Things to do in Yángshuò
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Bike Asia
Bike Asia arranges outings from half-day expeditions to three-day adventures. Two- to four-week cycling expeditions are also arranged through China, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Tibet and Nepal. Bike Asia also hires decent and well-maintained mountain bikes.
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Karst Café
Karst Café has one- to 10-day climbing excursions. Climbing in Yángshuò has mushroomed in popularity over the past decade. Autumn is the best season for clambering up the karst towers.
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Peaks & Hills
Yángshuò is surrounded by towering, leafy, limestone peaks. The most accessible is Bìlián Peak, which overlooks Xi Jie(West St)and the Lí River, and can be climbed in about half an hour for some excellent views. Yángshuò Park (阳朔公园; Yángshuò Gōngyuán) is a short walk west of Xi Jie and where you'll find Man Hill (西郎山； Xīláng Shān), which supposedly resembles a young man bowing to a shy young girl represented by Lady Hill (小姑山； Xiǎogū Shān). Dragon Head Hill (龙头山；Lóngtóu Shān) is a short walk north of the town centre.
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Cycling
There's no shortage of places to rent bikes (from Y15 per day), but for the best equipment and strong advice on possible trips, try Bike Asia, above Bar 98. Bikes go for Y50 per day (deposit Y350), including safety helmet and map. English-speaking guides (from Y300) are available.
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Yángshuò Taichi Health Centre
Runs classes for both the Yang and Chen styles of taichi. Cheap accommodation is available for students.
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Former Residence of Xu Beihong
The Former Residence of Xu Beihong is one of Yángshuò's few cultural landmarks. Innovative Chinese artist Xu Beihong (1895-1953) is best remembered for his galloping horses that injected dynamism into previously static forms of Chinese brushwork.
Admirers of Chinese guildhall architecture can glean something from a visit to the Hongfu Palace Hotel and Le Vôtre Café, both of which occupy sections of the former Jiangxi Guildhall (Jiāngxī Huìguǎn), a notable vestige from the Qing dynasty occupying a site along Xi Jie.
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Impressions Liú Sānjiě
The top show in town is directed by moviemaker Zhang Yimou, the man who also directed the opening ceremony at the Běijīng Olympics. Six hundred performers, including local fishermen, take to the Lí River each night. Twelve surrounding karst peaks are illuminated as part of the show, which gets rave reviews from many travellers. Book at your hostel or hotel: hotels often arrange slight discounts.
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Red Star Express
Top pizzas from this eatery newly relocated from its old haunt on Xi Jie. Splash on the Tabasco, line up a Corona or three and sit back to enjoy some wholesome ingredients. For herbivores there's the vegetarian pizza, while the default option for carnivores is most likely the chilli beef pizza. The menu continues on into burger, burrito and sandwich territory. If you need to sleep off your pizza, upstairs doubles (with shower and air-con) are available.
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Owen Language College
With one in two people on earth conversant in either English or Chinese, the time has come to learn Mandarin, so why not do it in Yángshuò? With subsistence costs so low and with all that Yángshuò has to offer, language schools are all the rage. Teaching English is also popular, with schools exchanging free accommodation and meals for a commitment to teach. It's worth considering if you want to stay in Yángshuò for a while.
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Farmers Trading Market
On Pantao Lu through the archway, this place is open all day and late into the evenings. Píjiǔyú (beer fish) is Yángshuò's most famous dish and in fact this may be the best budget place to buy it. Local Li River fish are cooked up with chillies, spring onion, tomato, ginger and beer. You can find all sorts of stuff here, but you may have to put up with the sight of dogs being skinned, so be prepared.
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Spider Man Climbing
Spider Man Climbing offers half-day and whole-day expeditions for beginners. For more experienced climbers, multipitch climbs are also offered , as well as three-day, one week and two-week climbs. Prices all include transport, shoe hire, equipment and guides. Pick up equipment here as well as a copy of Yangshuo Rock Climbing. Ask about climbing in the White Mountain area, Baby Frog area and Copper door area.
