The Li River

Between Guilin and Yangshuo the river crosses a tower karst unique in its density: the peaks, remnants of a dissolved limestone plateau, rise vertically from the alluvial plain. The landscape is the most reproduced subject in Chinese ink painting, and appears on the back of the twenty-yuan note. Cormorant fishing, where the bird dives, catches and surfaces unable to swallow thanks to a loose ring, was once common practice; today it survives mainly as a night-time demonstration for visitors. The trip is made by boat or, more slowly, on a bamboo raft.