Yangshuo is the place where travellers have been stopping for thirty years to sit and look at hills, and nothing has quite replaced the pleasure of it. But the hills are the point, and they are close enough to touch.
The best way to see them is slowly. The Yulong River, a quiet tributary, flows through the countryside south of town, and bamboo rafts drift down it through a landscape of rice fields, water buffalo and tall limestone peaks, with old stone bridges and small villages at the bends. Bicycles are the usual means of getting around, and a day on the back lanes, stopping for tea and a bowl of noodles, is as good as any ride. A few kilometres on, Moon Hill, a peak with a huge round hole through its summit, makes a good climb for views across the plain.
This is the heart of the South China Karst, a UNESCO site that spans several provinces and includes some of the most spectacular limestone scenery on Earth. The area is rich in nature: caves, underground rivers, and forests that hold rare plants and birds. In the evening, the peaks turn dark against an orange sky, and the sound of frogs rises from the paddy fields.
Roads in the area are often narrow, crowded with scooters, electric bikes and tour vehicles, and in some places the traffic is thick, particularly during Chinese holidays, when the tourist crowds can be enormous. Visitors who want to ride in China must check the rules on licences and registration, which are strict. Fuel is easy in Yangshuo, and the food is excellent and cheap, with beer fish, rice noodles and fresh river snails. Avoid the national holidays in early October and the Lunar New Year if you can, and go in spring or late autumn for the best light and the fewest people.