After a cruise along the Li River (on which we were more than disturbed by Chinese brats trying to shoot us with water guns) and a visit to Moon Hill (which was the best sight in the entire area because no tourist was ready to walk over 700 stairs up a mountain), Silver Cave was our next destination (not that we’re fans of caves but it was a rainy day so there wasn’t any other choice).

We could only guess what would expect us there … Anyway, not realizing how far the cave actually was away from the center of Yangshuo, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for 40 Yuan. At first he seemed happy to have customers on this rainy day (even though he didn’t appreciate our bargaining methods) but after about 20 minutes on the road, he didn’t seem all that excited any more … and neither were we because we started freezing our asses off! After another 10 minutes, I feared he would leave us standing on the side of the street. He could only hope for customers at the Silver Cave otherwise this trip wouldn’t be good for business.

After 40 minutes, the tuk-tuk driver turned left and big signs welcomed us … which was not a good sign because that meant Silver Cave was yet just another overrun tourist attraction. Now we had two choices: to run or to get ready for combat. We went for the last one … and after all, the cave itself is pretty impressive: The Silver Cave is the biggest cave in the entire Guilin area. Being of typical Karst landforms, it runs through 12 peaks and collects diverse stalactites that formed in different geologic ages. The main cave stretches for more than 10 km and inside the cave there are two layers, including the land part and the water part that is a crystal-clear subterranean river on which it’s allowed to take a boat trip (no we didn’t do that!).

After about 35 minutes of walking through the cave, I felt the need for fresh oxygen and we quickly made our way to the exit. What awaited us there was a walkway through souvenir shops – no short cut available believe us!

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

Inside Silver Cave in Yangshuo, China.

If you’re planning a trip here, be sure to read the following article because we will only give you authentic and honest feedback on our impression of Yangshuo. Forget Loney Planet on this. We built on the writer’s impressions and fell flat on our face! What’s up Lonely Planet? Where are the honest words we got in previous guides?

Anyway, our insight won’t be embellished but only true and straightforward. I wish I had read an article just as honest before planning this trip because my destination would have definitely altered.

First impressions count.

We arrived in Yangshuo at 1am with the sleeper bus from Guangzhou. The bus ride itself was pretty comfy. If you’re not overweight or claustrophobic, it’s a great way to get a good night sleep and travel at the same time. So arriving in Yangshuo with heavy rain and no lights near the bus station was not good for a nice first impression. Luckily we knew where we wanted to go: Explorer Hotel. I read the Lonely Planet travel guide before and it said, that Explorer Hotel it was a cute & quite mid-range hotel. So we beckoned the local tuk tuk driver over and were on our way. During the 10-minute ride there, we started realizing, that this town was not a sleepy little Chinese village as we expected … Turning into the street of Explorer Hotel, it was one bar to the next with bright neon lights and loud techno music – with binge drinking highly appreciated. Seriously?! The tuk tuk driver also pissed us off when he tried to rip us off but we couldn’t be bothered and gave him the 10 Yuan more. After all, it’s been one hell of a long day and it didn’t seem to get any better.

No fatties allowed in the sleeper bus from Guangzhou to Yangshuo.

After checking in, the reception lady said that our room was on the third floor … and there was no elevator. Great! Two 20kg bags (one in each hand) and up we were … only to realize, that the room was already taken by someone else. Now I started to get a little grumpy. Ulli was a bit calmer since she had been on a four-week trip through Bangladesh and therefore wouldn’t lose her temper easily. “So sorry Missy, please take room in first floor.” So we did. The room was clean with two large beds, A/C and a nice bathroom – at least this worked out, otherwise I would have needed the consultation of a Chinese Psychologist.

It can’t get any worse, can it?

The sky cleared up the next day. It was cloudy but at least the rain stopped. Still a bit edgy from what we saw last night, we wanted to give Yangshuo a second chance. It’s said that everyone deserves a second chance …  yeah … who in the world ever wrote that crap?! It was even worse than the night before. Imagine Rimini in Italy. Phuket in Thailand. Kuta in Indonesia. Or Downtown Siam Reap in Cambodia. Multiply this by 100 and you get Yangshuo in China.

West street in Yangshuo has a scary resemblance to Kao San Road in Bangkok …

I really started wondering on why I wanted to come here so badly and remembered the most amazing BBC Documentary “Wild China” where Guilin and Yangshuo were described as “the most beautiful spots in China”. Yeah sure, if you have the cash to fly in with a helicopter, shoot scenes from above or land in uninhabited placed. But reality looks very (very !) different: Huge highway roads. Tourist vendors along all the streets. Thousand of bamboo raft boats on the Li River. Bars and fast food places. Gigantic hotel building blocks. And of course, thousands of tourists. No sight of traditional China.

Even the fisherman with their cormorant birds were fake. Sure, they exist but they’re just another tourist attraction. These fishermen don’t make their money by selling the daily catch on the local market anymore. Much rather, they wait along the Li River for tourists to pass, who pay them to display their cormorant birds. By the way, the birds also look a bit pissed since no one lets them catch fish anymore…

A fisherman with his Cormorant waiting for customers.

I hope I was able to give you an insight on our impressions. Clearly you need to see a place yourself to fully understand the words but I think we did a good job filling in the blanks. Yangshuo once was a beautiful town worth a UNESCO World Heritage Site but obviously the development of the last 30 years didn’t make the area any better (in our opinion); the view of the karst mountain landscape is interrupted by signs, electric wires, (lots of) plastic rubbish and all sorts of tourist attractions. One thing is for sure … to get the picture perfect shot; you’d have to be a master at Photoshop.

Appearances can be deceiving.

All in all, the first day here had a few down sides but also a very nice up side: Moon Hill was fantastic. This place needs muscle and stamina to access so the crowds up there are thinning. Other than than, we also visited the Silver Cave, which was a nightmare as well before heading up North to the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces – definitely the highlight of our trip!