Y
angshuo with a toddler?”
my friend had asked when
I mentioned our holiday
plan. “Isn’t it all about
cycling and drinking beer on rafts?
It’s not really toddler-friendly.” Her
words replayed in my head as my
son’s anguished howls for Weet-Bix
ripped apart the quiet of the sunrise,
disturbing the yogis on the riverbank
beside our balcony. Dawn is no doubt
a peaceful time for yoga, but it is
also, by unfortunate coincidence,
my 18-month-old-son’s breakfast
time. It was a rather inauspicious
beginning to what turned out to be
a glorious stay in Yangshuo, jewel of
the Guangxi province.
The improbable, beautiful
topography of the southwest of China
has inspired endless scroll painters.
Pointed karst mountains thrust out
of the verdant farmland in their
thousands, creating a landscape
seemingly more fairy-tale than fact.
Yangshuo is the primary tourist
destination in the area, located just
an hour from Guilin’s airport. In the
80
s it was mostly foreign backpackers
who made up the tourist numbers
in Yangshuo. Over time, this mix
has changed drastically, with large
numbers of locals as well as more
affluent foreigners frequenting the
area. The Yangshuo Mountain
Retreat, where we based ourselves, has
managed to ride this wave of change
by upgrading its facilities to cater for a
wider range of guests (including little
ones), whilst still maintaining the laid-
back, backpacker feeling.
Climbs and caves
Our guidebook insisted that the view
from the top of Yueliang Shan (Moon
Hill) was a must. So off we went. Now,
it’s no secret that carrying a toddler
in a back carrier, in summer, is hard
work, so we were a somewhat tired and
sweaty party of three when we reached
the top. It was worth every step
though. The crescent-moon-shaped
hole in the top of the mountain was
the perfect frame for spectacular views
April 2013
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