Biking around Yangshuo
With numerous trails that take you past some of the most
dramatic Yangshuo scenery, biking is a great way to explore
the countryside and see a lot in a short time. We have provided
you four of our favorite routes all starting from Yangshuo
Village Inn.
 You can rent the following bikes from the Yangshuo Village
Inn
* Mountain Bikes in two different sizes
* Standard bicycles
* Tandems
1/2 day = 30 RMB
Full day = 50 RMB
Routes to Moon Hill
Duration:
Times vary according to route taken
Head out of the village and cross the main road turning left.
Bike along the road for 200m and you will arrive at the gate
to Moon Hill Park. Leave your bike inside the gate at Moon Hill
and climb to the top. It take about 90 minutes round trip to
climb up and down. Once back, you can take your bikes and head
left out of Moon Hill gate along the main road about 1km to
a small concrete service road heading in to the left. Follow
it and continue on. This route will lead you through Feng Lou
Village, Phoenix Village and others along the Yulong River.
You can cross the Jin Bao River near Feng Lou school at the
dry concrete weir. Head out left and explore the various trails.
To your right is the Yulong River and Yangshuo
Mountain Retreat. If you continue on and stay left, you
will eventually find yourself about 2-3 km up the highway in
Gaotian from Yangshuo Village Inn. Look for the radio towers
on the hill across the main road. It is about 1km past Moon
Hill Village and the Yangshuo Village Inn.
Dragon
Bridge
Duration: all day
Head out of Moon Hill Village and right on the highway. About
2 km down the road you will cross the Yulong River at Moon Hill
Bridge. Immediately after the bridge on your left is a narrow
concrete road that leads 1.5km to the Yangshuo
Mountain Retreat. Note:
There is a copycat hotel called Dragon River immediately before
the Mountain Retreat that looks very similar.
Continue along to Chao Lang village. From there make your way
through Yi Ma and other small villages, rocky paths and paddy
fields for the next 20km, leading you eventually to the 600
year old Yu Long Bridge. The quaint village at the bridge makes
for some great photos, and there are plenty of spots to swim
along the way. About half way to the bridge you can stop at
the catch-your-own fish farm have a break and grill your catch
while enjoying the surrounding scenery.
Note: If you're feeling daring and the weather is favorable,
you can jump safely off of the Dragon River Bridge. The drop
is about 10m. CAUTION: Be sure to have someone spot for you
on the other side of the bridge to make sure no bamboo rafts
are passing beneath you.
From the Yu Long Bridge there are many ways back so here
are four options:
The first way takes you through a small nearby town called
Baisha. From there it is about 10 kilometers back to Yangshuo
West Street and another 5 km to the Yangshuo Village Inn (all
on main roads), so you'll have a shoulder to ride on but there
will be some vehicle traffic.
The second option is to cross the Yu Long Bridge and follow
the dirt track heading down along the river past Tongmen Mountain
(Copper Gate), through Phoenix Village, Feng Lou Village,
across the Jin Bao River and out the narrow concrete service
road out to the main highway across from Yangshuo Village
Inn. This option has fantastic scenery but will take longer
as some of the trails are very bumpy and muddy, so less experienced
riders may need to get off and walk their bikes.
The third and longer choice takes you up river to a modern
big bridge, which is wide and high enough for vehicles to
cross. Cross the River here and toward Jin Bao Town then on
to Gao Tian which is south of Moon Hilll. It's about 17 km
from the Yu Long Bridge to Gao Tian and a further 1km back
to Yangshuo Village Inn. Look for the radio towers on the
nearby Gaotian Hills as a reference point, as they are only
1km South of the Moon Hill Village.
The final option is to simply head back the way you came!
To Yangshuo West Street
Duration: 50 minutes
Head out of the village to the main highway and right. Cross
the Moon Hill Bridge and take the second path to the left. After
about 600 meters there is a narrow path splitting off to the
right, this is the way to Jianshan Temple, a renovated Buddhist
shrine. Past Jianshan, head back to the path you came from and
follow it along the Yu Long River in the downstream direction
until you reach the first main road. Cross this road and follow
the path until you cross over a second bridge which takes you
to another main road. This road takes you to Yangshuo.
Note:
Check with Yangshuo Village Inn reception for a local
map of this area.
Liugong Village
Duration: all day
From Moon Hill Village, head to the main road to the right and
take the first path down to your right, same as if you were
heading to the temple and on to Yangshuo. Follow the to the
main road at Aishan and continue on South toward Yongcun Village.
The road to Liugong is half way between Aishan and Yongcun on
the left hand side and about 18km from the Village Inn. Take
this road all the way to the end where you'll enter the quiet
Li River village of Liugong. You can have lunch here and walk
the 800 year old streets of admire the architecture and walk
around the ancient cobbled streets of this 800 year old village.
Close to the village are the remarkable three-color ponds. The
water level in the ponds always remains the same throughout
the year regardless of the water level of the Li River. As the
name suggests, the ponds have three distinct colors, contributing
to rich local folklore about their supernatural origins.
Note: Please check with
Yangshuo Village Inn reception for a local area map for this
tour
For more information on Yangshuo Mountain Biking, go to: Bike Asia
If you're considering an extended bike tour in China, visit Bike China
For more great mountain biking pictures
go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yangshuomountainretreat/sets/72157603685370638/
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