Lijiang River (or Li River) originates from the Mao'er Mountain (Cat Mountain) in Xing'an County in the north of Guilin. It flows 437 km down passing through Guilin, Yangshuo, Pingle and Wuzhou into the West River.
The cruise I was on covers only 83km, which was the middle part of the river starting from Mo Pang Pier (which is 23 km from Guilin) to Yangshuo. However, this is the section of the river that had fascinated travelers and people from all over the world for centuries!
It had inspired poets and artists since ancient times. In fact, a great poet from the Tang Dynasty called Han Yu had likened the river to a blue silk ribbon winding among green jade hairpins! What a description!
If you remember The Elephant Trunk Hill in one of my previous posts, you may be wondering what is so great about the Li River. The scenes along the river there was nothing to shout about, right? Well, that's because The Elephant Trunk Hill was located at a slightly upper part of the Li River. Aha! But things are different when you travel further down the river. Only then, will you see the Li River reveals its beauty in its full magnificence!
During my cruise, I could see limestone hills literally lining up along both sides of the Li River.
I am not even sure if my photos can do justice to the beautiful scenery there! I guess to fully appreciate what Li River has to offer, you just got to be there and see it for yourselves!
Did you know that this Li River cruise has been compared to the famous cruises in Milford Sound, New Zealand and Halong Bay, Vietnam? In fact, some people said that it is on par with Milford Sound and better than Halong Bay!
Since I have not been to these two places, I would not be able to judge. Anyone of you been there?
It was a hot and sunny day during our cruise. I do not know if this was the perfect weather to enjoy the scenery, but from where I stood, it all looked like a bright landscape painting with clear water reflecting the green hills.
I would love to go for a second round during rainy days. It was said that during rainy or foggy days, the hills and mountains would be shrouded in mist and would appear mysterious and magical. The mists would hide the peaks and then expose them in moments of surprise!
During our 4-hour journey, there were always something interesting to see at almost every bend of the river. If the sight of those elegant hills and grotesque peaks did not already make my jaw drop in awe, there were graceful bamboo groves and waterfalls and even water buffaloes to feast our eyes on!
Now is that a lighthouse I just saw?
I guess not. Why would you need a lighthouse beside the river?
Oh! And what were these two kayakers doing in the middle of the river?
Looks like they were trying to approach our boat!
Oops! I did not capture any shots of how they managed to get to the side of our boat, but they did, and it was done rather skillfully. So what were they up to? Well, they were trying to sell fruits to passengers on board!
Of course, they could only sell to those at the lower deck. I did not bother to go to the lower deck to buy any!
Look! Here's another two fruit sellers attempting to get near to our boat. How did they do that? I don't remember our boat slowing down for them!
If you were to go on this cruise, there is one thing you must not miss! At the very beginning of the cruise, we were already being told not to miss out on this very important landmark.
So, when it was announced over the speaker that we were approaching it, everyone ran out to the open deck to catch a glimpse of this "thing".
Luckily, I was already standing rooted to my spot, so that no one could be in front of me when I took photos of that landmark!
Now do you see it? That towering hill in front?
As we approached it, there were murmurs all around. One person exclaimed, "I see three!". Another said, "Wait! I think I see four!". Still another shouted, "Hey! Do you see one over there? I think I can see five!"
What did they see? Horses, of course!
This hill is known as the Nine Painted Horses Hill or Jiu Ma Hua Shan in Chinese.
I'm not sure if I captured it at the correct angle, but how many horses can you see? It seemed that the number of horses you can see on that hill really depends on your own imagination.
Some of the horses were running, some were playing and some were simply lying there. These horses had been there for centuries and had attracted lots of attention from poets, scholars and tourists!
And according to legend, if you can see nine horses there, you are destined for great things!
Unfortunately for me, I only managed to see 4 horses and I think I can actually spot a bull! Does that count? Haha! So I guess I won't be a tycoon, a famous movie star or the next Prime Minister!
Did I mention in my last post that every unique formation of the hills along Li River has a name to it?
Both me and Jam tried to locate them but I think we were not very successful. Well, maybe he did locate some and did not tell me about it! Actually, we were informed of these unique structures via the boat's speakers, but as they were spoken in Mandarin, I did not catch most of the names.
In any case, we were told to look out for the spectacular view that was featured in the 20 yuan bill.
I think this was the closest I could capture that resembles that landmark.
I hope Jam managed to capture a better photo that reflect that 20 yuan bill!
But I really like these hills formation. Beautiful!
Now is this the River Snail Hill they mentioned? I'm not too sure!
Or maybe that hill jutting out on the right side is the snail hill?
Whatever, I just love the view of this beautiful hill up close!
If I'm not mistaken, this must be the Five Fingers Hill!
Wait! I think I can see more than five fingers! Can you see the five fingers? Identifying the thumb or the little finger can be a little tricky, though!
Here's a nearer view of the Five Fingers Hill. Lovely view, don't you agree?
There were lots more like Yearning For Husband Rock, A Child Worships Guanyin Rock, Apple Hill, Pen Holder Hill and Writing Brush Peak but I guess I missed them all!
I am not sure if they have a name for this one, but it sure looks funny right, with that two peaks?
Maybe we should give a name for it. What name do you suggest?
I believe if the the cruise was during the evening or during sunset, I would be getting an entirely different mood and scenery.
Maybe if I were to go on the cruise during spring or autumn, it would look totally different!
Look at those people on top of the boat!
That's how crowded it was! Most of the passengers went up to the top deck to catch the beautiful scenery.
And can you see the kitchen at the back? Cooks busy preparing food for our lunch?
We had set lunch but I did not even bother to take pictures of them as they were, in my opinion, quite lousy. I even had my one and only egg stolen from my plate just because I came in late!
Well, I was busy taking photos of the scenery outside. With the kind of scenery like this photo below, who cares about lunch right?
Of course I knew who took my egg! There was a Chinese couple sitting at the same table as us and they brought along their two little daughters. Now I did not know how they could bring in both daughters as there were not enough seats for them! I doubt they bought a ticket for each of them! And I noticed both their daughters have one egg each. And both parents also had an egg each!
Well, I guess that's how things work in China!
But you know, I was not really bothered about the missing egg. The beautiful and stunning scenery more than made up for it. I was really grateful to be able to go on this cruise!
After 4 hours cruising along the amazing Li River, we finally reached Yangshuo.
I was looking forward to visiting the famous tourist spots in Yangshuo. And that will be in my next post, so stay tuned!
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