Spring Festival 2011-part 4--Yangshuo

Just south of Guilin is a popular city called 阳朔--YangShuo. Notable for being situated on the beautiful Lijiang river and surrounded by this unique, steep hills around and in the city.

Business really is a family affair, minus the parents.  These kids are totally accustomed to all aspects from selling to buying.

It's all about the red.  Red = luck so everywhere you go you can buy couplets, firecrackers, chili peppers (because they're red) and wall hangings covered with red.

And don't forget the mounds of candy.  I'm still not sure what it's all used for, but there's loads of it.  We bought a variety and found it was definitely hit or miss for our tastebuds.  We avoided the corn-flavored ones.

Chickens are sold live.  Fresh is important!  And what an age old technique, she uses weights and a stick to weigh the chicken to determine the price.

We went on a bike trip (as is standard for day 2 in Yangshuo) to the south to see the moon hill.

And we saw this really big tree.  Can't remember the name of it.  We got to the hostel and said we're here for two days, so the owner told us what we were going to do.  We said, cool, and kept going along.  See the blue dot--that's Annie.  The tree is unique in that as it's branches grow out the branch sends down a shoot that hits ground and grows roots to support the tree.

Views along the bike ride through a calm valley.

Clearly defined as free-range chickens! 

Mystical hills, calm roads, and orange trees along the side.  A great experience.

Something about this picture doesn't add up.

What a deal!  That long box is what I mailed.  Annie and I bought souvenirs along the way and mailed them home.  1/2 way across China to send that heavy box and the total is 17 yuan (or $3.)

At every city, Annie made it a goal to eat at a Muslim noodle shop.  The noodles are handmade in these shops and the dishes are delicious and really inexpensive.  Once we paid 12 yuan ($1.80) and were startled how overpriced it was due to being in a touristy area.

Can't forget that to spring festival belongs fireworks.  You can buy them everywhere and launch them off anywhere.  So we decided to take part!