In addition to Guilin's world-class scenery, Guangxi's Lijiang Tour from Guilin to Yangshuo is also one of the most fascinating tourist options. I remember that on the afternoon of October 1, 2012, it was the free activity time of the "National Bikers Gathering in Green Town-Self-Driving to Support the Thousand Miles" team that cheered for the "2010 China-ASEAN International Rally and China-ASEAN Media Rally" in Guilin. The reporter and several bikers made an appointment to visit the Lijiang River.

Scenery of the Li River (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Reporters have come to Guilin to visit the Li River, but most of the traditional classic tourism methods, especially tourists from home and abroad, come to visit the Li River from Mopanshan Wharf. Because this is an excellent "Li River Essence Tour" route. The Li River, which has a waterway of more than 50 kilometers from Mopan Mountain to Yangshuo, is like a green belt of green silk, winding among thousands of peaks. The strange peaks sandwich the banks, and the blue water lingers. The walls are cut down and the river is suspended. The green mountains are floating in the water. The scenery is beautiful, like a Belle picture.

Fishing boat sunset (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

However, since this route departed in the morning and lasted for more than four hours, there was a conflict with the team's itinerary in Guilin. Therefore, the riders could only choose a more ideal route with a shorter journey within a limited time. I learned that there is such a short and elite Lijiang tour route in Xingping.

Xanadu Wharf (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

On the afternoon of October 1, the reporters and his party drove to Xingping. On the way, they suddenly discovered a national four-A scenic spot called "Xanadu". So everyone decided to go to explore the retreat. Who can imagine the emotion after the trip to Xanadu? It is not just the meaning of "exploring the retreat", but to be precise, it should be more appropriate to "sigh the retreat".

2.5 Kilometers of waterway (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Liu Haifang, then manager of Yangshuo Landscape Tourism Yangshuo Xanadu Scenic Area in Guilin, told reporters: Xanadu Scenic Area was built in 1997. It is based on the artistic conception depicted in "The Peach Blossom Garden" written by Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty, and combined with the local pastoral landscape scenery. The first batch of national AAAA scenic spots developed and constructed. Because it is located on the golden route from Guilin to Yangshuo, it has attracted many tourists from home and abroad in recent years.

Remembering with the tour guide (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Walking into the paradise, what strikes the eyes of tourists is a painting of Tao Yuanming's "Peach Blossom Land" written on a similar shadow wall archway. Bypass the archway and walk straight into the scenic area, you will see a group of water-turning-tube trucks and promenade landscapes. Walking in along the corridor, a little girl named Yi Jiahui, who acted as our guide, began to tell us vividly.

The winding waterway leads to the secluded scenery (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

"Xanadu" in the East is synonymous with the ideal realm of human life, equivalent to the Western paradise or paradise. For thousands of years, perfectionists have all worked hard to pursue and deliberately create the "paradise" of their imagination. In the Guilin Landscape Kingdom, there is a "paradise" like ours in the place closest to the city.

Waterside scenery (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Following Xiaoyi's guidance, we walked through the corridor, and a melodious melody flew into our ears. It turned out that at the corner in front of the corridor, several young Zhuang men and women dressed in national costumes were playing a beautiful national music. Then, we walked to the dock and took a small boat to start rafting on the 2.5-kilometer-long waterway of the paradise.

Mountains, rivers and pastoral scenery (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

There is a written record: Xanadu is like a simple village girl standing quietly on the edge of the city. She is neither ostentatious nor artificial. She is natural and full of true interest. If it is the season of "the apricot blossoms rain when you are soaked in clothes, and the willow breeze blows against your face", if you step into the "paradise", you will see a beautiful landscape and pastoral scenery.

Dong Family Wind and Rain Bridge (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The rippling Swallow Lake in the paradise is inlaid in the green fields, like a girl's bright eyes full of emotion. Willows weeping on the bank of the lake gently brush the water. Looking around in the lake by taking a small boat, you can see green mountains in the distance, smoky village trees, crisscrossed paths, and scattered houses. It is like Tao Yuanming's painting scene of "fragrant grass is delicious and fallen trees are colorful" and "there are fertile fields and beautiful ponds, mulberry and bamboo."