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Meiyou Café
With one of the longest lineages in Yángshuò - which says something at the very least - the Meiyou concocts Western traveller fare and a smattering of Chinese dishes, plus a range of coffees (Blue Mountain coffee, Kaihua etc) and not bad breakfasts. The sign outside saying 'Meiyou Pay FEC' ('No FEC') puts its history in context - FEC (Foreign Exchange Certificates) became extinct in the mid-1990s.
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Yangshuo Cooking School
5 days (ex Guilin/Yangshuo)
by Intrepid
Digest with a walk along the scenic Li River, Experience China's fusion of tradition and modernity, Take home a cookbook and plenty of new skills, Shop with loc…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,145 -
Ming Yuan
If the constant bustle of Yángshuò gets too much, creep into this small cafe. The downstairs tables are a bit cramped, but it's still a quiet slice of civilisation and the cream of the crop for coffee, with a rich range of blends including some more obscure offerings. It recently opened a bigger, elegantly decoratedbranch adjacent to River View Hotel.
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MC Blues
Whether it's an early-morning big breakfast or an evening dose of music and chinwagging, this remains one of Yángshuò's most popular. The MC Blues Breakfast is a serious mouthful: two fried eggs, two slices of toast, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, chips, coffee and juice. The long and lengthy cocktail list runs to grasshopper; nights draw garrulous crowds.
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Bilian Peak
Bilian Peak . In located in the southeastern corner of town and is Yángshuò's main peak. Because it has a flat northern face that is supposed to resemble an ancient bronze mirror, it is also called Bronze Mirror Peak (Tóngjìng Fēng). The peak rises up next to the Li River, in the Mountain Water Garden (Shānshuǐ Yuán).
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Le Vôtre
The first French restaurant in town, and still the best. This one shares its historic premises with the Hóngfú Palace Hotel. The interior, flanked by a dazzling array of Christian and Buddhist statues and hung with portraits of Chairman Mao, oozes an eccentric charm. The huge outdoor seating area draws big crowds, as do the fine menu and home-brewed beer (from Y25).
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Green Lotus Café
Its walls covered with the drunken scrawls of travellers, early morning hangovers get soothed back to normality by soft jazz music. For specialist tastes there's a very brief Israeli menu, otherwise it's standard breakfast fare with freshly squeezed orange juice and local specialities such as beer fish.
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Budizhen International Kungfu School
The Budizhen International Kungfu School is a popular martial arts school. Here you can get to grips with its distinctive style of Budizhen (步地真) Gongfu taught by Mr Gao. Training - also in taichi and qìgōng - is seven days a week.
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Vanishing Tribes
Attractive handicrafts from Dong, Miao, Yao and other ethnic groups, including hand-embroidered shoes and bags amid piles of glistening, elaborate silver jewellery. It's not cheap, but push for the wholesale price to get bargaining under way.
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Pure Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
If you've just been taking photos of dogs being skinned in the night market, this is the place to come to repair your damaged karma. Buddhist music creates an enchanting atmosphere in which to delve into Lotus' sumptuous menu. The tomatoes stuffed with tofu, potatoes and mushrooms (Y28) come highly recommended. There's a cute little terrace out back.
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Kaya Bar
Yángshuò had to have a reggae bar, and this is it. Decouple from the village's more hyper drinking holes and decelerate to looped Bob Marley and the occasional reggae party.
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Yángshuò Cooking School
The Yangshuo Cooking School helps you chuck together a tasty Beer Fish and other local specialities from farmhouse surrounds after trips to local markets for ingredients.
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Lizard Lounge
Lizard Lounge is an excellent bar-cum-climbing centre with its own small bouldering wall. Half-day climbs include equipment, transport, food, water and guides.
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Cloud 9 Restaurant
Runs two three-hour cooking courses a day, for around Y150 per person including market tour and lunch. Would-be chefs receive printouts of the recipes they've just messed up.
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