Keeping with our daily theme, we were up early today for a cycling tour around Guilin, a scenic area famed for its landscape of limestone karst hills.

At its centre are 2 lakes, Shanhu and Ronghu, remaining from a medieval-era moat that once surrounded the city.

Guilin is one of China’s most popular tourist destinations, and has the epithet “By water, by mountains, most lovely, Guilin”.

The topography of the area is marked by karst mountains made of triassic limestone and dolomite rocks. Within the low lying areas sits the Ali River that flows through to the nearby city.

Guilin is a sparkling jewel in China’s crown, luring visitors with its serene countryside, the grandeur of the Li River and the majestic Longji Rice fields.

Alongside the rice fields we came across corn being grown on an extensive scale, inter-dispersed with wild colourful flowers.

Chinese people come all the way to Guilin just to have their wedding photos taken in one of the most beautiful places in the whole of China.

Our cycle ride proved relatively easy going and kept to the flat lands adjacent to the River Li, where we were able to watch Chinese tourists on the bamboo flat boats.

The bamboo boats travel through the various inland lakes into the river.

On Shanhu Lake’s shore we came across twin pagodas, the Sun and Moon, which we were told light up the sky at night.

Once back on the bikes we found ourselves having to stop every few minutes to take in the wild colourful flowers along the paths.

Our group of 12 catered to all levels of cycling so it proved a little stop and start, with a few people getting back onto a bike for the first time In decades!

At every turn there was an opportunity for a scenic photo and a few extra moments helped by instagram hungry visitors.

Our cycle ride took us along the river front for nearly two hours taking in the stunning views alongside the water and the odd water buffalo that stood in the neighbouring field.

As the cycling tour neared its end we came across the widest part of the River Li where locals were sitting out either on the river side or in some makeshift cafes that have sprung up as the tourist numbers have grown.

The scenery was so reminiscent of Vietnam in terms of what we saw in Ninh Binh and also Cat Ba Island with the dramatic limestone karst hills as far as the eye could see.

By early afternoon we found our way to Moon Hill with a natural arch through it, located a few km outside of Yangshuo.

It is so named for a wide, semicircular hole through the hill, all that remains of what was once a limestone cave formed in the phreatic period. Like most formations in the region, it is formed out of karst and is a popular tourist attraction to climb.

The climb was supposed to take roughly 45mins up and down and as soon as we started we realised just how steep the climb was going to be.

We didn’t help ourselves by taking an extended route, adding an additional climb at the midway point. This provided great additional views, but at the cost of another 250 steps up a steep summit.

Once we got back on the path and reached the top of Moon Hill, all was forgotten and we took in the broad panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, characterised by the knobby karst hills found throughout the region.

After a strenuous workout, our afternoon was a more relaxed affair.

Early evening we decided to go off just the two of us, whilst the rest of the group went to a paying light show, and went in search of a memento from our time in China.

As we have done in other countries we purchased a small bracelet.

After finding a store that sold a Cinnabar bracelet that we liked, they kindly made a second one for Andy as his wrist is larger than that of the normal Chinese tourists!

With the purchases made, we left with our matching bracelets and headed to a nearby bar and relaxed with a beer and a G&T and took in the sights as people walked by.

Tomorrow we have yet another early morning with a 7am kung fu beginners class in the park followed by a Chinese massage in the afternoon. Sadly this will be our last day in Yangshuo before we pick up our final bullet train that takes us to Hong Kong and our end destination for this tour.