Walking through the wind and rain bridge (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

At this time, I was swinging in Swallow Lake, and it felt like a fairy. When the small boat cuts the waves and slides leisurely on the green silk lake, the hearts of tourists will be as comfortable and happy as a bird that "has been in a cage for a long time and has returned to nature." The sky is wide and the clouds are near, the banks are broad and the waves are flat, and the fresh and broad embrace of nature will make people feel completely clean and vulgar thoughts disappear. Suddenly, a clear song floated over. It turned out that it was the girl on the singing and dancing upstairs on the shore. They dressed in bright national costumes and welcomed guests from afar with songs and dances full of strong ethnic customs.

A cruise ship drills Yanzi Cave (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Turning around Getai, the small boat sailed into the narrow and long waterway. I really couldn't see how winding the back of Swallow Lake would turn so slowly, with winding paths leading to the secluded scenery. The pastoral mountains and rivers and the road and bridge cottages are seamlessly and naturally integrated, absorbing the beauty of heaven and earth. The channel is getting narrower and narrower. After the small boat passed through the Swallow Cave, which had no lights and was like sailing at night, and the small pass that was "narrow at the beginning before it could pass through people", it seemed that "the mountains and heavy waters were restored and there was no way out." I didn't want my eyes to suddenly become bright, and I had arrived at Peach Blossom Island with dark willows and bright flowers. The island is not big and surrounded by water on all sides, but it is lush with lush vegetation, mixed trees and flowers, and red peaches are smiling warmly. It is a poetic beauty of "the flowers on the river are as red as fire at sunrise, and the river is as green as blue in spring."

Field scenery (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

After passing Peach Blossom Island, Xiaoyi reminded everyone that they were about to arrive at the primitive tribe. Everyone should be mentally prepared and not be intimidated by the benevolent enthusiasm of the indigenous people. As soon as I finished speaking, a "strange cry" suddenly came from the grass on the bank. It turned out that it was a boorish man dressed in grass clothes who greeted us.

Indigenous tribes (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Then, the siren sounded long and the drums were beat. It turned out that the indigenous ancestors of the primitive tribe discovered foreign strangers and rushed down the hillside with spears and fishing forks in their hands, dancing a cheerful national dance. These indigenous ancestors were all covered with bark and feather leaves. They were fierce and strong, with dark skin. At a glance, you can see that they were tribes with extremely tenacious vitality. Through them, you can imagine how intelligent and tenacious the ancestors of the Chinese nation were.

Zhuang girl weaving (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Crossing the waters of the primitive tribes, the boat slowly sailed back along the scattered villages. This is a real countryside, with blue tiles and mud walls, bamboo hedges and vegetable beds, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be clearly heard. From time to time, village women in twos and threes can be seen washing clothes by the river, their clubs beating the ancient rhythm on the bluestone boards. Farmers carrying buckets walked through the fields barefoot, naughty children played in the empty flat in front of the house, and old fishing men, holding a pipe in their mouths, sat leisurely on a bamboo raft, drifting with the wind in the shadows. From a primitive tribe to the village in front of you, history spans hundreds of thousands of years. It really makes people feel doubtful and confused.

Tao Yuanming Villa (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

After landing ashore, you come to Dong Village in the water town. The enthusiastic girl will first offer a few cups of rice wine to guests in the distance before allowing you to enter the villa. In the stockade, tourists can one after another see the performances of Zhuang youth singing and dancing in peace, and the scenes of life of girls and aunts weaving and spinning. Walking out of the stockade and crossing the wind and rain bridge, you can also listen to folk songs at the Hydrangea Tower, pick up hydrangea thrown by Zhuang girls, inspect folk customs in the Folk Grand View Garden, visit totem and other unique style buildings, and watch and buy handmade fabrics made by ethnic minority women. After coming out of the stockade, we came to Tao Yuanming Villa.

Xingping Tour of the Lijiang River (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Tao Yuanming Villa is another beautiful scene that is mainly composed of residential buildings in northern Guangxi and mainly introduces Tao Yuanming's life and poems. Here, people can appreciate the garden attractions with local characteristics. The pavilions and towers are connected and hidden among the green trees and flowers; flowing water and lotus flowers complement each other, and the blue waves of fish rippling under the strange rocks of Qingqiao.

