Another early morning and another packed itinerary. We kicked off the day with a bike ride. Now, I haven’t ridden a bike in a few years and am notoriously accident-prone whenever I get near two wheels, but Michael had reassured us that we’d be sticking to peaceful country roads with zero cars.
We were handed our bikes. Mine and Adam’s were clearly veterans of a bygone era, but they were the largest options available for two tall people. They were extremely basic, gearless, and fitted with brakes that were more of a polite suggestion than a stopping mechanism, though theoretically fine for a lazy cruise along dirt tracks. What Michael neglected to mention, however, was that reaching those tranquil country paths required a 15-minute survival dash through heavy, chaotic morning traffic on main roads.
There was no warm-up lap. It was straight from the kickstand into a bustling main intersection where traffic lights were treated strictly as optional decor. Those loose brakes faced an immediate trial by fire when a moped cut me off.
Against all odds, we reached the rural trail unscathed. I’d love to tell you it was smooth sailing from there, but smooth sailing or riding never happens when I’m involved. Within five minutes of hitting the trail, a rogue chicken decided it had had enough of this world and launched a targeted suicide attempt right in front of my front wheel. With my dodgy brakes proving useless, I relied on pure instincts and started yelling *”Ahhh!”* at top volume. It was all tactical, of course. The chicken got just flustered enough to scramble out of the way, allowing me to swerve and narrowly avoid plunging into the river beside the path.
With the local wildlife clear, I could finally take in the scenery, and it was genuinely breathtaking. Photos really don’t do it justice. We pedaled past lush rice paddies alongside the river with dramatic mountain peaks looming in the background. We had to stop every few minutes for photos because every angle looked like a postcard.
After an hour, we stopped by the river for fresh mango juice and watched the bamboo boats drift by. An elderly woman was selling flower garlands and trinkets for £1. Reasoning that anyone working at her age deserved a bit of support, I bought a garland. I originally assumed it was plastic, but when she handed it over, I realized it was made of real, fragrant fresh flowers woven together. I tucked it under my helmet as we set off again.
Did the flowers slip down over my eyes as I rode? Why yes, they did.
Did they cause another near-fatal cycling mishap? Remarkably, no!
Still, the bike ride wasn’t done with me yet. A short while later, as I slowed down to round a corner, the handlebar snapped clean off in my hand. Fortunately, I was barely moving so I escaped uninjured, though it was a bit of a shock. Michael rode over, inspected the damage, and declared that the bike must have been made in Japan, his go-to explanation for anything that breaks or looks questionable. He kindly swapped bikes with me, snapped off a piece of nearby bamboo, jammed it into the broken frame to function as a makeshift handle, and off he went. Good as new, and ready for another few hours of cycling.
We eventually finished our ride in a picturesque little village filled with souvenir stalls and shops renting traditional clothing for photo shoots against the mountain scenery. We had half an hour before our lunch would be ready, so after double-checking with Michael that it wouldn’t be culturally insensitive, Adam and I decided to dress up for some photos.
It was roughly 28°C, and after being wrapped in multiple heavy layers, plus a full cape for Adam, we were thoroughly warm and sweaty, but it was brilliant fun. I expected a quick snapshot, but we got a full-blown production. We were directed on exactly where to stand, how to tilt our heads, and where to place our hands. We quickly turned into a tourist attraction ourselves, with locals and Chinese visitors stopping to watch, take pictures, and shout lovely compliments. A group of teenagers on a school trip even grouped round up to take photos with us alongside their teacher. At this point, I am just praying we don’t end up going viral on Chinese TikTok.
We had so much fun posing that we ended up buying five photos. For the outfits, the photo session, and the prints, it set us back a whopping £12. Absolute bargain.
After picking up our prints and enjoying another delicious homemade lunch, we headed straight to our afternoon activity: a gentle cruise down the river on a bamboo boat. We had seen these all day in various sizes, from massive houseboats to tiny fishing skiffs. Ours was medium-sized, fitted with four comfortable seats, a sun canopy, and a quiet motor on the back. It drifted slowly downstream, offering a wonderfully peaceful tour. The shade and gentle river breeze were a very welcome relief from the humid heat.
Eventually, as all good things do, the boat ride came to an end and we were back on dry land in the village. We strolled through the market stalls and shops, which featured some incredible hand-painted artwork drying in the sun, including large hanging scrolls and ornate fans. Adam spotted a gorgeous fan decorated with flowers and koi fish arranged in a yin-yang design, which we picked up for around £30. I also picked up a beautiful woolen shawl for £4, which will come in very handy for Grace’s upcoming winter wedding.
Once the rest of the group finished their souvenir shopping, we headed back to the bus and returned to the hotel.
We had an hour to spare before the evening plans, which gave us just enough time to execute a mission: buy all the items we had eyed up yesterday but talked ourselves out of. Our main luggage was already bursting, but after checking our flight allowance, we realized we were permitted two pieces of cabin bags each and had only brought one.
We bought a spare suitcase for £6 and approached the market with military precision. In and out in under an hour. We bagged a soft toy for a friend’s newborn, a gorgeous Chinese dress, a stack of postcards, and a custom caricature of the two of us, all while getting back to the hotel right on schedule.
Michael had mentioned tonight’s optional activity earlier in the day. He described it simply as a play performed on the water with a mountain backdrop. Honestly, it didn’t sound all that thrilling on paper, but we decided to go along anyway under the classic “when in Rome” rule.
We were so glad we went. It turns out Michael had massively undersold it. Every single person in our group agreed it was hands-down the best show we had ever seen, even with the performance being entirely in Mandarin.
We sat in an open-air amphitheater overlooking the Li River. The backdrop consisted of actual illuminated mountains, and the cast featured over 600 local performers, including fishermen and villagers on bamboo rafts rather than professional actors. The production used incredible lighting effects, fire, massive floating ribbons of fabric, and water props. It was directed by Zhang Yimou, the mastermind behind the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and it carried that same stunning scale, precision, and visual drama. Photos and videos don’t come close to capturing how grand it was.
We arrived back late and had some street noodles by our hotel and as the cherry on top of a great day the turned out to be delicious. Super soft noodles with juicy port and crispy crackling. We even got to add our own boiling water and spices so could have it exactly to our taste.
Today was truly spectacular and is going to be incredibly hard to top. It’s already midnight here and we have another full day ahead tomorrow, so we’ll see what adventures await. I’ll share all the details soon!
Love,
Alice x
