Yangshuo Sunday April 8

Have finally learnt the secret of how to tell street sellers to go away without causing them loss of face. If you say "NO" or "ONLY LOOKING" or just ignore them, they stick like glue and persist. It becomes quite annoying after a while, although they are always friendly and smiling. The words to say are pronounced "BOO YOW" which translates to "Don't Want". It works every time!!
This morning we travelled in a ferry-like boat along the Li (pronounced LIE) river to Yangshuo, which was our favourite place for scenery. Fifty boats depart every morning for the four-hour journey (some at 9.00 am and some at 9.30 am), each carrying about 100 people. It feels like a pilgrimage with the boats following each other in single file. The river flows through lush green rice paddies, surrounded by magical mountains souring on either side of the water. As we rounded one corner, the view was precisely as per the photograph on a Yuan currency note.
The city of Yangshuo is beautiful, and wherever you look there is a backdrop of the soaring peaks of the limestone mountains shrouded in mist. The hotel gardens were very attractive, with a very pretty lake right outside our hotel window. There is a "market street" running through the town, with friendly shopkeepers selling a wide range of both useful items and tourist trinkets. The streets are cobblestoned, and the general atmosphere relaxed and stress-free.
At night we attended an amazing production close by. A light and sound show, all outdoors on the water, directed by Zhang Yi Mou of "Hidden Dragon, Sleeping Tiger" fame in conjunction with Stephen Spielberg. It is called "Impression San Jie Liu", staged by local villagers and fishermen, with the towering peaks forming a backdrop and from time to time lit by spotlights from the show. It is impossible to explain in writing how brilliant this show was, how wonderfully designed and executed, and how entertaining it was. Hundreds of people were involved in the production, appearing to float on water whilst lit by hand-held flaming torches, and various coloured spotlights. The show has been running for about two years, and is likely to run for a very long time to come because of its popularity with visitors from all over China and other countries of the world.