Nestled amongst the stunning karst peaks, Yangshuo was a farming village until the early nineties. Tourism took hold and now it is a bustling must-see destination for backpackers and native Chinese alike.
The karaoke bars and neon lights look out of place in the tranquil environment but doesn't spoil it's natural beauty. There was something special about sharing a beer with fellow backpackers on the roof top bar of our hostel, the mountains tall and imposing and the rivers winding and glistening.
The benefit of having a large tourist industry was that we were able to experience some beautiful and breathtaking things. On our first afternoon we got to ride through the country side to the Li river - the life vein for this community. We then sailed down the river on the bamboo rafts we were stunned into silence by the spectacular and peaceful scenery.
In the evening we got to see how the locals use this river to their advantage and in everyday life. We went out on a bamboo raft and followed a local fisherman who was using his cormorants to catch fish (exactly like on the HSBC advert). This is one of the things that has enticed us to china in the first place! "Real China". Getting to hold the majestic bird afterwards was a bonus!
On our third day we booked ourselves in for a Chinese cookery lesson with the rest of our group. This included a trip to the local market. For the next part of our post we both wanted to give our own opinion rather than together, as they differ quite a lot!
Steffie's View -
First we went to see the meat market and vegetable market - everyone was excited! Little did we know what was to come next!
The vegetable market was interesting and had lots of fruit and veg that was the same as ours but also a few different items. It also had a few bowls full of live crayfish, snails, eels and even frogs which I thought was cruel enough. Then into the meat market - I thought I would be fine with it and didn't expect to see much other than a few hanging chickens and maybe some sausages or ribs etc... The sight that I saw brought tears to my eyes. Live geese, chickens, even bunnies - 10 to a small metal cage. Instantly my heart went out to them. I wanted to pick all the bunnies up and save them.
The worst bit was as we turned around the corner. Lying on the floor was a dead de-furred dog. Half of it insides were hanging out as the Chinese man was slinging it across to the back of the room (someone had obviously picked this poor dog for dinner!) His troubles were far from over though. The fluffy, cute dog in the cage next to him look as though he was terrified and clearly knew what was about to happen. He was next!
The worst sight of all was 12 beautiful kittens all crammed into a very small cage. Each one in turn looked up at me, pleading to be saved. This is what tipped me over the edge and I had to leave.
I found it so hard to see these kittens, that we would treat as companions and snuggle up at home with, being chosen for dinner.
Now, I understand that people have to eat and that it has become de-sensitised in the UK (we just pop into our local supermarket and grab a packet of clean chicken breast) but seeing all of the animals in cages and the way that they were being treated really affected me. This really made me realise how different our two cultures are, and how I had thought so differently about China.
I had thought that a country that was such a super power and that was developing so quickly, that it could only be a myth that they actually ate cat and dog on a regular basis- after all this is the 21st century! I was extremely disturbed when I found out the truth It put a massive cloud over my whole day and I found it hard to lift my mood. It even had me contemplating becoming a veggie!
All in all I won't let it ruin my trip to china, but it has given me a lot to think about in a lot of different areas and especially morals!
Ollie's View
Seeing the meat market in China was the first time since I left England that I realised I very far from home.
Everyone jokes about Chinese people eating cats and dogs and even as we passed a stall selling uncooked dog meat, everyone was still happy snapping away on their cameras and joking about who was going try it first! That feeling soon disappeared!
I had come to terms a long time ago that not all that I will see on my travels will be pleasant and that I needed to have respect and understanding for cultures that are very dis-similar to ours.
Even though I was shocked and saddened to see the animals like this, I fully understood that in terms of food there is no difference between cows, pigs, cats and dogs. Just because we see cats and dogs as pets, should we pass judgement on other people that see them as food?!
Slaughter houses and meat markets on a whole aren't very nice places and in general the western populations having been de-sensitised to where food comes from. Chicken breast is a prime example of how people assume that their meat comes from packets and not from living, breathing animals.
We purposely deleted all of the photos that we took at the meat market of the animals because we both deemed it distasteful and upsetting.
However this didn't ruin our cooking experience and we enjoyed cooking authentic Chinese cuisine immensely - look out for some new dishes when I'm back!
Our last day in Yangshuo was a lot happier as we set off early to do some kayaking down the Li river and see some more beautiful sights. We had lunch at a lovely local rice clay-pot restaurant and had a wander round the market stalls and shops.
That evening 6 of us decided to go an try traditional "hot cupping" to relieve aches, pains and toxins! It was such an intriguing experience - a bit painful but also quite relaxing! Afterwards you are left with massive purple circles all over your back - the toxins coming out! To finish the day off we had an hour long foot massage! Pure heaven! We are now all ready to see the panda's!!
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