10th February, 2001.
Li River To Yangshuo. Crowds Of Tourists. Flight Of Steps To Pagoda. Concrete Table And Seats. Chinese Characters On Marble Tablets.
August, 1987.
The journey on the Li River to Yangshuo had been a wonderful experience, and from the Li River we had enjoyed a different view of the karst mountains. In Yangshuo flights of steps led to different levels of the town, from where there were superb views. One flight of steps led to views over the river with the busy boat traffic approaching and leaving the quay. The further we moved from the crowd of tourists, the closer we got to everyday street life; housewives returning from their cheaper markets; young children sitting or walking with their grandpa or grandma.
 There were plenty of trees to provide shade and one flight of steps led to a double-roof pagoda, with open sides. Through a moongate we saw a concrete table and seats and the seats were occupied by a group of six local people, two of whom were playing Chinese Chess, so engrossed in their game that they seemed unaware of the interest being taken in them by the "visitors".
 We were
to see the game being played in many of the places we visited, but I have yet to understand the rules, probably because the pieces are marked in Chinese Characters. At a nearby stall we bought two small tablets of marble on which were painted more Chinese Characters, which proclaimed that Yangshuo was the most beautiful place in the world, and in the very short time we had been there, we could easily have agreed with that opinion, but our journey through China had only just begun. Guilin, the cruise down the Li River and Yangshuo, had already given us a foretaste of what lay ahead, and we would not be disappointed.
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