A bicycle called Alice

A bicycle called Alice
by Joanne Lane
997 words

We blew up a rock to reach Yangshou. This is certainly not the usual method of arrival to this picturesque village on the Li River in China's southern province Guangxhi, but it was necessary.

Two huge, nasty, many-tonned boulders blocked the road and our bus journey. After futile attempts with a hammer, someone produced a jack hammer and within an hour a fuse was laid, we evacuated and BOOM! the rock was blown into pieces.

Fortunately our guanxi (Chinese term similar to karma) was in order, as we didn't bring down more of the hillside in the attempt. That hadn't seemed to cross anyone's mind anyway. It still took several hours to clear the smaller debris but the wait was worth it.

Yangshou merits the effort, even 12 hours later than planned. It's famous for its karst mountains, limestone peaks reminiscent of New Zealand's Milford Sound. These peaks are not very high but they rise in a dramatic vertical fashion from a flat land base. This makes them perfect to navigate by foot or by bicycle.

There's nothing more do-it-like-the-locals than cycling through China so on a wet morning I rented a bike, named Alice, and set off to explore.

Alice had one gear and a basket but she was sturdy and the pedalling was easy on well paved roads. The signs were also provided in English - a remarkable feat for some parts of China.

The landscape was stunning, iridescent green fields, small towns hiding amongst the paddies, men ploughing with buffaloes, women sewing rice seeds, fishermen boating the rivers and above them the mountain peaks swathed in mists. It's a complete picture of tranquillity.

The Chinese consider this area amongst their most beautiful and as a result it features on their 20 Yuan notes.

At the Gongnong Bridge over the Yulong river I turned onto a dirt path and made my way up to Fulong. The scenes became more rural and Alice and I meandered through the occasional quaint village with tiled roofs, cobblestone paths, clucking chickens and children playing.

"Hello bamboo!" the locals called as I passed. Unfortunately I soon realised they were not adopting me or offering food, but selling raft rides down the river. Appealing as it was I stayed faithful to Alice and we sped on.

The map became increasingly vague the further I went so I stopped to ask directions from old toothless grandmothers in the villages or bronzed and worn farmers in the fields. If my attempts failed to produce the correct pronunciation of Baisha, Fuli or Wulidian I would point to the Chinese characters written on the map.

Meandering like this Alice and I found our way to the Fuli Bridge crossing of the Yulong. As if on queue it began to rain. Some friendly locals invited me to join them under shelter. They were dubious about a pencilled line on my map to the famed Moon Hill and indicated I should return the way I came. However one lady insisted I continue, so when the rain eased I attempted the path.

At first it was just annoying bumpy cobblestones with goats, chickens and gaping children. But eventually it became little more than ankle deep mud skirting even wetter paddy fields.

After 30 minutes of slipping and sliding I concluded there was a reason few attempted this path and turned back. The lady smiled when I pointed at my muddy shoes. Mud was obviously no set back to the locals.

Alice and I eventually made it to Moon Hill - an odd geographical formation that has created a large moon shaped hole in one of the karst mountains. It costs 10 Yuan to climb, and as a free extra an old woman will accompany you in hope of selling refreshments to you by the time you reach the top.

The views of the surrounding countryside and 100s of peaks are worth the effort. From the summit I could see the route I had followed by the river. Actually 16 rivers cut through the region and there are more than 20,000 peaks.

I finally abandoned Alice to her true owner in the late afternoon and headed to Xianping where a little man took us up the Li river to see the sunset. The karst formations here were even more splendid with equally descriptive names and formations - a thumb, a face and a tortoise climbing a mountain. As a final treat he showed us the actual scene captured on the back of the 20 Yuan note.

OTHER THINGS TO DO
The Moon Water Cave is 3km from Moon Hill and an amazing underground system of waterways, mud baths and rock formations. Tours are a minimum of 1.5 hours and cost about 60 Yuan (AUD $10). They also offer 3 hour and full day tours. The Big Banyan tree is another popular attraction. The tree is 17m high, more than 1500 years old and covers an area of 1000 square metres. To rent a bike like Alice costs from 5 Yuan per day. Look out for mountain bikes and tandems on streets near the bus station. A Li River cruise is another memorable experience and you can boat the river from Guilin all the way to Yangshuo.

WHERE TO STAY
Most budget options are around the bus station. Try the HI youth hostel on West Street or budget hotels on Pantao Road like Faulty Towers (tel. 882 2347) and West Inn Hotel. Dorms cost 15 Yuan and private rooms 40 Yuan. The Yangshou Mountain Retreat (www.yangshuomountainretreat.com) near Moon Hill costs 200 Yuan per room for a river side location.

GETTING THERE AND AWAY
Yangshou (Guangxi) is a 1.5 hour bus ride from the capital Guilin. Guilin is accessible by train, bus or air. Travellers from international destinations may consider a cheap flight to Hong Kong and transit to Shenzhen on the mainland via ferry for cheaper domestic flights with Air China.