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Peter Vanderlans, 2004

Peter Vanderlans

Cycling in China

Email from the Road

Part 3

Copyright © Peter Vanderlans, 2005.

 


Yangshuo

What has Yangshuo changed in the last few years! I arrived from Li Pu on a new asphalt road. The 40 or so km's I did in less then 2 hours.

After arriving I looked around in the town which centre is almost completely rebuild in typical traditional Chinese style. It's not badly done though the lights at night are a bit too tacky for me. The main tourist street in town is now mentioned by some as a rip-off street. The laowai have to pay minimal 3 times the price of the locals.

But the atmosphere is ok. After some time in the rural areas it was good to be able to speak some English again. Even in Liuzhou there were only a few English-speaking people.

The scenery is still gorgeous though I have found other areas in western Guangxi, which have comparative scenery and fewer rip-offs. Even internet is expensive. The argument is that last year internet cost Y25 so now it's cheaper while you pay now between Y4-6 for an hour while the locals pay Y1 for two hours. That's how you have to make business.

But that's the price tourist pay for being tourist in Yangshuo. Tomorrow I will try to extend my visa for the second time and then I'll find me a way out to Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Which route? I have no idea, yet!

Chinese chess

During my cycling adventures in the last weeks I have seen many people playing Chinese chess. It was interesting to see them acting but I didn't understand how it worked. The Chinese didn't speak enough English to explain and my Chinese was too small for understanding their language.

Fortunately I met Frederick, a Swedish guy I had already met in Kunming, a few weeks ago. He had learned the basic rules and bought a game for Y4, 50 cents. So he taught me what he knew.

The basic idea is that of two countries separated by a river. Some of the pieces can go across the river, others cannot. The main goal is to get the king. It's a bit too complicated to explain the different pieces here in this mail but if someone is interested I can do my best.

So I started to play with my teacher but he soon left to go back to Kunming and then Laos. So I continued playing with the staff.

After a few games some Chinese people joined in as they do on the streets themselves. It was a surprise for them to see a laowai, a foreigner, playing and from all sides they started to give advice. Soon it became of the Chinese in which I only had to move my pieces. And this taught me a lot about the game. It was fun! Great fun! In the end I was the winner and they congratulate me with their own victory! Of course there was an after talk what went wrong and what could have been better played. It was communication without using the same language and still understanding each other.

My goal was also obtained; I had found another form of communication with people who do not understand my language. And all had a great time.

The next step will be to interfere in the games people play in the street. I am not that arrogant to say I can play very well but at least I do understand some of the game and that game is interesting, very interesting. Tonight I'll play more!

Tourism and Yangshuo

There is a lot of tourism in Yangshuo. Since I was in Yangshuo I thought it would be a good idea to check if all this tourism had its reason of existence. At first I walked around in the town centre. West Street is the main street of tourism in Yangshuo. Here one finds the western styled restaurants and tourist shops. The local guides are hanging around here to hunt the foreigners for their small business. Others rent bicycles of surprisingly reasonable quality.

The food in the restaurants is reasonable priced though western styled. However, who wants to taste local food can find enough too. The market has some good (and cheap) local dishes.

But it didn't explain why there were so many tourists in Yangshuo. However, I start looking around and saw even from the West street huge rock formations around. So I took my bike and started to cycle around. Just outside the town, in fact no more then a village that has grown too much, the spectacular scenery could be seen. And almost wherever I looked, the strange limestone rocks where there.

Moonhill, on one the photo's I have send, is there. How it too it's present shape I can not tell but I know the site is spectacular. Camelhill has the shape of a camel and there are others with no name but as spectacular as the mentioned ones.

Originally there were mainly western tourist to find a western haven in the town of Yangshuo. Nowadays the Chinese has found it too. Big tour groups come now to see the scenery and the westerners. For some of them it's an opportunity to eat western dishes, talk to foreigners and buy western CDs which are further on in China not available (with exceptions of course).

So Yangshuo and it's spectacular scenery is not "just" another tourist trick, it is not just one of the places to have been according to guidebooks but a real must have seen place in China. And tourism is of course the price you pay when you visit! In fact, aren't we all tourists? Some of the travelers I talk to don't think so but....

Boats bring hordes from Guilin. There are at least 71 boats, I found a number 71 on one of them so there should be maybe even more. Mostly tour groups come by boat and see the sites from the river, which is another spectacular view. But from the road too it's wonderful. And to have some extra from tourism the smaller villages in the area have their own income. They advertise with "farmers restaurants" which are usually not more then a wooden bench and a table in front of their little shop. Bike repair can be done in the countryside. And some more traditional build places ask money to take photos.

In Yangshuo itself is a bird fisher is walking around and you can shoot him for Y5. Easy money for walking around with two birds on a stick. But whatever one thinks of tourism, the scenery is still spectacular and it's still a good place to have a little holiday in the long journey I have to go!

More on Chinese Chess

The great thing about staying longer in a place is that you got to know people. And, people get to know you. In my case it's even this that some Chinese people stopped me when I walked on the street and ask if I am that laowai who is playing Chinese Chess! And when I am in the 7th Heaven Cafe (yes Tom, that same one!), sometimes Chinese look in surprise and come and help me out with advice since I am only a beginner. It's great fun to have some knowledge of this game and gives me another form of communication with the local people. And the Chinese know all how to play. Yesterday a little guy advised me some moves. He was no more then 13 years old.

Talk about fun, cycling in the area is another form of having fun. Especially when a local comes. William, Tom and me went out to cycle around but after a few km's William (who's a Chinese local guy) said if he had known the difficulties on this dirt path he had not come. For him it was the first and last time though he too had a great time in cycling and spoiling some sweat! He showed us some great bike trails. And the scenery my friends, the scenery is absolute gorgeous. Although I have been on some of the roads in the area a couple of times now I am still looking at it as if it's my first time. Look with the eyes of a child, and here in the Yangshuo area it's easy. So yes, I am still here and I will be for another few days! But then work comes and the ride to Guangzhou won't be too amusing. Especially riding around in the big city isn't a thing I am looking forward at. And from Guangzhou to Hong Kong is one big urban jungle. We'll see what happens.

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Peter and Tom

Golden rules

These rules I got from my sister. It means I don't have to write another part of Chinese rules because they exactly explain how China to foreigners sometimes work! Have fun!

The Golden Rules of China

1. Everything is possible

2. Nothing is easy

3. Western business logic does not apply. "this is China"

4. It is a fun project if there is no deadline

5. You must persist - things will come your way eventually

6. Patience is the essence of success

7. "You don't know China" means they disagree

8. " New Regulation" means they have found a new way to avoid doing something

9. "Internal Regulation" means they are mad at you

10. " Basically, no problem", or "no big problem" means "big trouble is on the way"

11. " We'll look into it" means "Forget about your inquiry"

12. You must understand and utilize the concept of "back door" or "guan xi". If you don't understand refer to rule number 2. If you do, refer to number 1

13. When you are optimistic, think about rule number 2

14. When you are discouraged, think about number 1

15. Be aware that imported bottled water costs more than alcohol in China

Next: Part 4


Peter Vanderlans - Cycling in China: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 |


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