A leaf partial boat (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The village combines the essence of the beauty, nature, wealth and elegance of Chinese gardens with green bamboos and green tiles, laminated eaves, and the simple and natural architectural style of northern Guangxi. In addition, Tao Yuanming's plain and natural pastoral poems are dotted in it, showing its unique charm. A trip to paradise can deeply appreciate the poetic environment it has built. It is not only filled with the fun of natural mountains and rivers, but also perfectly integrates the essence of traditional Chinese elegant culture and northern Guangxi folk customs. The "sigh of tranquility" in the paradise is really worthwhile.

Reporter You Lijiang (Photo: British co-opted)

After coming out of Xanadu and continuing to drive southeast, we arrived at the pier of Xingping Lijiang River after more than half an hour. Boarding a cruise ship from here, reporters and motorists enjoyed the natural beauty of the Li River. The beauty of the scenery of the Li River not only fully demonstrates the characteristics of "green mountains, beautiful waters, strange caves, and beautiful stones", but also has the beautiful scenery of "deep ponds, dangerous shoals, flowing springs, and flying waterfalls".

Sunset on the Lijiang River (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The lawn area has strange water-winding peaks and green lotus peaks. Jiangzuo Guanyan is named because the mountain peak resembles an ancient purple gold crown and enjoys the reputation of "the Pearl of the Li River". Crossing Xiushan Mountain, Banduan Road,"Taoyuan Appreciating the Moon","Stone Man Push Mill", Bamboo Shoots Mountain and other scenery, we welcome the five beautiful scenery of the Li River: Yangdi Flying Waterfall, Waves and Rock Rain, Jiuma Painting Mountain, Yellow Cloth Reflection, and Xingping Beautiful scenery.

Scenery of the Li River (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

The most famous mountain on the Lijiang River is Huashan, and the most beautiful scenery is the reflection of yellow cloth. The height of the painting is 416 meters high, and the cliff color bands with different colors and shades are mainly formed on the riverside cliffs due to the death and calcification of lower organisms such as algae. It is these biological pigments and the natural colors of the individual minerals contained in the rocks that paint the nine horses painted mountains with different postures and world-famous natural cliff paintings of the Lijiang River, such as "carp hanging on the wall","embroidered mountain painting", and "Zhang Guo rode a thousand-mile horse". Under the blue sky and white clouds, the mountains look like jade bamboo shoots and jade hairpins, and the peaks look like green buns and Luo Dai. The reflection near the Huangbu Beach embodies the artistic conception of "clearly seeing the top of the green mountains, and the boat is climbing on the top of the green mountains."

20 yuan Lijiang River pattern landscape (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Of course, some of the landscapes mentioned above can only be enjoyed while touring the river from Mopanshan Wharf, while you can also enjoy many scenery of the Li River from Xingping River. The most fascinating one is the pattern in the RMB 20. The on-site landscape is in the Xingping River Tour.

Reporters came to Yangshuo for the first time (Photo: Huang Zhiguo)

When I arrived at this scenic spot, the reporter suddenly remembered that I should take out a 20-yuan bill. When the riders saw it, they immediately snatched the money from me and took a group photo with the real landscape of the Li River. At that moment, people were immersed in incomparable comfort and enjoyed the incomparable fun and enjoyment that nature brought to people.

West Street in Yangshuo at night (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

If you didn't come to Guilin, you wouldn't come to Yangshuo, so although it was dusk after finishing the river tour in Xingping, you still drove to the brightly lit Yangshuo Town in the night. Five years ago, the reporter came here after touring the Lijiang River. I didn't expect Yangshuo to have changed so much after a few years? The scenes in my memory seemed to no longer exist. It was not until I saw the old sign of the original "West Street" that had been extended into the street that I vaguely recalled some scenes on West Street at that time.

Special police soldiers patrol (Photo: Feng Ganyong)

Yangshuo, which is on the National Day, is filled with a sea of joy, peace and warmth. There are people everywhere, especially on the West Street, where there are so many people that it is almost impossible to squeeze in. However, the joy of sighing in the paradise and traveling on the Xingping Li River are still not enough. Therefore, the motorists are not influenced by the noisy atmosphere of the West Street at night. They happily wander and shuttle through this famous "Foreign Street". Above, they truly appreciate the happy night of celebrating the National Day in a foreign country. (Photo and text: Feng Ganyong)