(1/320 sec, f/1.8, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 200)

A slew of photos today as we begin to reach the end of my reports on our two weeks in China. After our Li River Cruise, we spent a fascinating - and, for the first time, relaxing - four or five days in the small Guanxi town of Yangshuo, which sits on the edge of the Li River. Yangshuo has become - apparently in the last decade - a popular tourist and backpacking destination, mostly for the incredible countryside and landscapes that surround it. There is, however, little in the town itself that could be called traditionally Chinese - hundreds of shops and stalls selling everything from antiques and trinkets to counterfeit Hugo Boss and Ermenegildo Zegna silk ties to expensive chopstick sets and Chinese painted scrolls to plastic sunglasses.

(1/160 sec, f/4.5, Canon 70-200mm at 200mm, no flash, ISO 400)

After weeks of hiking through China, though, Yangshuo is a lovely little place to relax for a few days and use as a springboard to the stunning Guanxi country that surrounds it. While having dinner on our first night there with a Spanish couple we befriended I snapped this shot of my girlfriend with an adorable Chinese girl that would not leave us alone.

(1/50 sec, f/4.0, Canon 70-200mm at 75mm, no flash, ISO 1600)

Here's a nice shot of the sun rising over the Li River from the roof of our hostel. It's a bit stock but I like it quite a bit:

(1/40 sec, f/22.0, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 200)

One day we rented bikes and found ourselves lost on a highway to Guilin, and after stopping for water and fruit my girlfriend befriended an older man who showed us the way to a scenic river - the Yulong - near his home. We drank beer in his house and he brought us some peanuts he had farmed himself, and we ended up paying him for a tour of the river. The two-hour raft trip yielded some of the most magnificent scenes we had seen yet.

(1/160 sec, f/4.5, Canon 50mm prime, no flash, ISO 400)

(1/200 sec, f/10, Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, no flash, ISO 400)

(1/250 sec, f/14, Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, no flash, ISO 400)

(1/400 sec, f/7.1, Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, no flash, ISO 400)

Next - the Longsheng Rice Terraces before we close the trip out in Hong Kong.

YANGSHUO PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL TIPS
- Visit the Moon Water Cave - it's about a fifteen minute ride outside of the the town, and has a mud bath halfway through that's a lot of fun. And take a tripod and your gear to capture the rice paddies in the sunset from the mouth of the cave. I left my camera at the hostel and still regret it. It was so surreal, I felt like i was in a real-world Oblivion.
- There is no place to change money for hours, and the banks in the area won't allow you to use a credit card to buy local currency. Change more money than you think you'll need before you leave for the town.
- Take advantage of the cheap bike rentals available all around the town (as in, a dollar-a-day cheap): the area surounding Yangshuo is amazing and full of photographic opportunities. Take lots and lots of water wherever you go - especially in the summer - the climate is absolutely sweltering.
- If you're looking for some cheap hostel-style Yangshuo accomodations, the Bamboo House Inn & Cafe can't be beat. They don't have a website, but you can email them at bamboohouse23@yahoo.com. Ask for Rosie.
- Craving french toast or brick oven pizza? A couple of great places for Western food which you'll for sure miss if you've been travelling in China for a while (and both at which you can meet Westerners who decided to pack up and move to Yangshuo for good): The Buffalo Bar, run by an Australian traveller, Alf Exposito and his wife Mingfang, serves up both Western and Chinese fare and is a great place to plan your day over breakfast. Alf also owns a beautiful hotel in the area called the Li River Retreat. Similarly, visit the family-run Yak Cafe: Andrew and Sula serve up some great food as well and rent bikes on which you can explore the countryside.