Day 3: Circuit around Guilin

Sunday, 13 October 2013

Day 3: Circuit around Guilin

Day 3: 35 Kms. We had breakfast in Yangshuo, and then took the local bus to Guilin. We found our hotel, left our bags, and headed out for a cycling tour of the city. Guilin is a large bustling city so very different from the small picture perfect town of Yangshuo. It was interesting to explore different parts where there were parks, pergodas temples, hills, and of course the Li river. Our hotel was on the main thoroughfare (Zhongshan South Road) and we headed north, past the Railway Station, until we crossed a smaller river then turned right along the South Ring Road (not a big road), around to the main river. We visited the Riyue Shaungta Park but were turned away as there was no cycling allowed. Then we went past the entrance to Diecai Mountain, and then the Jingjiang Palace which was the official residence of Prince Jingjiang in the Ming Dynasty from 1368-1644, and houses the tombs of 11 kings. We did think about a visit, and with hindsight it would have been good, but we were keen to carry on with the cycling (as always). We then headed out of the city centre out to the Ludi Caves. We finished with a trip along both banks of the Li River.

GPS not quite working accurately - shift the route to the right so it follows the river

Last Breakfast in Yangshuo - A fritter and tasty sauces rolled up in a pancake - delicious!

Bus to Guilin - No standing it seems - but the bus conductor gave these passengers
a small stool each to sit on

The Pergodas in Riyue Shaungta Park - no cycling here; The guidebook says: The octagonal, seven storey Moon Pagoda is connected by an underwater tunnel to the 40 metres high Sun Pagoda, the world's tallest copper pagoda and one of the few pagodas anywhere in the world with a lift.

Sherman finds more new young admirers

These tasted like grapefruit but had a hard skin

Our taxi driver to dinner on an electric motorbike trishaw - if you know what I mean!

Sherman negotiates the food, as usual - we ate well. All we needed was a fishing rod (or the nice man to pick out our fish for supper);

Ah, here he is!

Buns (steamed and deep fried) with carnation milk - sweet and tasty;

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What are Karsts?

With over 70,000 karst peaks, Yangshuo is a paradise for climbers, and provides a stunning and distinctive backdrop to the area. Here is some more information on the formation of the karsts.

Karst topography is a three-dimensional landscape shaped by the dissolution of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainage, and in some examples there may be little or no surface drainage. The karstification of a landscape may result in a variety of large or small scale features both on the surface and beneath the ground. Mature karst landscapes, where more bedrock has been removed than remains, may result in karst towers or haystack/eggbox landscapes. Beneath the surface, complex underground drainage systems and extensive caves and cavern systems may form. A karst river may disappear underground a number of times and spring up again in different places, usually bearing a different name.

Yangshuo karst formation:
The entire region is surrounded by mountains, while the central part is covered with hills and plains. The karst geomorphy around Yangshuo is an area of irregular limestone formations in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns. This is wide-spread in the region, creating numerous natural scenic spots.

Two crustal movements of the earth took place about 200 and 180 million years ago, thrusting the limestone sediments out of the sea from its seabed, more than 200 meters below the surface to form a large expanse of land. The karst formation became the hills and rocks with the unusual shapes through many years of erosion by the wind and rain. There are many complete karsts, which are of high scientific and tourist value.

Karst caves and stone forests are a key feature of the natural environment of Yangshuo, and being located within the subtropical/monsoon zone, has a warm and moist climate.