Counties?!

When one thinks of the geographic term 'county', a number of images come to mind. Thoughts turn to the English and Irish isles, where the shires of antiquity were carved into the map of a defeated nation by Norman invaders. One also thinks of the vast expanse of America with its various states. Images of sheriffs in stetsons and spurs, laying down justice in the style of the nineteenth century flow through the mind. 

China, on the other hand, does not immediately come to mind as a nation of counties. Of the many such geographical subdivisions in China, Yangshuo stands apart from the rest.

Nestled between the Li and Dragon rivers, the town of Yangshuo is small by Chinese standards, with less than half a million occupants. Oddly enough, the city seems smaller than it actually is. Perhaps this is because of the narrow lanes, which crisscross the town, or the heritage architecture, which is of a type one rarely sees in contemporary urban China, as the country pursues an architectural future molded by steel and draped in glass facades. Travellers who enjoy historic pleasures above the diversions of the modern world would be advised to avoid the aptly named West Street, where smoke-filled pubs and clubs proliferate; their gaudy neon signs promising more than they can possibly fulfil.

Above all else, Yangshuo County is a place renowned for its natural beauty. The bizarre, forest covered karst peaks and other rock formations form of an otherworldly landscape which is best observed while cruising either of the two rivers on a bamboo raft. Opportunities for climbing and hiking through this mountainous terrain abound.