Down By the River…

The laundry.

Xavier dipping his toes in.

In summertime, the river is not only the laundry, its also a swimming pool. Horses trot across the opposite bank. Swimmers take off down the current. Dogs are soaped up and washed. Rafts float down the fast-flowing current, giving rides to the hundreds of tourists that come to Yangshuo. Competition between them is fierce. We had a lady follow us from one end of the street to the other, trying to talk us into taking a ride on her raft. The nearer we went to the river, the more anxious she became. What if another riverman snapped up these tourists? Pity we didn’t want a boatride. We just wanted to walk and enjoy the river.

I love the colours and shapes of the mountains behind, contrasted against the fast-flowing river. This truly is a beautiful part of China.