Yangshuo

Bike riding

Wandering through the countryside on a bike and getting lost is one of the best things about Yangshuo. The villages often have dramatic mountain backdrops, and the people are generally friendly. Another popular trip is to take a boat ride with a bike, then bicycle back to town. Bike hire starts at around ¥15-20 per day, and tandems are a bit more. The bikes tend to be poorly maintained, so be sure to check brakes and gears before you set out. For travelers craving reliability, Bike Asia (http://www.bikeasia.com/y...) 22 Guihua Rd, across from Bar 98 and next to Kelly's Cafe has well-maintained specialized mountain bikes for ¥70 a day, including a map, lock, helmet and advice on routes. Bike Asia also has good bike maps of the area, and can advise on where to cycle and help out with a reliable guide. Find an farmer woman for ¥100 per day to give you a guided tour of the local paths. This may include lunch at her place if you're lucky.

Swimming in the Li River

During the summer, the water and temperature is good for swimming. Locals swim from the docks on the Li Jiang Li River a short way upstream of the town centre. The water is generally clean and crystal clear but you may want to avoid a main waste drain near to the dock. Keep walking up to the north from the dock for around 20 minutes to find out a popular swimming spot, nicknamed "the secret beach". Pay extra attention on strong currents which can be experienced in many parts of the river, especially if you are not good enough at swimming. Also tour boats that travel the Li Jiang coming from Guilin are a hazard, but usually the time before 12 am and after 3 pm is tour boat free. The Yulong River is also good for swimming, offering some quality swimming spots, e.g. near dragon bridge, although some parts of the river are crowded with bamboo rafts.

Yangdi - Xingping

This walk is a far more peaceful way to enjoy the Li river and mountain scenery than a loud noisy boat down the river. It takes you along the pebbly shores of the river, through many small villages, fields and bamboo forests. To do the walk, you must purchase a ticket depending on group size between 120 and 150 ¥; you can bargain a bit. from the ticket office look for the sign in English right near the wharf in Yangdi; this covers the first two of three river crossings, and access beyond a checkpoint about halfway along the walk. If you go early in the morning, the ticket office is not available, and you will have to take a bamboo raft the first part of the journey. Just tell someone you want to go "walking" and they will take you, but be sure to bargain. The first ferry crossing departs near the end of the wharf i.e. downstream, and is a blue boat with a yellow "<--->" sign on the roof. If you get tired during the walk, you can always rent a bamboo raft to float down the river; don't worry about availability - you will be turning down offers of 'Bamboo? Bamboo?' the whole way. Typically this walk is done Yangdi -> Xingping, however vice-versa is possible. There are plenty of people selling food and drinks along the way, ranging from single sellers to sit-down cafes.

Water caves

Make sure which water cave you are visiting since there are at least two of them about 15km south of Yangshuo. The Moon Water Cave is 2km west of GaoTian town, but the ticket office is 2km north-east of GaoTian town, on the road to an other cave called Water Cave. Both above mentioned caves state on fliers that they have hot spring baths but the one in Moon Water Cave appears to be artificially heated ticket price ¥90.

Cooking Classes @ Cloud 9 Restaurant

Run by Linda Liang and William Lu

Run by an Australian living in China. Single and multi-day classes in traditional Chinese cooking. 2 different menus depending on which day you go morning/lunch or afternoon/dinner classes, and typical dishes include beer fish, stuffed pumpkin flowers, egg-wrapped dumplings and stir fried pork with vegetables and oyster sauce. A tour of the local market and hotel pick up is included.

Master Kim is the current president of the Guangxi Chen Style Tai Chi Union and a favorite with long-term foreign tai chi students in Yangshuo. Also teaches Shaolin Kung Fu to a high level. One of the few masters who speaks fluent English

Green Lotus Kung Fu Classes

once off lessons, weekly and monthly rates, plus professional training in various forms of Tai Chi

Sufi "Henry" Huang a deeply knowledgeable master deep into Taoist philosophy and able to teach all forms, from meditative Qi Gong through restorative Yang to the potentially deadly Quan.

Master Fu Neng Bin has won 17 gold medals in Tai Chi Chuan and was national push hands chapmion for five years. He is a 12th generation successor of Chen family Tai Chi Chuan and prefered disciple of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. The school in Yangshuo has a team of English speaking instructors and is the largest and best equipped in Yangshuo.

Budizhen teaches classes in Taichi, Qigong, Kungfu, Taekwondo, and other martial arts.

The People's Park Tai Chi Classes

Blackrock

Claim focus on quality instructions, bilingual guides and safety. Offer other activities such as abseiling, kayaking and ziplining.

Yangshuo has over 300 climbing routes ranging in difficulty from 5.6 to 5.13. There is a lively climbing scene in town, so experienced climbers will have no problem finding a partner, just ask in the climbing places and they should know other climbing travelers you can hook up with. The Climbers Inn is most common place to find beta or partners. For beginners and climbers traveling without their own equipment several climbing companies offer equipment rental, one/multi-day trips and places to hang out chatting about potential routes or to find a partner. The "Yangshuo Climbing Guide", a guidebook showing route topos, grades, etc. can be purchased from any of the climbing companies. Climbing shops in Yangshuo:

Spiderman

They also do multi-day camping, biking tours, rafting, caving, etc for school/family/corporate groups. Stop by after dinner for a slack-lining session.

Study Mandarin or join a two-week Chinese Painting Holiday.

Impression Liu Sanjie

70 minutes long. The show, set to the music from the movie of the same name and produced by the same person that did the Beijing Olympic games opening ceremony, is grand and impressive, but not particularly entertaining. It features a cast of 600+ wearing traditional Zhuang, Miao and Yao dress, and a highly impressive light show. Liu Sanjie translates as Third sister Liu, the heroine of an old Chinese story. You can see the show cheaply from a boat on the river, or even from across the river, but far the best view is from the official seating area. Tickets only sell out in the very height of the summer tourist season. Seats are assigned.