We arrived in Guilin on a late flight. Our guide was Yonghong, we stayed at the Sheraton.

This morning we had a 40 min drive to the embarkation point for the Li river cruise through the fertile agricultural Li floodplain. Rice, beans, and brassicas are cultivated in small fields, and there were orchards lining the road. Some farmers are still using water buffalo but we also saw small tractors.

Conisbee weather again today, there was mist/ low cloud obscuring the Karst landscape. The river was high due to recent thunderstorms, we saw a couple of animal carcasses float by. The river was very busy with villagers fishing, transporting goods across and selling produce to passing boats. The trip downstream takes 4 hours but due to the speed of the river the boats need 10 hours to go back, empty, upstream overnight. Lunch was cooked on board (see photos) then we docked in Yangshuo in a torrential downpour. After a short walk through the market we arrived at the Green Lotus Hotel. In the afternoon we had a wander around the town and went on a 'bamboo' raft made of plastic pipes. It was sunny by now and live fish were being sold from large plastic bowls on the quay. Turtles and chickens were kept in cages outside the restaurants, diners could choose their animal knowing their meat would be fresh.