MAY TRAVELS - YANGSHOU & LIJIANG

I PLAN TO BE IN SOUTH WEST CHINA AT END OF APRIL / BEGINNING OF MAY AND PLAN TO GO TO GUANGXI AND/OR YUNNAN VIA HONGKONG. I HAVE TWO WEEKS OFF FROM WORK (AND THE BEGINNING OF MAY IS THE ONLY TIME I CAN GO).

A) AS I WILL BE THERE DURING THE WEEK LONG MAY DAY HOLIDAY, WILL YANGSHOU / LIJIANG / DALI ALL BE A NIGHTMARE AND OVERWHELMED WITH CHINESE TOURISTS. I WAS HOPING YANGSHOU AND THER SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE WOULD BE QUIETER?

B) IF I HAVE TO CHOOSE WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YANGSHOU OR LIJIANG / DALI?

C) ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS - FOR EXAMPLE, CAN YOU RECOMMEND OTHER WORTHWHILE PLACES TO VISIT IF I HAVE A WEEK IN AND AROUND YANGSHOU, SUCH AS DO YOU RECOMMEND THE RIVER TRIP FROM GUILIN TO YANGSHOU AND A VISIT TO LONGSHENG / GRAGON'S BACKBONE?

MANY THANKS.

MAYBE.

Hi there!!
A.I was in Lijiang in October 2 years ago and it although it was crammed with tourists,it was still nice.I didn't see alot of weterners though,mostly Chi nese tourists.Yangsuo on the other hand is full of tourists year round!
B.IMO,definitely Lijiang!
C.I went to Ping An and it was a dream!It was still relatively untouched and waking up in the morning with the mist surrounding the rice terraces is a wonderful sight.Cycling to the nearby villages in Yangshuo is also nice but seems everybody's doing that these days!

A) Yes, will be crowded both places
B) Depends on your interests and what you'd like to do with yourself...you can bike, for example, in both places, but the scenery's obviously different.
C) To my recollection, of all the folks on this forum who have made the trip, no one has ever said "the Dragon's Backbone terraces really suck" ...so that says something I suppose.

D) Turn off your Caps Lock.

Please for god's sakes, TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK! It's the Internet equivalent of yelling at someone and I don't think people would be inclined to help if you're demanding instead of requesting them to.
A) Yes.
B) As you might guess, neither; but since those are the only choices, then Yangshuo.
C) No to the Guilin -- Yangshuo Li River cruise.
Cheers!

I'm sorry, I scrambled my answer. It should read:
The Dragon's Backbone rice terraces offer fantastic views and good walking. We stayed in a village called Longji. Recommended.
The Yangshou area, with hiking and rafting are well worth a visit. If you have seen 'The Painted Veil', you will get an idea of the karst scenery. Very imrpressive. There are numerous Hotels. We stayed in 'Fawlty Towers' ,opposite the bus station- the name proved irrisistible. It was OK.
Thumbs down to Guilin.
Dali and Lijiang also offer walking and cycling opportunities, and are good places to go.
In the May holiday, everywhere will be crowded. It's really 6 of 1 and half a dozen of the other which destination you choose. Since making transport bookings can be a real problem, this may be your criteria of where to go.

"SUCH AS DO YOU RECOMMEND THE RIVER TRIP FROM GUILIN TO YANGSHOU"

No, take a cruise at Xingping, halfway between Guilin and Yangshuo. This is the best part of the river, and the rest is a waste of time, not to mention the boats from Guilin are shite.

Many thanks everyone (sorry, but have been away offline for past week and a half) particularly for the informamtion on Ping An.

A) B) C)

Yangshuo is not nightmare during that first week of May, but tries hard to be one. The price of accommodation goes up astronomically. Book ahead with Alf (Yangers, and he will sort a reasonable price for you. Also remember that this is thieving season.

The countryside is still spectacular, and perhaps a stay at the li River retreat or the Outside Inn would be the go.

Forget the river cruise it is way overpriced. better off doing what #6 says.

I visited all of these places a few years back, like you on a holiday from work (two and a half weeks).

Lijiang can get very busy with Chinese tourists (there are music bars in the old town catering to them in their masses). Having said thta, i did enjoy going there. I borrowed a bicycle and visited nearby villages and went on the Tiger Leaping Gorge (worth doing - it is very easy and you stay a night en-route).

I also enjoyed Yangshou and hired a bicycle and cycled for miles around. It is very beautiful. It is touristy, but you can get away from it all. Do not stay in Guilin, as this will be heaving with tourists and is less rural. I stayed at the "Yangshou Mountain Retreat". The accommodation is fairly rustic, but it is in a beautiful location slightly out of the town (within cycling distance). It is very popular. My only advice is not to book taxis through them, as they are a rip off (I took a taxi to the rice fields at Longsheng, etc from there and the taxis in town were very cheap, whereas those from the hotel were ridiculous, which is sad, as the hotel is great). There is a great long day's walk down the river and the hotel can pick you up at the other end.

Longsheng, etc is wonderful and you should stay there. Stay at the last village at the end of road (it is now a fairly big road). It did not take too long to drive there from Yangshou (3 - 4hours, perhaps, I cannot remember exactly).

I would personally choose Yangshou / Longsheng over Lijiang / Dali. The scenary is better. Also Lijiang and Dali will not be widly different.

Enjoy your travels.