After some time in Xingping village, I was determined to get to a more central part of Yangshuo so I could climb Moon Hill. I boarded another bus which dropped me off in the heart of Yangshuo. Here was like nothing I had ever seen before. The busy roads were filled with people on scooters and motorbikes while the roads were lined with shop after shop. But most shocking to me was directly behind this backdrop, stood great green mountains that seemed to emerge from nowhere. What I liked most about the village was that it seemed largely untouched (so far) by Western giants like McDonald’s and Starbucks. Each shop seemed to be family owned, and a quick search on Baidu Maps (the Chinese equivalent of Google maps) showed that there was only one McDonald’s in the nearby area and it was over 30 minutes away.
Unfortunately at this time it was too late for me to make it to Moon Hill before it closed at sunset, so I opted to walk around and check out the local shops until I finally made my way to West Street.
I never expected West Street to be so full of life! The street split off into many little alleys, all full of local shops, bars and restaurants. There was live music on every corner, and pedestrians walked in the street. At times there were so many people it was hard to walk! I spent hours here, eating dinner, drinking bubble tea and watching the sunset. Finally after nightfall, I walked about 20 minutes to make it to my hostel for the night.
