Yangshuo and Shanghai: Type 2

Good morning from Yangshuo, China.

A small town that grows hidden among the mountains.

For those of you that missed Type 1, Korea and Guilin, this is part two of the trip.

So, here's Type 2, From Yangshuo to Shanghai.

Let's Time Travel

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The theme for this post is a bit, how do I say, all over the place.

Mostly because the places we visited are totally different from each other.

Yangshuo is a small town in one of the poorest provinces in China, while Shanghai is, well Shanghai.

My song for this ride is EVERYTHING - Black Skirts (2015)

Shall we?

I enjoyed seeing how people lived in Yangshuo.

They were surrounded by, well really, a lot.

Mountains surround the city and buildings built during the time of the great emperors still stand within the city.

All the while, modern structures are trying to squeeze into an already occupied city.

All of it trying to coexist together. A much different view than one I'm used to.

It was a lot to look at, but it was a type of organized chaos.

A city constantly adapting with changes without fully letting go of its pasts. I enjoyed it.

There were a lot of alley ways with shops and cafés but time didn't allow for all the exploring I wanted.

The locals mentioned a saying, 'You go to Yangshuo to see the waters and the mountains' and by the end of this trip I could see why.

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Our next destination was to the Yulong River.

A quiet two hour trip down river on bamboo rafts with locals rowing from behind.

These rafts were made with thick bamboo stalks tied together with a seat for two and a parasol, cute :)

The local rowers carried long bamboo stalks that they used as oars to push off from the bottom of the river.

Kinda like the boats along the canals of Venice but definitely a different feeling right?

A smaller river, the scenery was different from what we saw moving along the Li River.

Slowly drifting down river we went past farmers drawing water for their rice fields, construction workers fishing along the river banks while taking a break, new buildings expanding alongside older buildings, and most of all, the endless rows and rows of mountains stuck amongst the clouds.

Some parts of the river were deep enough for the rowers to bend down in order to reach the bottom of the river with their oars.

The river also had a few drop points where the rafts would gently slide down the mini waterfalls~

But most of all, it was quiet and peaceful.

The ride was slow, slow enough to enjoy the scenery but not a boring kind of slow.

The man who was rowing our raft was in this race with himself (?) that made it like a competition for him. Not exceedingly fast, but like subtly fast.

I guess that was his way of entertaining himself throughout the day.

I only realized after we arrived, since we were the first ones to arrive after being the last raft to leave.

He was happy to be the first one to arrive :)

The next part of our trip was good to us as we continued to explore the back roads of the mountains.

Not the main roads where cars and motorcycles weave through, but the roads filled with dirt, where the farmers bring their water buffalo and where the children play in the fields.

The ride to this village was short, but compared to the distance, the difference was, much more than what we had expected.

The mountains surrounded this small village like a protective wall, away from the noise and clutter of the city. Completely immersed in this small farming village, we had been dropped in a totally different place, thousands of miles away.

The sun was getting low and the clouds covered the high mountains, and we knew it was time to head home.

When we reached the main roads again, we had almost forgotten that we had left such a busy road.

Back in our hotels, we got ready for the final part of our trip, Shanghai China.

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Now, Shanghai is Shanghai.

Like I said, this city boy is not impressed by skyscrapers and high risers. I've seen it, lived it, and eh not so much loved it.

But it is always a pleasure to explore, after all, we are time travelers aren't we?

Shanghai has changed very much compared to the last time we've visited. The sheer number of people in the streets is always an impressive sight, as well as the imported number of stores.

As always, quite a sight.

Oh yeah, and the bright bright red flags that follow you everywhere you go.

But like any beautiful city, everything lights up as the sun begins to set.

We toured the city and watched from the West side of the River.

As the sun began to set, the light brilliantly lit up the imperial style buildings on the east shore and blindingly reflected on the famous skyline.

Oh and the skies were unusually and amazingly clear that day.

I think clouds are the one of the most under appreciated gifts we have today :(

And when the sun had finally set, we got to fully indulge in the Night show.

We had picked the best location to watch since all of the buildings participating in the light show were on the other side of the river.

All buildings sinchryonusly lit up, shooting beams from the top of their tallest buildings, to lights moving across the side of the buildings.

I guess when Communist China tell you to switch the lights back and forth every night, you listen :0

But anyways, this was part of the end product after the shows.

But again, the cities were not what impressed me from this trip. Man made structures have a weak hold on me but the natural wonders of the world is the reason I travel.

Working on this project over the past few months reminded me again of why I do this. Why I continue to pick up my cameras and step outside.

When you think back, deep into your memories, I think you find yourself with better memories, of happy days filled with sun and smiles. More so than bad memories. And its definitely a good feeling :)

Then, down the road, you think deeper and realize hey what about the bad memories?

Even through everything, in that short flash of memories, you pick out happy thoughts. And pictures always help.

I really enjoyed going back and thinking about this trip while working on this project. Always feels like a nest you can return to, a home. Happy thoughts.

And that's why I decided to call it Time Travel. I try to share my works and the emotions along with it.

Perhaps I was able to bring a happy thought with my works :)

Anyways that's a wrap for this Travel. Hopefully you enjoyed going back in Time as much as I did.

Till next time, keep warm everyone.

Joshua Kim

extra: Yangshuo

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