Li Jiang in Chinese), I wanted to quickly share with you a picture I took early this morning from my balcony at the Yangshuo Regency Holiday Hotel... a hotel that is definitely worth the few extra bucks for the room with a spectacular room and the biggest bed I have see in China (about the size of two queen beds side-by-side). For a larger view of this picture, click here. For an even larger view, click here. Needless to say, I think I will be staying here for a few more days.